jul 4, 1776 - Declaration of Independence

Description:

When the Revolutionary War began, the colonies were fighting for rights, not independence. In the spring of 1776, support for independence started to grow. Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense" had a large impact on the public pro-independence opinion. In June, Congress asked a group to draft a Declaration of Independence. Written mostly by Thomas Jefferson (Tommy J!), the final version was presented to the The Continental Congress on July 1st and adopted on the 4th. Interestly enough, historians widely accept that it wasn't actually signed until August 2nd. The Declaration of Independence was a revolutionary document; many other countries modeled similar documents after it.