The Declaration of Independence

One simply can't talk about the history of the United States without mentioning the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence is the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty. This formal document was drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776. In this formal and well-drafted document, Jefferson expressed the ideas in the minds and hearts of the American people. Jefferson got most of the ideas from a very influential book written by Thomas Paine. The book was called "Common Sense" and it expressed in a clear and simple language the advantages and immediate need for independence. In proportion to the population of the colonies at that time, it had the largest sale of any book published in American history.

Although the ideas for individual liberty were taken from John Locke and other Enlightment philosophers, the Declaration of Independence still had a huge impact in the colonists's lives. Jefferson did an amazing work in drafting this document because the final draft published by the congress had very few modifications. However, it is worth noting that the congress removed one fourth of the original text since they said it was unnecessary wording. Jefferson set forth a list of grievances against the King of England. He did this to justify and explain to the world the breaking of political ties between the colonies and England. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in a little house situated in the outskirts of town because he found his own house uncomfortable since it was located in the heart of town. The house belonged to a well-known bricklayer called Jacob Graff and the family continued to live there while Jefferson wrote the Declaration.

Jefferson wrote the Declaration in under three weeks. The house where he drafted the document is now known as The Declaration House. The Declaration of Independence had 56 signers. Among those, the first, largest, and most-known signature is the one of John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress. The youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence was Edward Rutledge who was 26 years old, and the oldest was Benjamin Franklin with 70 years. The Declaration was also signed by two future U.S. presidents: John Adams who would become the second president and Thomas Jefferson who would become the third president. The Declaration of Independence inspired many other people and countries because at that time most formal declarations were made by a monarch giving privileges to their people, however this wasn't the case, and it was in fact a pioneering example of people announcing their own sovereignty.