![]() The Declaration of Independence was therefore a declaration of interdependence. With that concluding statement, the United States announced that it had left the transnational community of the British Empire to join instead the international community of sovereign states. The United States intended to join them on an equal footing "as Free and Independent States" that "have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which independent States may of right do" (1). As the opening paragraph stated, the representatives of the states were laying before "the opinions of mankind" the reasons "one people" had chosen "to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them." Those "powers of the earth"-meaning other sovereign states-were the immediate international audience for the Declaration. The very term, "United States of America," had not been used publicly before its appearance in the Declaration. To ask just what the Declaration declared is to see that, first and foremost, it announced the entry of the United States into international history. It will then conclude with some reflections on what the Declaration's afterlife can tell us about the broader modern history of rights, both individual and collective. This can be done for the Declaration in a number of ways: by showing that it was the product of a pressing international context in 1776 by examining the host of imitations it spawned and the many analogous documents that have been issued from 1790 to 1988 and by comparing the starkly different histories of its present reception within and beyond the United States.Īccordingly, this essay will deal with the immediate motivations that led to the Declaration in 1776, with the first 50 years of reactions to it, at home and abroad, and with the subsequent history of declaring independence across the world from Venezuela to New Zealand. If a document so indelibly American as the Declaration of Independence can be put successfully into a world context, then surely almost any subject in United States history can be internationalized. Little wonder, then, that it stands as a cornerstone of Americans' sense of their own uniqueness. The "self-evident truths" it proclaimed to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" have guaranteed it a sacrosanct place as "American scripture," a testament to the special qualities of a chosen people. He was one of theįirst seven presidential electors from Connecticut.Where better to begin internationalizing the history of the United States than at the beginning, with the Declaration of Independence? No document is as familiar to students or so deeply entwined with what it means to be an American. Justice of the Superior Court in 1784, Lieutenant Governor He returned to Connecticut and was the Chief He was the President of Congress from 1779-1781Īnd presided over the adoption of the Articles of Confederation Man who distinguished himself in government on the state and (1731-1796)-Samuel Huntington was a self-made Signing of the Declaration of Independence. Theįollowing gives a bit of information about each signer AFTER the Of Independence which began on August 2 ensured them instant immortality. Men did after July 1776, the actual signing of the Declaration Four of the signers were taken captiveĭuring the war and nearly all of them were poorer at the end of None of the signersĭied at the hands of the British, and one-third served as militia Who had much to lose if the war was lost. They mutually pledged “to each other our Lives, our FortunesĪnd our sacred Honor.” They were mostly men of means The others were planters, merchants and shippers. ![]() More than half of the signers were lawyers and Of the signers ranged from 26 (Edward Rutledge) to 70 (Benjaminįranklin), but the majority of the signers were in their thirties Most of the signers wereĪmerican born although eight were foreign born. Twenty-one represented the Southern Colonies. Fourteen represented the NewĮngland Colonies, twenty-one represented the Middle Colonies and In all, there were fifty-six representativesįrom the thirteen colonies. To consider the delicate case for independence and to change theĬourse of the war. Which Founding Father Would You Vote For?Ībout the Signers of the Declaration of IndependenceĪll of the colonies were represented in Philadelphia OVERVIEW READ THE DECLARATION Drafting the Declaration ABOUT THE SIGNERS Women Behind the Signers FASCINATING FACTS DATES TO REMEMBER Sons of Liberty The Case for Revolution The Five Riders Two Great Thinkers Famous Loyalists The Shot Heard Round the World THE FOURTH OF JULY Treaty of Paris True Copy of Declaration DECLARATION QUIZ True Copy of Declaration of Independence. ![]()
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