Period of the Time

Causes of the Declaration of Independence

Proclamation of 1763: Prohibited settlement pass the Appalachia Mountains; it disregarded Americans' need for more land.

Sugar Act (1764): A modified version of the Sugar and Molasses Act that placed a tax on imported items, particularly sugar from the West Indies. It disrupted the colonial economy by limiting markets.

Quartering Act (1765): Colonists must take care of soldiers when needed.

Stamp Act (1765): It puts a tax stamp on items, such as marriage licenses.

Townshend Revenue Act (1767): Placed taxes on glass, paper, oil, lead, and tea and make colonial officials not dependent on colonists.

Boston Massacre (1770): A riot between a colonial mob and a British post guard. It was aggravated by British soldiers firing into the crowd. It resulted in 5 deaths and 6 wounded people.

Tea Act (1773): Used to help the almost bankrupt British East Indie Company by allowing them to sell tea directly to the colonists. It undercuts local merchants.

Boston Tea Party (1773): The dumping of tea by colonists dressed as Indians in the Boston Harbor.

Intolerable Acts (1774): Given higher taxes, restrictions such as the banning of town meetings, and the closing of the Boston Harbor.

First Continental Congress (1774)

It began on September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia with representatives coming from every colony except Georgia. It was conducted in order to determine how boycotting of the British goods would occur. The results of the meetings was the Articles of Association. It stated that that a boycott of British goods will occur in the colonies if the Intolerable Acts were not null and void by December 1, 1774. The documents also detailed a plan involving the embargo of imports if it wasn't repelled by September 10, 1775.

Second Continental Congress (1775)

Congress meets again on May 10, 1775, with war already looming in Massachusetts. This time, all 13 colonies are represented with new delegates joining the convention. Even during this time, most of the delegates still wished for peace with their motherland by sending numerous rejected petitions and complaints. They tried one last time to appeal to the King through the olive branch petition, approved in July 1775. The King refuses to see the messenger. Instead, he declares that the colonies are in open rebellion on August 23. In the end, the Congress appoints George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the newly formed continental army. At the same time, a five-man committee is tasked with the creation of the Declaration of Independence.

The Drafting, Signing, and Ratification of the Declaration Document

During the June of 1776, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in secrecy for many days. Once it was finished, he gave the "original Rough Draft" to John Adams then to Benjamin Franklin before the full committee joined in. They made forty-seven changes to the document before presenting it to Congress on June 28.

Congress then proceeded to make thirty-nine more changes before finally ratifying it on the dawn of July 4, which is Independence day. Copies of the printed document were then distributed to several people. The first printed copy became known as the "Dunlap Broadside." Members of Congress then signed a fully inscribed copy on August 2, 1776.