The Declaration Of Independence: America’s First Founding Document In U.S. History And Culture

Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 8
Topical List of Entries......Page 16
Preface......Page 24
Introduction......Page 32
Timeline......Page 38
Interesting Facts......Page 48
Abdication of Government (Charge #23)......Page 52
Abolitionism......Page 53
Further Reading......Page 55
Act of Abjuration (Plakkaat van Verlatinge, 1581)......Page 56
Adams, John......Page 57
Adams, John Quincy, Independence Day Address (July 4, 1821)......Page 61
Address to the Inhabitants of the Colonies (Wilson)......Page 63
Further Reading......Page 64
Further Reading......Page 65
Ambition......Page 66
An Answer to the Declaration of the American Congress (Lind)......Page 67
Attestation Clauses......Page 68
Further Reading......Page 69
Further Reading......Page 70
Bentham’s Short Review of the Declaration of Independence......Page 71
Bill of Rights......Page 72
Binns Engraving of the Declaration of Independence......Page 73
British Constitution......Page 75
British Crown......Page 76
British Deposition Apologias......Page 77
Further Reading......Page 78
Calhoun, John C.......Page 79
Called Together Legislative Bodies Unusually (Charge #4)......Page 81
Further Reading......Page 82
Capitalization and Punctuation in the Declaration of Independence......Page 83
Captions of the Declaration of Independence......Page 84
Charges against the King and Others......Page 85
Further Reading......Page 87
Circumstances of Our Emigration and Settlement......Page 88
Civilian Control of the Military (Charge #12)......Page 89
Further Reading......Page 90
Further Reading......Page 91
Committee Responsible for Writing the Declaration of Independence......Page 92
Common Sense (Paine)......Page 93
Further Reading......Page 96
Congress Voting Independence (Painting by Savage)......Page 97
Congressional and Presidential References to the Declaration of Independence......Page 98
Further Reading......Page 99
Further Reading......Page 100
Connecticut and Its Signers......Page 101
Consent of the Governed......Page 102
Considerations on the Nature and Extent of Legislative Authority of the British Parliament (Wilson)......Page 103
Conspiracy......Page 104
Constrained Our Fellow Citizens Taken Captive on the High Seas (Charge #26)......Page 106
Covenants and Compacts......Page 107
Further Reading......Page 108
Creation of New State Governments......Page 109
Creed/Scriptures......Page 111
Further Reading......Page 112
Criticisms of the British People......Page 113
Debates over the Declaration of Independence......Page 114
Further Reading......Page 115
Declaration (Meaning of Term)......Page 116
Further Reading......Page 117
Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress (1774)......Page 118
Declaration House......Page 120
Declaration of Independence Desk......Page 121
Further Reading......Page 122
Further Reading......Page 123
Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms......Page 124
Declaratory Act of 1766......Page 125
Further Reading......Page 126
Delaware and Its Signers......Page 127
Further Reading......Page 128
Further Reading......Page 129
Dickinson (John) Speech Opposing the Declaration of Independence......Page 130
Further Reading......Page 131
Further Reading......Page 132
Further Reading......Page 133
Dunlap Broadside Printing of the Declaration of Independence......Page 134
Further Reading......Page 136
Endeavored to Prevent the Population (Charge #7)......Page 137
English Declaration of Rights......Page 138
Engravings and Printings of the Declaration of Independence......Page 139
Engrossed Declaration of Independence (Matlack)......Page 141
Equality......Page 142
Further Reading......Page 144
Erected a Multitude of New Offices (Charge #10)......Page 145
Evolution of the Text......Page 146
Further Reading......Page 147
Family......Page 148
Further Reading......Page 149
Faulkner, Barry (Painting)......Page 150
Federalism......Page 151
Forbidding Governors from Passing Laws (Charge #2)......Page 152
Further Reading......Page 153
Franklin, Benjamin......Page 154
Further Reading......Page 155
Friends and Enemies......Page 156
Further Reading......Page 157
George III, Speech to Parliament (October 27, 1775)......Page 158
George III, Speech to Parliament (October 31, 1776)......Page 160
Georgia and Its Signers......Page 161
God......Page 162
Further Reading......Page 164
Further Reading......Page 165
Graff House......Page 166
Hancock’s Letters Accompanying the Declaration of Independence......Page 167
He Has Combined with Others (Charge #13)......Page 168
Human Nature and the Declaration of Independence......Page 170
Further Reading......Page 172
Independence......Page 173
Independence Day......Page 174
Independence Hall......Page 175
International Law......Page 177
Interpreting the Declaration of Independence......Page 179
Further Reading......Page 181
Jefferson, Thomas......Page 182
Further Reading......Page 185
Jefferson Memorial......Page 186
Jefferson’s Epitaph......Page 187
Jefferson’s Last Words on the Declaration of Independence......Page 188
Jefferson’s Notes on Debates over Independence......Page 189
Jefferson’s Resolutions on Lord North’s Conciliatory Proposal......Page 192
Further Reading......Page 193
Justice......Page 194
Further Reading......Page 195
Kingship......Page 196
Further Reading......Page 197
Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God......Page 198
Further Reading......Page 200
Legal Form of the Declaration of Independence......Page 201
Length of the Declaration of Independence......Page 202
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness......Page 203
Further Reading......Page 206
Lincoln, Abraham......Page 207
List of Infringements and Violations of Rights (Warren)......Page 210
Locke, John......Page 212
Loyalists......Page 214
Made Judges Dependent on His Will (Charge #9)......Page 215
Majority Rule and Unanimity......Page 216
Further Reading......Page 217
Maryland and Its Signers......Page 218
Massachusetts and Its Signers......Page 220
Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence......Page 223
Further Reading......Page 224
Moral Virtues in the Declaration of Independence......Page 225
Musical Play 1776......Page 227
Further Reading......Page 229
Native American Indians (Charge #27)......Page 230
Further Reading......Page 231
Necessity......Page 232
New Hampshire and Its Signers......Page 233
New Jersey and Its Signers......Page 234
Further Reading......Page 236
New York and Its Signers......Page 237
Nor Have We Been Wanting in Attention to Our English Brethren......Page 239
North Carolina and Its Signers......Page 240
Northwest Ordinance of 1787......Page 242
Further Reading......Page 243
Olive Branch Petition......Page 244
Originality of the Declaration of Independence......Page 246
Further Reading......Page 247
Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor......Page 248
Outline and Organization of the Declaration of Independence......Page 249
Further Reading......Page 250
Pennsylvania and Its Signers......Page 251
Further Reading......Page 254
People......Page 255
Further Reading......Page 258
Petition to King George III (1774)......Page 259
Petitions for Redress Ignored (Charge #28)......Page 261
Philadelphia......Page 262
Further Reading......Page 263
Plundered Our Seas (Charge #24)......Page 264
Preamble to the Resolution of Virginia Convention (May 15, 1776)......Page 265
Preserving the Declaration of Independence......Page 266
Further Reading......Page 267
Proclamation, Reading, and Reception of the Declaration of Independence......Page 268
Further Reading......Page 271
Property Rights......Page 272
Protecting Troops by Mock Trials (Charge #15)......Page 273
Prudence......Page 275
Pursuit of Happiness......Page 276
Quartering Troops (Charge #14)......Page 277
Quebec Act of 1774 (Charge #20)......Page 278
Further Reading......Page 281
Further Reading......Page 282
References to King George III in the Declaration of Independence......Page 283
Refused Assent to Colonial Laws (Charge #1)......Page 285
Further Reading......Page 286
Refused to Cause Others to Be Elected (Charge #6)......Page 287
Refused to Pass Other Laws (Charge #3)......Page 288
Remember the Ladies......Page 289
Representative (Republican) Government......Page 291
Reputation of the Declaration of Independence......Page 293
Resolutions Introduced by Richard Henry Lee (June 7, 1776)......Page 294
Revolution......Page 297
Further Reading......Page 299
Rhode Island and Its Signers......Page 300
Further Reading......Page 301
The Rights of Great Britain Asserted against the Claims of America (Macpherson)......Page 302
Rush’s (Benjamin) Characters of the Signers......Page 303
Further Reading......Page 306
Scottish Enlightenment......Page 307
Second Continental Congress......Page 308
Further Reading......Page 310
Further Reading......Page 311
Self-Evident Truths......Page 312
Signers, Collective Profile......Page 314
Further Reading......Page 318
Signing of the Declaration of Independence......Page 319
Slavery......Page 320
Further Reading......Page 324
South Carolina and Its Signers......Page 325
Further Reading......Page 326
Standing Armies (Charge #11)......Page 327
State Constitutions and the Declaration of Independence......Page 329
Statue of Liberty......Page 330
Stone Engraving of the Declaration of Independence......Page 331
Strictures upon the Declaration of Independence (Hutchinson)......Page 332
Further Reading......Page 334
Style of the Declaration of Independence......Page 335
Further Reading......Page 336
Further Reading......Page 337
A Summary View of the Rights of British America (Jefferson)......Page 338
Further Reading......Page 339
Supreme Court and the Declaration of Independence......Page 340
Suspending Legislatures (Charge #22)......Page 341
Further Reading......Page 342
Syng Inkstand......Page 343
Further Reading......Page 344
Taking Away Our Charters (Charge #21)......Page 345
Taxes (Charge #17)......Page 346
Further Reading......Page 347
Timing of the Declaration of Independence......Page 348
Tories......Page 350
Trade (Charge #16)......Page 351
Further Reading......Page 352
Translations of the Declaration of Independence......Page 353
Transporting Large Armies of Foreign Mercenaries (Charge #25)......Page 354
Transporting Us beyond Seas (Charge #19)......Page 355
Treason......Page 357
Further Reading......Page 358
Trial by Jury (Charge #18)......Page 359
Trumbull, John (Paintings)......Page 360
Further Reading......Page 362
Tyler Engraving of the Declaration of Independence......Page 363
Tyranny......Page 364
Further Reading......Page 367
Unalienable Rights......Page 368
United States of America (Name)......Page 369
U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence......Page 370
Further Reading......Page 375
Virginia and Its Signers......Page 377
Virginia Constitution of 1776......Page 380
Virginia Declaration of Rights......Page 381
Virginia Resolution of May 15, 1776......Page 383
Vote for Independence......Page 384
Further Reading......Page 386
“We” (First-Person Plural)......Page 387
We Have Appealed to Their Native Justice & Magnanimity......Page 388
When in the Course of Human Events......Page 390
Whig Political Thought......Page 391
Further Reading......Page 392
Whitney, Peter (Sermon)......Page 393
Further Reading......Page 394
Writing the Declaration of Independence (J. L. G. Ferris Painting)......Page 395
Appendix A: Thomas Jefferson’s Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence......Page 396
Appendix B: Declaration of Independence (1776)......Page 402
Appendix C: Signers by State from North to South......Page 410
Glossary......Page 414
Bibliography......Page 440
Index......Page 472
About the Author......Page 490