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All men are created equal and there are certain unalienable rights that governments should never violate. These rights include the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. When a government fails to protect those rights, it is not only the right, but also the duty of the people to overthrow that government. In its place, the people should establish a government that is designed to protect those rights. Governments are rarely overthrown, and should not be overthrown for trivial reasons. In this case, a long history of abuses has led the colonists to overthrow a tyrannical government.

The King of Great Britain, George III, is guilty of 27 specific abuses. The King interfered with the colonists' right to self-government and for a fair judicial system. Acting with Parliament, the King also instituted legislation that affected the colonies without their consent.

The colonial governments tried to reach a peaceful reconciliation of these differences with Great Britain, but were continually ignored.

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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July 4, 1776

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Jefferson used ideas that John Locke and other English thinkers had written about.
Jefferson listed many ways that Britain had not served the
colonists. He wrote, for example, that King George had tried
to take away rights and force taxes on the colonies. Jefferson
showed that the colonists had a right to separate from the
king and have their own government.
The Declaration of Independence was approved on
July 4, 1776. The Declaration is still important because it says
the American people believe in equal rights for all. Today
we know that the words “all men are created equal” include
everyone: women, men, children, and every race, group, and
ability. But in 1776, people’s ideas were different. Only white
men who owned property had the right to vote. Laws that
recognized equal rights of other groups were passed later.

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Thomas Jefferson initially wrote the Declaration of Independence. Overall, there were 56 people who signed the document. Some famous names were Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry, Stephen Hopkins, and many more.

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On this day in 1776, the Second Continental Congress, assembled in Philadelphia, formally adopts Richard Henry Lee’s resolution for independence from Great Britain. The vote is unanimous, with only New York abstaining.

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The Passing of The Declaration of Independence - John Adams - HBO

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We sign stuff today, but it isn't near as important!

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We sign stuff today, but it isn't near as important!

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The Signing of the Declaration of Independence

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The Signing of the Declaration of Independence

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Congress asked Thomas Jefferson and others to write a
declaration of independence. They needed a document to
declare why the colonies had to become independent of
Britain. In this document, Jefferson wrote what many
Americans believed about their rights. Jefferson wrote that
people have the right to live, the right to be free, and the
right to seek happiness. The Declaration explains why the
colonies should break away from Britain. It says that people
have rights that cannot be taken away, lists the complaints
against the king, and argues that the colonies have to be free to protect the colonists’ rights. At the bottom of the
document, the delegates signed their names.