Declaring Independence (Finally)

Original Declaration of Independence

You may ask when did the United States of America declared its Independence from Great Britain, and the King. Well for your information America declared its Independence on July 2, 1776, not in July 4, 1776, the day USA celebrate its Independence. The Declaration of Independence is in its majority grievances against the King. The Declaration of Independence was done practically 440 something days after the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The draft was made by Thomas Jefferson, and few changes were made by the Continental Congress. The most important of the changes involved the slaves because if they included that in the Declaration the southern colonies would not sign it. The first one to sign the Declaration was John Hancock that was the leader of the Congress. The other ones were:

·        Connecticut:

Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

·        New York:

William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

·        New Jersey:

Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

·        Pennsylvania:

Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

·        Delaware:

Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

·        Maryland:

Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

·        Virginia:

George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

·        North Carolina:

William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

·        South Carolina:

Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

·        Georgia:

Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton.