Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence



Declaration of Independence

taken up on July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress, gathering in Philadelphia, the Declaration of self-reliance is the origin document of the United States of America. In addition to the Congress's official explanation of “the causes which impel” Americans to declare their independence from Great Britain, the document also identifies the founders' political philosophy of limited government dedicated to the protection of individual rights.

On June 11, 1776, anticipating a vote on Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee's resolution calling for independence, Congress appointed a five-man committee to draft a declaration justifying that momentous ...