As you walk straight ahead on Rue d’Iéna and leave the monument of George Washington and his horse, you will walk straight ahead and turn left, leading you to a crossing. Cross the crosswalk and you will be in Place Des États Unis, Thomas Jefferson Square. Behind, there should be an embassy. In front of you, you’ll see a green fence surrounding a garden and a playground. Now you’ve reached Thomas Jefferson Square. Walk further down the fence and you will see a sign. Stop and read this sign, it tells you that Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence.
What is the Declaration of Independence?
The Declaration of Independence was a statement. In it, the Founding Fathers were giving examples of why they would go to war and that they wanted liberty and freedom and how the United States of America got its title. It stated the important reasons why America could have its independence, kind of like an essay, but a script.
Events in Chronological Order
There were many reasons why the Declaration was written, signed, and approved. And the events are in chronological order. For example, in 1763, Boston, Massachusetts was taxed with many laws from Parliament and they overtook America at that time. Because the colonists pleaded for favoring independence and liberty, people wanted to start the First Continental Congress, bringing important people from other colonies to form this. They discussed independence with Congress, before sending agitating messages to England, threatening to battle with them on April 19th, 1775. England refused, and the Patriots kept their word, they fought at the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and they still wouldn't listen! (And England won the battle.)And then, after that, on May 10th, 1775, they formed the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
The Second Continental Congress, they did the same as the first, but as the elements were pieced together, it said that Congress couldn't stand to have another Continental Congress, so to finish that off, they formed a committee of 5 best of the best men to write The Declaration Of Independence.
In the document, there were all sorts of favorites such as the author's best note, ”life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The influence on all these elements before the Declaration was written was just as they had predicted! After he handed the script in, Congress decided to take a vote on whether they should favor liberty, and 9 colonies said yes, one was opposed, one didn't have rights and the others were unresponsive. Congress then decided to read his script the following days until the 4th of July, when they approved it, although it was a bit too personal for some people, it was a Declaration that won the country their name. The United States of America.
Just before it was put on display, all fifty-six delegates came to the Congress to sign it, among them the President of the Continental Congress John Hancock, whose signature is the biggest of all.
If you go to see the Declaration of Independences’ permanent home of Rotunda Hall for Charter Freedom upper floor located at the National of Archives Museum in Washington D.C., you will see the reason why we celebrate the creation of the United States of America.
Just before you move on, there were many other places before the Declaration of Independence was kept in its a permanent home. Fort Knox kept the most highly guarded gold and scripts, such as the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and the Bill of Rights during World War II to protect it, then in 1944 after the war, they were moved to Washington, D.C., in it’s a permanent home.
As you finish and move on to the next monument, you will see the monument of Washington and Lafayette concluding a war in the 18th century. The answer lies more than 30 steps in front, no, straight ahead of you.
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