The Declaration of Independence

Two-hundred and thirty-four years ago on July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed.  However, unknown to most is the fact that only two individuals signed this most sacred document on the fourth day of July in 1776.  Those two people were John Hancock, who at the time was the president of the Continental Congress, and the Secretary of the congress who was Charles Thomson.  The rest of this sacred document was signed on August 2, 1776 and a few signatures came even later.  

The debate on whether to become independent states went on for a while before that July of 1776.  The vote took place on the second of July in which all of the colonies agreed upon independance.  John Adams wrote the following about that day in a letter to his wife:

"The second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.... It ought to be comemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty.  It ought to be solomnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other, from this Time forward forever more."

He was right, well, except for the July second part.  Americans all over the nation have celebrated Independence Day for years with: great fireworks shows, barbeques, parades, and other festivities. The Declaration of Independence is notably one of America's most sacred documents. So, do we as Americans know what it truly meant?

The Declaration of Independance was written by one of our most essential founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson.  Along with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, Jefferson was commisioned by congress to draw up a declaration of independence.

Thomas Jefferson, as Chairman, wrote the Declaration of Independence with only slight revisions by members of the committee.  Jefferson was a man of study and great knowledge.  He had studied the works of some of the most famous philosophers of his time (John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, etc).  Calling on these ideas, his own knowledge, and most notably Divine Guidance, the Declaration of Independence was penned.

Included in the Declaration are four sections: The Preamble, A Declaration of Rights, A List of Grievances, and the Statement of Independence.  The Preamble is the introduction of this heavenly document and it states the reasoning behind the document.  The Declaration of Rights, as the title says, declares the rights given by God.  The List of Grievances lists the reasons for Independence from Great Britan as it states the atrosities commited by King George.  Last of all, the Statement of Independence states that, "We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solomly publish and declare that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states.

The Declaration of Independence contains many basic governing principles.  As Thomas Jefferson wrote, "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 amoung these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  The idea of unalienable rights was written about by John Locke and it explains the simple fact that we are born with God given rights.  These rights are those given to us by God and it is only through tyranny and oppression that they are taken.  Jefferson also wrote about the fact that, "whenever any form of government becomes destructive... it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government." That is exactly what our founders planned to do and that is exactly what they did and we now enjoy the blessings of it.  Also, when Jefferson penned the words, "[G]overnments are instituted amoung men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed", he established the basic principle of rule by the people that is an essential to success in our Republican form of government.

In the end, the words penned by Thomas Jefferson in The Declaration of Independence were not of man, but came from that "Supreme Judge", our God.  May we as Americans stay true to the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of our great country as well as continuing to place our trust in God.