It provided inspiration to numerous national declarations of independencethroughout the world. This view was notably promoted by Abraham Lincoln, who considered the Declaration to be the foundation of his political philosophy, and argued that the Declaration is a statement of principles through which the United States Constitution should be interpreted. This has been called вЂњone of the best-known sentences in the English languageвЂќ,В containing вЂњthe most potent and consequential words in American historyвЂќ.В The passage came to represent a moral standard to which the United States should strive. Since then, it has become a well-known statement on human rights, particularly its second sentence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Abraham Lincoln made it the centerpiece of his rhetoric (as in the Gettysburg Address of 1863), and his policies. Having served its original purpose in announcing independence, references to the text of the Declaration were few for the next four score years. The Declaration justified the independence of the United States by listing colonial grievances against King George III, and by asserting certain natural and legal rights, including a right of revolution.

The sources and interpretation of the Declaration have been the subject of much scholarly inquiry.

This engrossed copy was ordered by Congress on July 19, and signed primarily on August 2. The best known version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is popularly regarded as the official document, is displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The source copy used for this printing has been lost, and may have been a copy in Thomas JeffersonвЂ™s hand.В JeffersonвЂ™s original draft, complete with changes made by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, and JeffersonвЂ™s notes of changes made by Congress, are preserved at the Library of Congress. It was initially published as the printed Dunlap broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The national birthday, Independence Day, is celebrated on July 4, although Adams wanted July 2.ДЄfter ratifying the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. The Declaration was ultimately a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The term вЂњDeclaration of IndependenceвЂќ is not used in the document itself.ДЄdams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document,В which Congress would edit to produce the final version. A committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was unanimously approved on July 2. Instead they formed a new nation-the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence is the usual name of a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. If you you liked вЂњHamiltonвЂќ, you will be thrilled with вЂњTJeff & the GangвЂќ United States of America Independence Day

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