Main Author: Thomas Jefferson Written in Philadelphia at Independence Hall Accepted July 4, 1776 Although Thomas Jefferson was the main author, here is Benjamin Franklin editing a draft by Jefferson. 1. “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” ◦ Social Contract ◦ All men really equal? ◦ Unalienable: cannot be taken away A huge list of all the wrongs King George III has done to the colonies. ◦ “He has…...” ◦ This is the longest part of the Declaration “These united colonies are, and of right, ought to be free and independent states.” The Declaration was written to tell the WORLD the colonies are now free 56 Men signed the Declaration People were scared to sign it because it was a “Traitors List” They would be hunted down by the British Benjamin Franklin’s quote: “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” John Hancock stepped up and was the first to sign his name and said “There now the king can read my name without his spectacles” Before the Declaration, colonists were fighting for their rights, such as gaining a representative in Parliament. After the Declaration, colonists were fighting for their independence.