Declaration of Independence

Ratification

The Continental Congress, the legislative body formed by the founding fathers, enacted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was signed by numerous leaders of the colonies. However, the enactment of the declaration was not a foregone conclusion. Some of the colonies were wary of signing a formal document proclaiming their independence. The Declaration of Independence was a dangerous document. For, as Benjamin Franklin is said to have stated: “If we do not hang together we most certainly will all hang separately.” Any man who signed the Declaration of Independence was signing his death warrant if the revolution were lost.

Although a committee by the Continental Congress was appointed to write the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson is credited with writing the greatest part of it. After the draft was approved by the committee, it was sent to the full Congress for ratification. Twelve of the colonies voted for ratification, with New York abstaining because the New York delegation had not received permission to vote for it. New York ended up ratifying the Declaration of Independence a week later.

The majority of the Declaration of Independence lists the grievances of the thirteen colonies against King George III and Great Britain. Although many of these reasons, today, would not likely justify a revolution, they were sufficient in the minds of the founding fathers. The Declaration of Independence is renowned not for the list of grievances it presents but for several basic principles that form the basis of the political philosophy of the founding fathers and the nation they founded.

Principles

The first, and arguably the most important, principle set forth in the Declaration of Independence is that under the natural law and God, all men are entitled to have equal and separate station in life; when their current political circumstances deny them this right, they are entitled to sever those political bonds. This principle leads directly into the second principle of the Declaration of Independence, which is that all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights. This clause presents the fundamental importance of the individual and that men are entitled to certain rights that cannot be taken from them. The third principle is that each man has certain inalienable rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The fourth principle is that the purpose of government is to secure those rights, not to oppress the people for the benefit of the few who occupy the upper echelons of society. The fifth principle is that when a government becomes destructive of these ends (i.e., protecting the life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness of its citizens), then the people have the right to alter or abolish that government.

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