In a historical broadcast, Todd Gleason recounts how our forefathers declared sovereignty when 56 men representing the American colonies officially signed the United States Declaration of Independence, formalizing their break from Great Britain. As Gleason notes, the historic document was meticulously drafted by Thomas Jefferson over a 17-day period between June 11 and June 28, 1776.
Gleason explains that Jefferson’s core objective was to summarize self-evident truths and set forth a comprehensive list of grievances against the King. This foundational text served to justify the dissolution of political ties between the colonies and Great Britain before the global community.
On July 4, 1776, 56 men representing the American colonies officially signed the United States Declaration of Independence, formalizing their break from Great Britain. The historic document was meticulously drafted by Thomas Jefferson over a 17-day period between June 11 and June 28, 1776.
Jefferson’s objective was to summarize self-evident truths and outline a comprehensive list of grievances against the King of Great Britain. This foundational text served to justify the dissolution of political ties between the colonies and the British Crown before the global community.
Foundation of a New Government
The opening framework of the Declaration sets forth core principles regarding human rights and the nature of governance:
“When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and 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, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
The text highlights that if any form of government becomes destructive to these fundamental ends, citizens possess the right to alter or abolish it. It underscores that long-established governments should not be altered for light or transient causes, noting that history demonstrates human tendency to suffer rather than correct established forms of governance.
Complete Severance and Sovereign Rights
The concluding portion of the document explicitly details the complete political separation from Great Britain and details the sovereign rights assumed by the newly formed states:
“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 authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare 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; and that as free and independent states, they 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.”
The signatories concluded the historic declaration by pledging their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to one another, relying heavily on divine providence for protection.
The complete documentation and official transcripts of the Declaration of Independence are preserved online via the National Archives.
