What are some justifications of independence?

What does the Declaration of Independence mean?

• Answer:

  The United States Declaration of Independence is a very important thing in the history of the United States of America. It is a paper which said that the United States is a country not ruled by Great Britain. American people wrote the Declaration in the year 1776. In the 18th century (1700s), the United States of America was not a country. It was a colony of Great Britain. This means that the country of Great Britain ruled the United States. All American people had to do what the King of Great Britain said. During this time, many American people were angry at the King of Great Britain. They did not want their land to be a colony. They wanted America to be a country, so all American people could do what they wanted to do instead of what the King wanted them to do. In the year 1776, the American people who wanted to make America a country had a meeting. They met in the American city of Philadelphia. During this meeting, on June 11, 1776, they gave an important job to John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut. They wanted them to write a paper that said why America should be a country. The leaders of America would use this paper to declare independence (make America apart from Great Britain). Jefferson, who did most of the writing, was a very smart man. The words he wrote in the Declaration of Independence are very famous and important to the people of the United States of America. His words are important because he explained the democracy of America. Here is a simple version of his words: Sometimes the people of a country do not want to live in that country any more. Sometimes these people want to make their land into a new country, that is not a part of the old country they lived in before. When people want to do this, they have to say why they want to do it. In this paper, I will say why the people of America want to make a new country. I will say why they do not want to be part of Great Britain any more. All people are equal. God wants every person to have rights (life, freedom, and happiness). Sometimes bad people try to take away the rights (life, freedom, and happiness) of other people. People make a government so that their rights (life, freedom, and happiness) will be safe. The job of the government is to protect the rights of the people. A government is good when it does this. Also, the government must do what the people say, because the people made the government. When the government does what the people say, it is called a democracy. Sometimes a government is bad. Sometimes the government does not protect the rights of the people. When this happens, the people have to stop the government. Then they have to make a new government, a good government, that will protect their rights. It is smart to do this with much caution. People should not stop a very old government for a silly reason. They should only do this when the government does something very bad. They should only stop the government when it tries to take away the rights of the people many times. The government of Great Britain did something very bad. The king (the leader of the government of Great Britain) tried to take away the rights of the American people many times. Because of this, the people of the United States of America want to make a new country. They do not want to be a part of Great Britain anymore. After these words, Thomas Jefferson says all the bad things that the government of Great Britain did. There are many things, for example they put people in jail with no reason, made taxes that were too high, and did not give respect to people who lived in the colony. After he says this, Thomas Jefferson says that the people of America declare their independence. This means that the people of America want to make their land into a new country that is not a part of Great Britain. The American people in Philadelphia liked the words of Thomas Jefferson. They used his paper to declare their independence. Independence was actually declared on July 2, 1776. The full Continential Congress ratified (approved) the Declaration on July 4th, at the Pennsylvania State House. This version was only signed by the President of the Congress John Hancock and the Secreatary Charles Thomson. A famous ceremony where people signed, often said to be on July 4th, was actually on August 2nd. They made a new government, a democracy, to rule America. When the king of Great Britain heard about this, he was angry. Great Britain and the United States of America fought in a war. This war is called the American Revolution. America won the war. Because of this, the people of America do not have to listen to the King of Great Britain. They do what they want to do. The people of America like the Declaration of Independence a lot. Every year on the day of July 4, they have a party. They do this to remember the day that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration, and the day that the United States of America became a country. There are parades, fireworks, and songs. July 4 is the birthday of America! The Declaration of Independence is also important because it says the simple ideas that the people of America believe. It says that every person has rights (life, liberty, and happiness) and that the government has to listen to the people. These things are what makes America a country of freedom, where people can do what they want to do. The Declaration of Independence is very old, but it is still here. The paper that Thomas Jefferson used to write his important words is in a museum in the American capital of Washington, D.C. right now. The American Constitution and the Bill of Rights are there, too. If you ever go to this city, you can go to the National Archives Museum and look at this very old and very important paper. It is one of the most famous things in the city.