The Declaration of Independence

declaration of independence
Trumbull’s artistic portrayal of the signing of the Declaration of Indpendence

The second Continental Congress’ decision to declare independence was not surprising. After more than a year of war with Britain, continued propaganda and Tom Paine’s rousing Common Sense, by mid-1776 there was a more conducive mood towards separation from England. Some local counties had gone so far as to issue statements of independence, while New Hampshire even passed the first state constitution as early as January 1776.

In May of that year, the French king, Louis XVI, granted one million dollars’ worth of arms and ammunition to the Americans; it seemed that a military alliance with France might be feasible. The push for independence strengthened and in June, the idea is first floated in the Continental Congress by Richard Henry Lee. Four days later the delegates appoint a five-man committee charged with drafting a ‘declaration of independence’.

The committee itself left much of the task to Thomas Jefferson, the softly spoken gentleman-philosopher from Virginia. He completes a draft within a day and passes it to his compatriots on the sub-committee (Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman and Roger Livingstone). On June 28, the edited draft is presented to the Congress for discussion and ratification, which takes place on July 4 (since many delegates are not present on this date, it will take another 29 days until all 55 have signed the Declaration of Independence).

“The Declaration marked the birth of a new genre of political writing. Part of its genius – and a major reason for its later success as a model for other declarations – was its generic promiscuity. It would combine three distinguishable genres: a declaration of independence, a declaration of rights, and a manifesto.. It took on a life of its own and became the model for what would in time become a global genre… it has traveled far and wide as a document [because] it could be imitated, plundered and paralleled.”
David Armitage, historian

The decision to ratify the Declaration of Independence was about realpolitik as much as ideology. Much of the document is overt propaganda, accusing the king of gross injustices and tyranny against the American people. It was devised to rally more support for the ensuing war, which they realised was a perilous undertaking. It was also intended to formalise the legalities of separation from England but also to unify the 13 colonies (now states) so that negotiation with potential foreign powers could be simplified, increasing the likelihood of alliances.

But the Declaration of Independence was also about justification, an explanation as to why the Americans had chosen to embark on this course of action: the Declaration’s stirring preamble is an reinforcement of their right to revolution and an assertion of the right of self-government. It also mentions Enlightenment ideals about natural rights: “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

Jefferson’s original draft was also critical of the slave trade, however the Congress’ delegates edited out these references so as not to offend the members from slave-dependent southern states. Jefferson himself did not invent any new value or ideal when drafting the document, in fact he openly admitted that it was a synthesis of existing colonial documents and Enlightenment ideas of which he was familiar. His purpose, Jefferson claimed, was to create something that represented the ‘American mind’ in 1776.

Artist John Trumbull’s well-known rendition of the Declaration of Independence is shown on this page: it shows the presentation of the declaration to Congress’ president John Hancock by the five-man drafting committee, with Jefferson (the tallest figure) at the head of the group. Trumbull’s representation is slightly misleading as 42 of the 55 delegates are shown, and in reality there was not this many in attendance.

A closer look reveals Thomas Jefferson stepping on the foot of John Adams, a candid reference to their later political rivalry. Painted in the late 1810s, Trumbull’s work has been on display in the US Capitol building since 1826. The scene is also replicated on the reverse of the current US $2 bill.

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