Writing the US Constitution
On July 2, 1776, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, Roger
Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson finished the final draft of their Declaration of
Independence. Two days later, on July 4, delegates from the Continental Congress passed
the declaration unanimously. The declaration contained a basic but integral principle
which is important even today, and justified the independence movement for the newly
formed United States of America.
The preamble to the declaration established a small but vital principle
that "whenever any form of government becomes destructive...it is the right of the
people to alter or abolish it." This principle has continued to be significant to the
United States because it gives every citizen the right to question the government and to
actually do something about it.
The second part of the declaration consisted of a list of justifications
for departing from the British Empire. Some major justifications which were listed are:
"He[King George III] has forbidden his Governors to pass laws of immediate and
pressing importance," quartering "large bodies of armed troops" among
people in the New world and for "imposing taxes on us without our consent."
Finally the Continental Congress began the process of applying these
principles when the declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776. After this, the Congress sent
the document to the printer. Then, by the end of 1776, independent governments were
functioning in every state except Georgia and New York. Each new state government had
three branches: an executive branch, a legislature, and a court system. Most state
constitutions guaranteed certain inalienable rights that the governments could not take
away.
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