What Is The United States Declaration Of Independence?

The United States Declaration of Independence is a document written in 1776. The writer of the document was Thomas Jefferson. It was written to King George of England. It gave the reasons for why the people in the thirteen colonies wanted independence.

The United States Declaration of Independence was signed by fifty-six people. The oldest person signing it was Benjamin Franklin. The youngest to sign was Edward Rutledge. The largest signature on the document belongs to John Hancock who was acting as president of Congress. It is said that he wanted to make sure that King George could read it without his glasses.

The Five Parts of the Document

The United States Declaration of Independence is taught in five parts.

The first part is called the Introduction. In this part, the full date is given, which was July 4, 1776. It states that all thirteen colonies stood together in the writing and sending of it. It also says that it is their belief that history calls for events like the one they were about to do. They were going to declare freedom. They knew King George would not give them freedom. So they were declaring their own freedom and expecting war as a result.

The second part is called the Preamble. This word simply means introduction. Here it is used as a place to give an outline. The writer outlines what the colonies believed was proper government. They wanted a government that allowed for people to have a say in laws. They wanted people to have a say in taxes. when people don't have the chance to take part in government the colonies believed they had a right to declare war on the government. This is called revolution.

The third part is called the Indictment. This is where the writer and colonies with him listed all of the things that King George did wrong. It was a list of bad things King George had demanded. It also tells King George that the colonies tried to talk to him about these bad things. It says that the king didn't listen.

The fourth part is called the Denunciation. This word means that the colonies were accusing people. They accused King George. They also accused the people in England for not helping them. They say in this section that because of these problems they had to go to war.

The fifth part is called the Conclusion. Here the colonies finished their document. They said that because of all the things that England had done, they were choosing to be free of England's government. They said that they no longer saw King George as their ruler. They would rule themselves.

After these parts, the people that the colonies had sent to represent them in Congress signed their names. They wanted King George to see that everyone agreed.

What the Declaration of Independence Means 

What the Declaration of Independence means to the United States today is debated. Some say that it is just an old document. They think that the document has no value except as a piece of history. Other people think that it is important to teach. But they don't think that it is important enough to talk about. There are still a lot of people who think that it is important to talk about. They believe that forgetting the document and what it says could lead to people forgetting about what freedom really is. They think that if people forget about what King George did in the past they might allow our government now to get just as bad.

What do you think? Is the Declaration of Independence important today? Why is it important? Why isn't it important?

What Happened 

Because of this document the colonies went to war with England. King George sent many soldiers to force the colonies to obey. But the colonies didn't want to obey King George anymore. So they fought against the soldiers that King George sent. This war is called the American Revolutionary War. Many things happened in the war. Bad things were done. Good things were done. Many people died. Many more lived. In the end, the colonies became the United States of America.

But that is another story for a different time.