Declaration of Independence

Historic US document stating the theory of government on which the USA was founded, based on the right ‘to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’. The statement was issued by the Continental Congress on 4 July 1776, renouncing all allegiance to the British crown and ending the political connection with Britain.

Following a resolution moved on 7 June, by Richard Henry Lee, ‘that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States’, a committee including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin was set up to draft a declaration; most of the work was done by Jefferson.

The resolution, coming almost a year after the outbreak of hostilities, was adopted by the representatives of 12 colonies (New York abstained initially) on 2 July, and the Declaration on 4 July; the latter date has ever since been celebrated as Independence Day in the USA. The representatives of New York announced their adhesion on 15 July, and the Declaration was afterwards signed by the members of Congress on 2 August.

The declaration enumerated the grievances the colonists harboured against the British crown, which included its use of American Indians to attack colonists, taxation without representation, and denial of civil liberties.

The philosophy behind the Declaration was strongly influenced by the work of John Locke and in particular by his Two Treatises on Government (1690).

A rare 1776 copy of the Declaration of Independence was put up for auction by Sotheby's on the Internet and in their New York gallery in June 2000. One of 25 copies known to exist and one of four privately owned copies, the copy sold for $8.1 million.