President Jefferson wrote
in the Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident;
that all men are created equal..."

"Resolved, That these United Colonies are,
and of right ought to be, free and
independent States, that they are absolved
from all allegiance to the British Crown,
and that all political connection between
them and the State of Great Britain is, and
other to be, totally dissolved."

Thomas Jefferson, was the 3rd President
of the United States of America,
from 1801 to 1809. Congress had appointed
5 men to prepare this proclamation, and
Jefferson was the greatest contributor of
the words contained in the document, and
described the Declaration of Independence as
"An expression of the American mind."

Thomas Jefferson

It was a declaration of independence for the
colonies of the 13 States, in America,
from Great Britian and was adopted on
July 4, 1776 by the Second Continental Congress,
when John Hancock, who was the President of
the Congress, accepted and signed it.
All the men who signed the document,
knew that they had placed themselves
in grave danger, but were willing to risk
their live for what they believed.

Jefferson used many of the ideas from John Locke
who was an English Philosopher who argued against
the philosopy that human beings were born with
certain ideas. He believed that the mind was
blank and only through experience, a person would
begin to enter ideas. He was totally against the
devine right of kings and argued that governments
depended on the consent of the governed. The main
ideas brought forth were that all men were created
equal; that man had natural rights which were
granted by God; that government could only have
so much power in the lives of the people,
and could only be governed by the agreement
of the people; and the right of the people to
rebel against a government which wanted
to impose dictatorship or tyrany to its people.

Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743 and died
in 1826. His picture is on the $20 dollar bill,
the $2 dollar bill and the nickle. He is considered
to have been one of our greatest Presidents.
He wrote these words on his own gravestone:
"Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of
the Declaration of Independence, of the statute
of Virgina for religious freedom, and father
of the University of Virginia."

When the Declaration of Independence was declared,
John Adams wrote this historic letter to his wife:

"I am apt to believe that this day will be celebrated
by succeeding generations as the great anniversary
festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of
deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion
to God Almighty. It ought to be solemized
with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports,
guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one
end of this continent to the other, from this time
forward forevermore."

FUN FACT
One lucky Philadelphian purchased a $4.00 picture at a flea market. What they found behind the picture was an original 1776 printing of the Declaration of Independence. It was sold to TV producer Norman Lear for 8.1 million.

The Men Who Signed the
Declaration of Independence

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.
Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.
Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more.
Standing talk straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July Holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid. Remember: Freedom is never free!

Those who signed were: