who wrote the declaration of independence and when was it ratified by the 2nd continental congress
Thomas Jefferson on July 2
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New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The Lee Resolution for independence was passed on July 2 with no opposing votes. The Committee of Five had drafted the Declaration to be ready when Congress voted on independence. John Adams, a leader in pushing for independence, had persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document, which Congress edited to produce the final version. The Declaration was a formal explanation of why Congress had voted to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the
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in favor and New York abstaining. The date that the Declaration was signed has long been the subject of debate. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams all wrote that it was signed by Congress on the day when it was adopted on July 4, 1776. That assertion is seemingly confirmed by the signed copy of the Declaration, which is dated July 4. Additional support for the July 4 date is provided by the "Journals of Congress", the official public record of the Continental Congress. The proceedings for 1776 were first published in 1777, and the entry for July 4
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that the Continental Congress would have to convene once again. The Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, at Philadelphia's State House, passing the resolution for independence the following year on July 2, 1776, and publicly asserting the decision two days later with the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson of Virginia drafted the declaration, and John Adams was a leader in the debates in favor of its adoption. John Hancock of Massachusetts was the president during those debates. To govern during the American Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress continued, meeting at various locations, until it became the Congress
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Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting in the spring of 1775 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia between September 5, 1774, and October 26, 1774. The Second Congress managed the Colonial war effort and moved incrementally towards independence. It eventually adopted the Lee Resolution which established the new country on July 2, 1776, and it agreed to the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Congress acted as the "de facto" national government of the United States
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Articles of Confederation 200th anniversary was celebrated with a 13-cent stamp on September 30, 1977. While the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson, Virginian Richard Henry Lee moved for "a plan of Confederation". The draft was completed in York Town, Pennsylvania on November 15, 1777, but it was not finally approved until Maryland ratified five years later, after Virginia and other states with western claims ceded territory to the U.S. government. Thomas Nelson Jr. was one of the thirteen committee members appointed in the Continental Congress on June 12, 1776, to "prepare and digest the form of confederation" which
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protests. He was quite reluctant to pursue the option of outright independence. Nevertheless, from 1764, he led the Delaware Committee of Correspondence and was elected to serve along with the more radical McKean and Rodney in the First and Second Continental Congress from 1774 to 1777. He was frequently absent, and when the Congress voted on American Independence on July 2, 1776, Read surprised many by voting against it. That meant that Rodney had to ride overnight to Philadelphia to break the deadlock in Delaware's delegation for independence. However, when the Declaration of Independence was finally adopted, Read signed it
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his occupation, and his home town. It was dedicated on July 2, 1984, exactly 208 years after the Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence. The memorial is accessible to the public by crossing a wooden bridge onto a small island set in the lake between Constitution Avenue and the Reflecting Pool, not far from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Fifty-six delegates to the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence and are honored at this Memorial: President of Congress New Hampshire Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia
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Evening Post" reported on July 2: This day the CONTINENTAL CONGRESS declared the UNITED COLONIES FREE and INDEPENDENT STATES. The "Pennsylvania Gazette" followed suit the next day with its own brief report: Yesterday, the CONTINENTAL CONGRESS declared the UNITED COLONIES FREE and INDEPENDENT STATES. After passing the resolution of independence on July 2, Congress turned its attention to the text of the declaration. Over several days of debate, Congress made a number of alterations to the text, including adding the wording of Lee's resolution of independence to the conclusion. The final text of the declaration was approved by Congress on
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boycott actions against Britain. When the Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, it essentially reconstituted the First Congress. Many of the same 56 delegates who attended the first meeting participated in the second. New arrivals included Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, John Hancock of Massachusetts, and John Witherspoon of New Jersey. Hancock was elected Congress President two weeks into the session when Peyton Randolph was recalled to Virginia to preside over the House of Burgesses. Thomas Jefferson replaced Randolph in the Virginia congressional delegation. The second Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Witherspoon was the only
Founding Fathers of the United States
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Congress called "Resolutions, Acts and Orders of Congress", which gives a day-to-day description of debates and issues. Although the delegates in the early period were divided as to whether to break from Crown rule, the second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776, passed a resolution asserting independence, with no opposing vote recorded. The Declaration of Independence was issued two days later, declaring a new nation: the "United States of America". It established a Continental Army, giving command to one of its members, George Washington of Virginia. It waged war with Great Britain, made a militia treaty with France, and funded
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to the resolution of independence and the Declaration of Independence in the "Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789", from American Memory, published by the Library of Congress: Lee Resolution The Lee Resolution (also known as "The Resolution for Independence") was the formal assertion passed by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776 which declared the establishment of a new country of United Colonies as independent from the British Empire, creating what became the United States of America. News of this act was published that evening in the "Pennsylvania Evening Post" and the next day in the "Pennsylvania Gazette". The
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lead the resistance. And Falls Church vestrymen George Mason, John West and Charles Broadwater were deeply involved. Mason wrote the "Fairfax Resolves", a set of 24 separate resolutions, each beginning with the word, "Resolved …", calling for specific actions. The men were members of Virginia's revolutionary council meeting in Williamsburg, the royal capital. The council instructed Virginia's delegates at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to introduce a resolution calling for independence. Virginia's delegate did so, and the Congress passed the motion on July 2. The Declaration of Independence was issued July 4. During the war which followed, George Washington remained
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other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States. During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain in 1776 actually occurred on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain's rule. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been
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colonies in 1773, and sent delegates to the Continental Congress the following year. After the House of Burgesses was dissolved by the royal governor in 1774, Virginia's revolutionary leaders continued to govern via the Virginia Conventions. On May 15, 1776, the Convention declared Virginia's independence from the British Empire and adopted George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was then included in a new constitution. Another Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, drew upon Mason's work in drafting the national Declaration of Independence. When the American Revolutionary War began, George Washington was selected to head the colonial army. During the war, the capital
Virginia
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Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase gives three examples of the "unalienable rights" which the Declaration says have been given to all humans by their creator. The United States Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson, and then edited by the Committee of Five, which consisted of Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. It was then further edited and adopted by the Committee of the Whole of the Second Continental Congress on July 4,
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justifications for separation from Britain. After securing enough votes for passage, independence was voted for on July 2. The Declaration of Independence was drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson and presented by the committee; it was unanimously adopted by the entire Congress on July 4, and each of the colonies became independent and autonomous. The next step was to form a union to facilitate international relations and alliances. The Second Continental Congress approved the "Articles of Confederation" for ratification by the states on November 15, 1777; the Congress immediately began operating under the Articles' terms, providing a structure of shared sovereignty
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cannon shot. On August 25, with a shipment of 258 round balls weighing from 18 to 32 pounds each, Durham Furnace became the first ironworks in Pennsylvania to supply munitions to the Continental Army. In 1776, the Continental Congress voted for independence on July 2 and adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later, July 4. Before the vote for independence, five of Pennsylvania’s delegates, all loyalists, were forced to resign. On July 20, Taylor was among the replacements appointed by the Assembly. One of his first duties as a member of Congress was to affix his signature to the
George Taylor (Pennsylvania politician)
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Franklin and Wilson. When the final vote was taken on July 2, Dickinson and Morris abstained, allowing the Pennsylvania delegation to support the resolution of independence without dissent. Morton signed the Declaration on August 2 with most of the other delegates. Morton was chairman of the committee that wrote the Articles of Confederation, although he died, probably from tuberculosis, before the Articles were ratified. He was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence to die and was buried in Old St. Paul's Church Burial Ground (also known as the Old Swedish Burial Ground) in the city of Chester, Pennsylvania.
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were well-known and frequently quoted by colonial leaders, being the most quoted authority on government in the 1760-1776 period prior to American independence. Thomas Jefferson was accused of plagiarizing Locke in certain sections of the Declaration of Independence by fellow Virginian delegate Richard Henry Lee. Prior to Colonel Reed's suggestion and Massachusetts General Court establishing the Pine Tree flag as the standard of the Massachusetts navy, "an appeal to Heaven" or similar expressions had been invoked by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in several resolutions, Patrick Henry in his Liberty or Death speech, and the Second Continental Congress in the Declaration
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to determine if this event was a local one, or signs of something bigger until, in 1775, Rebel forces confirmed their intentions by attacking British troops on Bunker Hill. Shortly after, Massachusetts Second Continental Congress representative John Adams and his cousin Samuel Adams were part of a group calling for an American Declaration of Independence. The Congress ended without committing to a Declaration, but prepared for conflict by naming George Washington as the Continental Army Commander. War broke out and lasted until 1783, when Britain signed the Treaty of Paris and recognized America's independence. In 1788, the states ratified the
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who like Jefferson was elderly and in retirement when the Mecklenburg Declaration was published in 1819. When Adams read Dr. Alexander's article in a Massachusetts newspaper, he was astonished because he had never previously heard of the Mecklenburg Declaration. He immediately assumed, as he wrote a friend, that Jefferson had "copied the spirit, the sense, and the expressions of it "verbatim" into his Declaration of the 4th of July, 1776." Adams, who had played a major role in getting the Continental Congress to declare independence in 1776, had become somewhat resentful that Jefferson now received most of the praise for
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July 4, 1776, the United States Declaration of Independence was adopted in Philadelphia. It was signed first by Massachusetts resident John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. Soon afterward the Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston from the balcony of the State House. Massachusetts was no longer a colony; it was a state and part of a new nation, the United States of America. A Constitutional Convention drew up a state constitution, which was drafted primarily by John Adams, and ratified by the people on June 15, 1780. Adams, along with Samuel Adams and James Bowdoin,
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adopted son Samuel H. Huntington moved to the Ohio Country region that he had been instrumental in opening up, and later became the third Governor of Ohio. Because Huntington was the President of the Continental Congress when the Articles of Confederation were ratified, some unconventional biographers and civic groups in Connecticut claim that Huntington was actually the first President of the United States. Samuel Huntington (Connecticut politician) Samuel Huntington ( January 5, 1796) was a jurist, statesman, and Patriot in the American Revolution from Connecticut. As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he signed the Declaration of Independence and the
Samuel Huntington (Connecticut politician)
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Pennsylvania Provincial Conference The Pennsylvania Provincial Conference (June 18–25, 1776) was a meeting of pro-independent state activist who ratified the May 15 Resolution of the Continental Congress and planned the mobilization of state militias. Meeting in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia they contributed significantly to the growing political movement in the Colonies against King George III. Since Pennsylvania was especially reluctant to rebel compared to most of the other Colonies, the declared support for the May 15 Resolution by its committeemen and its published declaration of independence became the last great revolutionary event preceding national independence by Congress the following month.
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of the Declarations and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, as he would not negotiate with them. Reacting to the Declaration, Samuel Johnson published a pamphlet called "Taxation No Tyranny", questioning the colonists' right to self-government and asking "How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?" The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress served many purposes. Among those who supported achieving full autonomy from Britain, it served to rouse their spirits together towards gaining independence. For those who were on the fence about supporting or opposing American independence, this document,
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of the First Continental Congress, following the departure of Peyton Randolph. Middleton opposed declaring independence from Great Britain, and resigned from the Second Continental Congress in February 1776 when more radical delegates began pushing for independence. He was succeeded in Congress by his son, Arthur Middleton (1742–1787), who was more radical than his father and became a signer of the Declaration of Independence. After Middleton's return to South Carolina, he was elected president of the provincial congress and, beginning on November 16, 1775, served on the council of safety. In 1776, he and his son Arthur helped frame a temporary
Henry Middleton
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Empire. The signers’ names are grouped by state, with the exception of President of the Continental Congress John Hancock; the states are arranged geographically from north to south. The final draft of the Declaration was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, although the date of its signing has long been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed on August 2, 1776, nearly a month after its adoption, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed. The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, with 12 of the 13 colonies voting
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on medical student education, and wrote influential patriotic essays. Rush was active in the Sons of Liberty and was elected to attend the provincial conference to send delegates to the Continental Congress. Thomas Paine consulted Rush when writing the profoundly influential pro-independence pamphlet "Common Sense". Rush represented Pennsylvania and signed the Declaration of Independence. He also represented Philadelphia at Pennsylvania's own Constitutional Convention. While Rush was representing Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress (and serving on its Medical Committee), he also used his medical skills in the field. Rush accompanied the Philadelphia militia during the battles after which the British occupied
Benjamin Rush
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the Declaration had been signed on July 4, pointing out that some signers were not then present, including several who were not even elected to Congress until after that date. The Declaration was transposed on paper, adopted by the Continental Congress, and signed by John Hancock, President of the Congress, on July 4, 1776, according to the 1911 record of events by the U.S. State Department under Secretary Philander C. Knox. On August 2, 1776, a parchment paper copy of the Declaration was signed by 56 persons. Many of these signers were not present when the original Declaration was adopted
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of the Thirteen Colonies, called at the request of the Massachusetts Assembly, but only nine colonies sent delegates. Dickinson then wrote "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, To the Inhabitants of the British Colonies", which were published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle between December 2, 1767, and February 15, 1768. When the Founding Fathers of the United States convened in Philadelphia in 1774, 12 colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress. The Second Continental Congress, which also met in Philadelphia (in May 1775), drew up and signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, but when that city was captured by
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fair copy which was shown to the drafting committee and then submitted to Congress on June 28, this document has not been found. "If this manuscript still exists," wrote historian Ted Widmer, "it is the holy grail of American freedom." The Fair Copy was presumably marked up by Charles Thomson, the secretary of the Continental Congress, while Congress debated and revised the text. This document was the one that Congress approved on July 4, making it what Boyd called the first "official" copy of the Declaration. The Fair Copy was sent to John Dunlap to be printed under the title
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of the Confederation when the Articles of Confederation were ratified on March 1, 1781. The newly founded country of the United States next had to create a new government to replace the British Parliament that it was in rebellion against. After much debate, the Americans adopted the Articles of Confederation, a declaration that established a national government made up of a one-house legislature known as the Congress of the Confederation. It met from 1781 to 1789. The Confederation Congress helped guide the United States through the final stages of the Revolutionary War, but during peacetime, the Continental Congress steeply declined
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of the Articles of Confederation, following a similar approval to draft the Declaration of Independence on June 11. The purpose of the former document was not only to define the relationship among the new states but also to stipulate the permanent nature of the new union. Accordingly, Article XIII states that the Union "shall be perpetual". While the process to ratify the Articles began in 1777, the Union only became a legal entity in 1781 when all states had ratified the agreement. The Second Continental Congress approved the Articles for ratification by the sovereign States on November 15, 1777, which
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English, "American" was used especially for people in the British America. Samuel Johnson, the leading English lexicographer, wrote in 1775, before the United States declared independence: "That the Americans are able to bear taxation is indubitable." The Declaration of Independence of July 1776 refers to "[the] unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America" adopted by the "Representatives of the United States of America" on July 4, 1776. The official name of the country was reaffirmed on November 15, 1777, when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first of which says, "The Stile of this
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provide historical and legal clarity about the Constitution and other laws. The Declaration became official when Congress voted for it on July 4; signatures of the delegates were not needed to make it official. The handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence that was signed by Congress is dated July 4, 1776. The signatures of fifty-six delegates are affixed; however, the exact date when each person signed it has long been the subject of debate. Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams all wrote that the Declaration had been signed by Congress on July 4. But in 1796, signer Thomas McKean disputed that
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and Guayana Province) which did not take part in the Venezuelan congress opted to stay under Spanish rule. The declaration proclaimed a new nation called the American Confederacy of Venezuela and was mainly written by Cristóbal Mendoza and Juan Germán Roscio. It was ratified by Congress on July 7, 1811, and recorded in the Congress's Book of Minutes on August 17, 1811, in Caracas. The anniversary of this declaration is celebrated as Independence Day. The original Book of Minutes of the first Congress of Venezuela is in the Federal Legislative Palace in Caracas. The document is kept at the museo
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on view at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut. Declaration of Independence (Trumbull) Declaration of Independence is a oil-on-canvas painting by American John Trumbull depicting the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress. It was based on a much smaller version of the same scene, presently held by the Yale University Art Gallery. Trumbull painted many of the figures in the picture from life, and visited Independence Hall to depict the chamber where the Second Continental Congress met. The oil-on-canvas work was commissioned in 1817, purchased in 1819, and placed in the United
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Declaration of Independence (Trumbull) Declaration of Independence is a oil-on-canvas painting by American John Trumbull depicting the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress. It was based on a much smaller version of the same scene, presently held by the Yale University Art Gallery. Trumbull painted many of the figures in the picture from life, and visited Independence Hall to depict the chamber where the Second Continental Congress met. The oil-on-canvas work was commissioned in 1817, purchased in 1819, and placed in the United States Capitol rotunda in 1826. The painting is sometimes incorrectly described as
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Their resulting document - Provincial Conference of Committees, of the Province of Pennsylvania - anticipated the character of Jefferson's Declaration of Independence in its forceful vitriol against the King. Pennsylvania Provincial Conference The Pennsylvania Provincial Conference (June 18–25, 1776) was a meeting of pro-independent state activist who ratified the May 15 Resolution of the Continental Congress and planned the mobilization of state militias. Meeting in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia they contributed significantly to the growing political movement in the Colonies against King George III. Since Pennsylvania was especially reluctant to rebel compared to most of the other Colonies, the declared
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admiralty. He was one of three Maryland delegates to the Congress who voted in July 1776, to declare America's independence from Great Britain and to approve the Declaration of Independence. Because of his subsequent illness, Rogers' signature does not appear on the actual Declaration document. He is the only delegate who voted for the Declaration, but did not sign it. In 1777 Rogers was a member of the executive council on the organization of the state government and was elected as a United States Presidential elector from Maryland in 1788. From 1778 until his death Rogers was Chancellor of Maryland.
John Rogers (Continental Congress)
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John Morton (American politician) John Morton (1725 – April 1, 1777) was a farmer, surveyor, and jurist from the Province of Pennsylvania and a Founding Father of the United States. As a delegate to the Continental Congress during the American Revolution, he was a signatory to the Continental Association and the United States Declaration of Independence. Morton provided the swing vote that allowed Pennsylvania to vote in favor of the United States Declaration of Independence. Morton chaired the committee that wrote the Articles of Confederation. Morton was born in Ridley Township, in Delaware County in 1725, the exact month is
John Morton (American politician)
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to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775. He served more than two years in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, and he was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence in his position as president of Congress. He returned to Massachusetts and was elected governor of the Commonwealth, serving in that role for most of his remaining years. He used his influence to ensure that Massachusetts ratified the United States Constitution in 1788. John Hancock was born on January 23, 1737 in Braintree, Massachusetts in a part of town that eventually became the separate city of Quincy.
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which cost him his seat in the Continental Congress in December 1775. After a heated election campaign Cushing was defeated by Elbridge Gerry, who was committed to independence. The loss, which decisively handed pro-independence forces a majority in the Massachusetts delegation, propelled Cushing firmly into Hancock's camp. Cushing continued to oppose independence upon his return to Massachusetts, orchestrating delays in the polling process by which the state formally called for a declaration of independence. Hancock, then the president of the Continental Congress, rewarded Cushing's loyalty by securing for him the appointment as a commissioner of marine affairs. In this role
Thomas Cushing
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the Continental Congress made for all. This Congress, however, considered these proceedings premature. Skeptics of the Mecklenburg Declaration argued that the diary entry merely suggests that Bagge, writing eight years after the event, misinterpreted the Mecklenburg Resolves as having been an actual declaration of independence. Archibald Henderson, however, argued that the entry attested to both the Declaration ("declared itself free and independent") and the Resolves ("arrangements for the administration of the laws"). The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence no longer attracts much attention from professional historians, who generally regard the document as spurious. If the declaration is mentioned in scholarly works,
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from wood and thatch and reconstructed in 1849. Here Aguinaldo was born on March 22, 1869. On June 12, 1898, the independence from Spain was proclaimed from the window of the grand hall. The Declaration of Philippine Independence was read by its author, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista The Declaration of Independence was ratified by the Malolos Congress on September 21, 1898. President Aguinaldo greatly enlarged his home from 1919–1921, transforming it into a monument to flag and country. He constructed an elaborate "Independence balcony", which Aguinaldo and top Philippine officials used during independence day celebrations. Many visitors today assume the balcony
Aguinaldo Shrine
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Papers of the Continental Congress The Papers of the Continental Congress are official records from the first three representative bodies of the original United Colonies and ultimately the United States of America. The First Continental Congress was formed in 1774 to address "intolerable acts" by the British Parliament. It ultimately formed the Second Continental Congress in May 1775 which, through 1781, was famously responsible for the Declaration of Independence and many critical articles establishing the United States of America. The Congress of the Confederation (1781–1789) immediately succeeded it after ratification of the Articles of Confederation and lasted through the end
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his commanding officer, Colonel Christopher Gadsden, if he could travel to Philadelphia. His request was denied originally, but after receiving news of his election to the Continental Congress, he was allowed to travel to his father. On March 23, 1776, the General Assembly of South Carolina named Lynch to the Continental Congress as a sixth delegate. Although he was ill, Lynch Jr. traveled to Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Lynch Sr. and Thomas Lynch Jr. were the only father and son to serve in the Continental Congress. Lynch Jr. signed the Declaration of Independence along with Arthur
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there actually were, or whether the group exists any longer. A national general assembly, the Continental Congress 2.0, was announced in March 2012. It was organized by the 99% Declaration working group. The Congress was to comprise 878 delegates, from all 435 Congressional districts, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia; however only about 76 delegates were finally elected and present at the gathering, which lasted from July 2 to 4. The Congress drafted and ratified a 21st-century petition for the redress of grievances, in accordance with the right to petition guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution. The
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ratified in November 1965, is based on the American one as well; however, it omits the phrases "all men are created equal" and "the consent of the governed". The from December 1860 also mentions the U.S. Declaration of Independence, though it, like the Rhodesian one, omits references to "all men are created equal" and "consent of the governed". Interest in the Declaration was revived in the 1790s with the emergence of the United States's first political parties. Throughout the 1780s, few Americans knew or cared who wrote the Declaration. But in the next decade, Jeffersonian Republicans sought political advantage over
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for a much discussed and all encompassing 'declaration' of independence. The primary impediment to an outright declaration of independence from Britain was that none of the delegates to the Second Continental Congress were authorized by their home governments to take any action that would lead to such a declaration. Advocates of independence therefore sought to revise the instructions to each congressional delegation and remove any restrictions regarding a declaration of independence. The resolution of April 12, 1776 became known as the Halifax Resolves because the Fourth Provincial Congress of North Carolina (which adopted them) had met in the town of
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Pennsylvania delegation to the Continental Congress to be replaced with members who supported a Declaration of Independence. As a result, he was named to the Committee of Safety, and on July 4, 1776 was named a brigadier general in the state militia. Roberdeau was first elected to the Continental Congress in February 1777 and served there until 1779. Later that year, when the Continental Army entered winter quarters at Valley Forge, he worked with General Washington to set up a militia support network known as the Flying Camp, and served as its commander. In April 1778, Roberdeau took a short
Daniel Roberdeau
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1777, after a year of debate. It continued in use from that time onward, although it was not ratified by all states until four years later on March 1, 1781. When the American Revolutionary War began in 1775, few colonists in British North America openly advocated independence from Great Britain. Support for independence grew steadily in 1776, especially after the publication of Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense" in January of that year. In the Second Continental Congress, the movement towards independence was guided principally by an informal alliance of delegates eventually known as the "Adams-Lee Junto", after Samuel Adams and
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from 16 provinces—Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Bataan, Infanta, Morong, Tayabas, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Mindoro, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, La Union and Zambales—ratified the Proclamation of Independence in Bacoor, Cavite. Later at Malolos, Bulacan, the Malolos Congress modified the declaration upon the insistence of Apolinario Mabini who objected to that the original proclamation essentially placed the Philippines under the protection of the United States. The declaration was never recognized by either the United States or Spain. Later in 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish–American War. The Philippine Revolutionary Government
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Congress' last attempt for peace with Britain (King George III did not even read the petition). But through it all, agreeing with New Castle County's George Read and many others in Philadelphia and the Lower Counties, Dickinson's object was reconciliation, not independence and revolution. He was a proud devotee of the British Constitution and felt the dispute was with Parliament only. When the Continental Congress began the debate on the Declaration of Independence on July 1, 1776, Dickinson reiterated his opposition to declaring independence at that time. Dickinson believed that Congress should complete the Articles of Confederation and secure a
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That body, in turn, sent Morris to the Continental Congress for those same years. While in Congress, he was an active supporter of independence, and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. When warned by his brother Staats Morris, who was a general in the British army, of the consequences that would follow his signing of the rebellious document, Morris stated, "Damn the consequences. Give me the pen." In 1777, Lewis returned to New York, became a county judge of Westchester County, and was appointed a member of the New York State Senate representing the Southern District, which consisted of
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Congress and a radical Whig leader. Their bitter personal rivalry began when McIntosh succeeded Gwinnett as commander of Georgia's Continental Battalion in early 1776. The two men represented opposing factions in a deeply divided Patriot movement in Georgia. Gwinnett had been forced to step aside after his election had been called into question by opposing forces within the independence movement. Gwinnett, thwarted in his military ambitions, became a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. He returned to Georgia after his allies gained control of the Provisional Congress and succeeded in electing
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James Henry (Continental Congress) James Henry (1731 – December 9, 1804) was an American lawyer from Virginia who was a delegate to the Continental Congress. He was first elected to the Congress on December 17, 1779, but didn't enter the Congress until April 1780. Although he was elected again the following year, he attended no other sessions. James Henry was a native of Virginia, who studied law at the University of Edinburgh. Afterwards, he settled on the eastern shore of Virginia. He was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1772–1774. Following the declaration of independence, he became
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Continental Congress was opposed to independence from Great Britain. As the issue heated up, the state convention replaced all their delegates with those favoring the separation. Because Clark was highly vocal on his opinion that the colonies should have their independence, on June 21, 1776, they appointed him, along with John Hart, Francis Hopkinson, Richard Stockton, and John Witherspoon as new delegates. They arrived in Philadelphia on June 28, 1776, and voted for the Declaration of Independence in early July. Two of Clark's sons were officers in the Continental Army. He refused to speak of them in Congress, even when
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may have been the first Texan flag raised over San Antonio. The flag was one of two that flew over the small cabin in which Texas delegates ratified their declaration of independence. The Burnet Flag was adopted by the Texan Congress on December 10, 1836. The name refers David G. Burnet, who was provisional president of the Republic of Texas when the flag was adopted. It consisted of an azure background with a large golden star, inspired by the 1810 "Bonnie Blue Flag" of the Republic of West Florida. Variants of the Burnet Flag with a white star, virtually identical
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Committee of Five " The Committee of Five of the Second Continental Congress was a team of five men who drafted and presented to the Congress what would become America's Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776. This Declaration committee operated from June 11, 1776, until July 5, 1776, the day on which the Declaration was published. The members of this group were: The delegates of the United Colonies in Congress resolved to postpone until Monday, July 1, the final consideration of whether or not to declare the several sovereign independencies of the United Colonies, which had been proposed by
Committee of Five
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Lee (1730–1778) was a member of the Virginia Delegates and a major editor of George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), a precursor to the United States Declaration of Independence, which was signed by his brothers Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794) and Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734–1797). Richard Henry Lee was a delegate to Continental Congress from Virginia and president of that body, 1774, later serving as president of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation, and United States Senator from Virginia (1789–1792) under the new United States Constitution. Younger siblings included Alice Lee (1736–1818), who married American Chief Physician William
Lee family
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was a precursor to the Declaration of Independence issued by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776; Trigg was one of the signatories. The resolutions, addressed to the Virginia members of the Continental Congress, contained the boldest assertion of the grievances and rights of the American colonies. In February 1775, he wrote to his brother-in-law William Christian, suggesting they call another meeting of the freeholders to elect their delegates to the second Virginia Convention. With the news that William Christian was leaving with the Fincastle militia company to Williamsburg to fight, Trigg took over as chairman of the Committee
Stephen Trigg
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slaves from plantations across the South during the war years; some of Jefferson's slaves also took off as runaways. The colonials opposed Dunmore's action as an attempt to incite a massive slave rebellion. In 1776, when Jefferson co-authored the Declaration of Independence, he referred to the Lord Governor when he wrote, "He has excited domestic insurrections among us." In the original draft of the Declaration, Jefferson condemned King George III of forcing the African slave trade on the American colonies and "inciting American Negroes to rise in arms against their masters." The Continental Congress, however, due to Southern opposition, forced
Thomas Jefferson and slavery
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states that the Declaration was engrossed and signed on that date (the official copy was handwritten). In 1796, signer Thomas McKean disputed that the Declaration had been signed on July 4, pointing out that some signers were not present, including several who were not even elected to Congress until after that date. "No person signed it on that day nor for many days after", he wrote. His claim gained support when the "Secret Journals of Congress" were published in 1821. The "Secret Journals" contained two previously unpublished entries about the Declaration. On July 15, New York's delegates got permission from
Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence
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Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress (also known as the Declaration of Colonial Rights, or the Declaration of Rights), was a statement adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 14, 1774, in response to the Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament. The Declaration outlined colonial objections to the Intolerable Acts, listed a colonial bill of rights, and provided a detailed list of grievances. It was similar to the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, passed by the Stamp Act Congress a decade earlier. The Declaration concluded with an
Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress
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Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred primarily on August 2, 1776 at the Pennsylvania State House, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress represented the 13 former colonies which had declared themselves the "United States of America," and they endorsed the Declaration of Independence which the Congress had approved on July 4, 1776. The Declaration proclaimed that the former Thirteen Colonies then at war with Great Britain were now a sovereign, independent nation and thus no longer a part of the British
Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence
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all hang separately." The quotation did not appear in print until more than 50 years after Franklin's death. Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred primarily on August 2, 1776 at the Pennsylvania State House, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress represented the 13 former colonies which had declared themselves the "United States of America," and they endorsed the Declaration of Independence which the Congress had approved on July 4, 1776. The Declaration proclaimed that the former Thirteen Colonies then at war
Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence
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governing the province since January 1776; they resolved on June 15 that Royal Governor William Franklin was "an enemy to the liberties of this country" and had him arrested. On June 21, they chose new delegates to Congress and empowered them to join in a declaration of independence. Only Maryland and New York had yet to authorize independence towards the end of June. Previously, Maryland's delegates had walked out when the Continental Congress adopted Adams's radical May 15 preamble, and had sent to the Annapolis Convention for instructions. On May 20, the Annapolis Convention rejected Adams's preamble, instructing its delegates
United States Declaration of Independence
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Congress. The myth continues to have a very long life. Committee of Five " The Committee of Five of the Second Continental Congress was a team of five men who drafted and presented to the Congress what would become America's Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776. This Declaration committee operated from June 11, 1776, until July 5, 1776, the day on which the Declaration was published. The members of this group were: The delegates of the United Colonies in Congress resolved to postpone until Monday, July 1, the final consideration of whether or not to declare the several sovereign
Committee of Five
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they formed their own Lodge of St. Andrew under the new Massachusetts Grand Lodge, which caused confusion for some time, until it was renamed Rising States Lodge. Dr. Joseph Warren was the Master of the Lodge of St. Andrews when he was killed by the British at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He was replaced as Master by John Hancock who would become President of Continental Congress and be the only member of Congress to actually sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Paul Revere was also a Mason and member of the Lodge. Bostonian Samuel Adams and
Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
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high point of democracy and egalitarianism, and the ratification of the Constitution in 1789 represented a conservative counter-revolution. The American Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775 with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The Second Continental Congress met in May 1775, and established an army funded by Congress and under the leadership of George Washington, a Virginian who had fought in the French and Indian War. On July 4, 1776, as the war continued, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. At exactly the same time that Congress declared independence, it also created a committee to craft a constitution for
Confederation Period
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York metropolitan area, some involved in the founding of the parade in 1957. The Steuben Parade is overseen by the German-American Committee of Greater New York, a non-for-profit organization registered in New York with 501(c)3 status. To celebrate the accomplishments of Baron von Steuben, the Philadelphia Von Steuben Day Parade is 50 miles from Valley Forge, where Steuben trained the Revolutionary Army. Philadelphia is where the Continental Congress met to sign the Declaration of Independence. It was also home to Benjamin Franklin, who was sent to France by the Continental Congress. It was during this trip that Franklin was introduced
Von Steuben Day
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United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence is the statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776. The Declaration announced that the Thirteen Colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain would regard themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule. With the Declaration, these new states took a collective first step toward forming the United States of America. The declaration was signed by representatives from New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York,
United States Declaration of Independence
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Andrew McNair Andrew McNair is best known for being the custodian who served the Continental Congress. A member of the Masonic Order, he served as official ringer of the Liberty Bell from 1759 to 1776, and he likely rang it to announce independence, on July 8, 1776 (the announcement was delayed four days to allow the Declaration of Independence to be printed). His services were terminated September 15, 1776, for unknown reasons. It is known that he was in failing health at the time. There are no records that state when he died or where he was buried. The records
Andrew McNair
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the creation of the Continental Army, even before the Declaration of Independence marked the establishment of the United States. The Continental Navy, established on 13 October 1775, and Continental Marines, established on 10 November 1775, were created in close succession by the Second Continental Congress in order to defend the new nation against the British Empire in the American Revolutionary War. These forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. The Congress of the Confederation created the current United States Army on 3 June 1784. The United States Congress created the current United States
United States Armed Forces
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representatives of twelve of Great Britain's seventeen North American colonies, in the autumn of 1774. The Continental Congress sent a list of grievances to King George III. When the King failed to respond, and the American Revolutionary War began in April 1775, the Second Continental Congress was convened—this time with thirteen colonies in attendance. A year later, on 4 July 1776, the Continental Congress declared the thirteen colonies free and independent states, referring to them as the "united States of America." This was not a formal name, however, so "united" was not capitalized in the Declaration of Independence, "States" being
History of the United States House of Representatives
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association, modeled on the Jacobin Club, to pressure the Congress. Independence was formally declared on 5 July 1811. The Congress established a Confederation called the American Confederation of Venezuela in its Declaration of Independence, referred variously as States of Venezuela (in its opening sentence) and afterwards United States of Venezuela, and American Confederation of Venezuela in the Constitution, crafted mostly by lawyer Juan Germán Roscio, that it ratified on 21 December 1811. The Constitution created a strong bicameral legislature and, as also happened in neighboring New Granada, the Congress kept the weak executive consisting of a triumvirate. This government was
First Republic of Venezuela
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of the Spanish Succession. Orange County first elected him as a representative to Province of New York Assembly in 1759 and returned him for eleven consecutive years. In 1768 he became a judge in the county's court of common pleas. When New York created a revolutionary government in 1775, Wisner was sent to the New York Provincial Congress. That body, in turn, named him as a delegate to the Continental Congress where he served through 1776. Wisner was in Congress when the Declaration of Independence adopted, but the New York delegation was not authorized to declare independence, and so Wisner
Henry Wisner
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against us, and will be so, until, by an independence, we take rank with other nations." Beyond improving their existing association, the records of the Second Continental Congress show that the need for a declaration of independence was intimately linked with the demands of international relations. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution before the Continental Congress declaring the colonies independent; at the same time he also urged Congress to resolve "to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances" and to prepare a plan of confederation for the newly independent states. Congress then created three
Articles of Confederation
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New Jersey formed a revolutionary assembly (or provincial congress) in 1776, he was elected to it and served as its Vice President. Prior to June 1776, the New Jersey delegation in the First Continental Congress was opposed to independence. As a result, the entire delegation was replaced, and Hart was one of those selected for the Second Continental Congress. He joined in time to vote for and sign the Declaration of Independence. He served until August of that year, then was elected Speaker of the newly formed New Jersey General Assembly. He would later take on additional duties as Treasurer
John Hart (New Jersey politician)
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founded on April 30, 1889, by the New Jersey businessman William Osborn McDowell. Membership is open to: Any male person above the age of eighteen years, of good character, and a descendant of one who, as a military, naval, or marine officer, soldier, sailor or marine, in actual service, under the authority of the original thirteen Colonies or States or of the Continental Congress, and remaining always loyal to such authority, or a descendant of one who signed the Declaration of Independence, or of one who, as a member of the Continental Congress or of the Congress of any of
Sons of the Revolution
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Independence, a formal document which officially proclaimed the dissolution of the American colonies from the British Crown. The sentiments of revolution put forth in the Declaration were already well established in 1776 as the colonies were already at war with the British when the Declaration was being debated, drafted and signed. Before the Declaration was drafted, Jefferson served as a delegate from Virginia to the Second Continental Congress beginning in June 1775, soon after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. He sought out John Adams who, along with his cousin Samuel, had emerged as a leader of the convention.
Early life and career of Thomas Jefferson
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on July 4. Signer Matthew Thornton from New Hampshire was seated in the Continental Congress in November; he asked for and received the privilege of adding his signature at that time, and signed on November 4, 1776. Historians have generally accepted McKean's version of events, arguing that the famous signed version of the Declaration was created after July 19, and was not signed by Congress until August 2, 1776. In 1986, legal historian Wilfred Ritz argued that historians had misunderstood the primary documents and given too much credence to McKean, who had not been present in Congress on July 4.
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"Surrender of General Burgoyne" and the "Surrender of Lord Cornwallis". The civil subjects were the "Declaration of Independence" balanced by "General George Washington Resigning His Commission". Trumbull recommended the painting of George Washington resigning, and Madison responded, "I believe you are right; it was a glorious action". General George Washington is shown in full military uniform, illuminated in the middle of the painting as he addresses the Continental Congress. Standing behind him are his aides-de-camp Col. David Humphreys and Col. Benjamin Walker. Standing on the left are President of the Continental Congress Thomas Mifflin and Secretary of the Continental Congress
General George Washington Resigning His Commission
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president of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. There were three parties in the Fifth Convention. The first was mainly made up of wealthy planters, who sought to continue their hold on local government as it had grown up during colonial Virginia's history. These included Robert Carter Nicholas Sr. who opposed the Declaration of Independence from King George. It dominated the convention by a malapportionment that lent an advantage to the slaveholding east. One historian maintained that this party ensured the continuation of slavery at a time when other states began gradual emancipation. It ensured the continued self-perpetuating gentry rule
Fifth Virginia Convention
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States Declaration of Independence was ratified, Duché, meeting with the church's vestry, passed a resolution stating that the name of King George III of Great Britain was no longer to be read in the prayers of the church. Duché complied, crossing out said prayers from his Book of Common Prayer, committing an act of treason against England, an extraordinary and dangerous act for a clergyman who had taken an oath of loyalty to the King. On July 9, Congress elected him its first official chaplain. When the British occupied Philadelphia in September 1777, Duché was arrested by General William Howe
Jacob Duché
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brother was governor of the new state and had been a signatory to the Declaration of Independence. After being dismissed from the Continental Navy, Commodore Hopkins filed a criminal libel suit against Marven and Shaw in the Rhode Island courts. Spurred on by the case, the Continental Congress enacted a whistleblower protection law on July 30, 1778 by a unanimous vote. The law declared it the duty of "all persons in the service of the United States, as well as all other the inhabitants thereof" to inform the Continental Congress or proper authorities of "misconduct, frauds or misdemeanors committed by
Richard Marven
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the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from 1765 to 1775 and served as treasurer of the Committee of Safety under Benjamin Franklin in 1774. On July 29, 1775, Hillegas and fellow patriot George Clymer were appointed by the Continental Congress to share the office of Treasurer of the United Colonies. Because Hillegas edited the Declaration of Independence, when the Declaration of Independence was signed, Clymer's signature appeared on the document. After Clymer's resignation on August 6, 1776, Hillegas assumed sole ownership of the office, which he held throughout the remainder of the American Revolution, using much of his own fortune to support
Michael Hillegas
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"Plan of Union" which suggested that an American legislative body be formed with some authority, whose consent would be required for imperial measures. In the end, the voices of compromise carried the day. Rather than calling for independence, the First Continental Congress passed and signed the Continental Association in its Declaration and Resolves, which called for a boycott of British goods to take effect in December 1774. It requested that local Committees of Safety enforce the boycott and regulate local prices for goods. These resolutions adopted by the Congress did not endorse any legal power of Parliament to regulate trade,
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in April 1775. The Second Continental Congress convened at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia in May 1775, and some delegates hoped for eventual independence, but no one yet advocated declaring it. Many colonists no longer believed that Parliament had any sovereignty over them, yet they still professed loyalty to King George, who they hoped would intercede on their behalf. They were disappointed in late 1775 when the king rejected Congress's second petition, issued a Proclamation of Rebellion, and announced before Parliament on October 26 that he was considering "friendly offers of foreign assistance" to suppress the rebellion. A pro-American
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firm stance that the colonies and their people had rights that were being infringed by Britain, made it a direct precursor to the 1776 Declaration of Independence, which by contrast repudiated the authority of the king once it was clear that no other solution would preserve the asserted rights of the colonies. In his first inaugural address in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln traced the origins of the United States back to the Continental Association: Continental Association The Continental Association, often known simply as the "Association", was a system created by the First Continental Congress in 1774 for implementing a trade
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use among the elite who comprised Congress and the leadership cadre of the emerging nation, who rarely cited Paine's arguments in their public calls for independence. The pamphlet probably had little direct influence on the Continental Congress' decision to issue a Declaration of Independence, since that body was more concerned with how declaring independence would affect the war effort. One distinctive idea in "Common Sense" is Paine's beliefs regarding the peaceful nature of republics; his views were an early and strong conception of what scholars would come to call the democratic peace theory. Loyalists vigorously attacked "Common Sense"; one attack,
Thomas Paine
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continued throughout most of his presidency, being finished in 1809. Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. The document's social and political ideals were proposed by Jefferson before the inauguration of Washington. At age 33, he was one of the youngest delegates to the Second Continental Congress beginning in 1775 at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, where a formal declaration of independence from Britain was overwhelmingly favored. Jefferson chose his words for the Declaration in June 1775, shortly after the war had begun, where the idea of independence from Britain had long since become popular
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as he takes her suggestions. After many sessions of court, the jury returns verdicts of not guilty of murder for each defendant. The episode also illustrates the growing tensions over the Coercive Acts ("Intolerable Acts"), and Adams' election to the First Continental Congress. The second episode covers the disputes among the members of the Second Continental Congress toward declaring independence from Great Britain as well as the final drafting of the Declaration of Independence. At the Continental Congresses Adams is depicted as the lead advocate for independence. He is in the vanguard in establishing that there is no other option
John Adams (miniseries)
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and it was used to toast the Declaration of Independence. George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams are also said to have appreciated the qualities of Madeira. The wine was mentioned in Benjamin Franklin's autobiography. On one occasion, Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, of the great quantities of Madeira he consumed while a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress. A bottle of Madeira was used by visiting Captain James Server to christen the USS "Constitution" in 1797. Chief Justice John Marshall was also known to appreciate Madeira, as were his cohorts on the early U.S. Supreme Court.
Madeira wine
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events described in the article. The now elderly witnesses did not agree in every detail, but they generally corroborated the story that a declaration of independence had been read in public in Charlotte, although they were not all certain about the date. Perhaps most importantly, eighty-eight-year-old Captain James Jack was still living, and he confirmed that he had delivered to the Continental Congress a declaration of independence that had been adopted in May 1775. For many, the authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration had been firmly established. After the Mecklenburg Declaration was published in 1819, supporters compiled a list of men
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view ultimately prevailed. "In Lincoln's hands," wrote Maier, "the Declaration of Independence became first and foremost a living document" with "a set of goals to be realized over time". Like Daniel Webster, James Wilson, and Joseph Story before him, Lincoln argued that the Declaration of Independence was a founding document of the United States, and that this had important implications for interpreting the Constitution, which had been ratified more than a decade after the Declaration. The Constitution did not use the word "equality", yet Lincoln believed that the concept that "all men are created equal" remained a part of the
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Philadelphia. In Lee's Resolution on June 7, 1776 during the Second Continental Congress, Lee put forth the motion to the Continental Congress to declare Independence from Great Britain, which read (in part): Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. Lee had returned to Virginia by the time Congress voted on and adopted the Declaration of Independence, but he signed the
Richard Henry Lee
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United States Declaration of Independence, which was primarily written by Jefferson, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The text of the second section of the Declaration of Independence reads: Both the Moderate Enlightenment and a Radical or Revolutionary Enlightenment were reactions against the authoritarianism, irrationality, and obscurantism of the established churches. Philosophers such as Voltaire depicted organized Religion as hostile to the development of reason and the progress of science and incapable of verification. An alternative religion was deism, the philosophical belief in a deity based on reason, rather than religious revelation or dogma. It
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in New York Harbor. Notable members (partial list): The Fourth Provincial Congress convened in White Plains on July 9, 1776 and became known as the First Constitutional Convention. It declared the independent state of New York on July 9, 1776. On the same day the Declaration of Independence was read by George Washington on the commons of New York City to the Continental Army and local citizens, who celebrated by tearing down the statue of George III in Bowling Green. On July 10, 1776, the Fourth Provincial Congress changed its name to the Convention of Representatives of the State of
New York Provincial Congress
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treason law on May 16, 1769 in the Virginia Resolves: The same resolution referred to the "inestimable Privilege of being tried by a Jury from the Vicinage." The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress adopted on October 14, 1774, resolved: On October 26, 1774, the Continental Congress approved an address to the people of Quebec, drafted by Thomas Cushing, Richard Henry Lee, and John Dickinson, arguing that: The United States Declaration of Independence (1776) accuses King George III of "transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences." The New Jersey Plan contained a provision that: "[N]o
Vicinage Clause