Declaration
By June 1776, the American colonies were thoroughly agitated by the overbearing presence and oppression of the British. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense had been published in January, and further cemented the people’s indignation. On June 7, Richard Henry Lee introduced a statement to the Continental Congress: “ 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 ought to be, totally dissolved." On the same day, Congress appointed the Five Man Committee to draft a resolution that would state their motives and intentions regarding independence. These men were Thomas Jefferson, who was the chairman, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. After conferring with the committee, Jefferson began writing the first draft on June 11, 1776. On July 2, Congress reconvened. It of