-Source-usdeclarationofindependence com-
-Quote of the Day-
At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy
(The following was taken from James Brown Scott's, "The United States of America: A Study in International Organization." New York, Oxford University Press, 1920.) In June 1776 the Continental Congress selected a committee of five to draft a Declaration of Independence. The committee, which was composed of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman, selected Thomas Jefferson to prepare the initial draft. Jefferson began his work on June 11th. After preparing several drafts, he concluded his work with a final draft called Jefferson's Rough Draft. Slight alterations to the Rough Draft were made by committee members Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. Then, on June 28th the Committee Draft was submitted to the Continental Congress. On July 2nd the Continental Congress voted for independence. Afterwards, the Congress made additional changes to the Committee Draft. The Final Declaration of Independence was printed by John Dunlap on the night of July 4th.