United States Declaration of Independence

The United States Declaration of Independence is a document that was created with the aim of making sure that the country’s founding was based on the principles of liberty and freedom. It was written by Thomas Jefferson, with the assistance of some of his hilarious colleagues.

The Declaration was signed on July 4, 1776, by a committee of the Continental Congress. It was an important moment in America’s history, marking the country’s declaration of independence from Great Britain.

The main reason for the declaration was a tax dispute. The British government had been taxing tea, paper, and other goods without the consent of the American colonists, which had sparked outrage. The colonists decided that they would rather break free from the British instead of paying the exorbitant taxes.

The document begins with the memorable line, “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.”

It goes on to detail the colonists’ grievances against the British government, including taxation without representation, the quartering of soldiers in private homes, and British interference in colonial governance.

The Declaration then famously proclaims that “all men are created equal,” which was a revolutionary concept at the time. Of course, it would take several years and a bloody civil war to actually put that ideal into practice, but it was a nice start.

So, there you have it - the United States Declaration of Independence. It remains one of the most influential documents in American history, and it was also the first time in history that the phrase “taxation without representation” was used in a sentence without eliciting groans.