Declaring Independence

Two motives sparked the American Revolution:

First colonists were outraged because British officials hired the services of foreign soldiers called “Hessian”. They were outraged for that because Britain was hiring outsiders to do the killing for them.

The second motive was because of Thomas Paine. He was a newly arrived immigrant to the colonists and with the help of Benjamin Franklin got a job at the Philadelphia magazine. On January 10 he anonymously published a pamphlet called “Common Sense” in which he wrote his views on the need of American Independence. The pamphlet sold 120,000 copies within a few months, and eventually sold 500,000 copies, or one for every five people in America, including slaves. Paine gave all the money earned with his pamphlet to the Congress, as a sign of patriotism.

On June 7, 1776 Richard Henry Lee, a Virginian, said that the colonies “are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent states.” Few days later a committee was appointed to draft a formal declaration.

The committee consisted of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was selected as the writer for three reasons according to Adams: First, he was a Virginian; Second: he was very recognized and popular; Third, he wrote fluently. Few weeks later Jefferson finished a document that will become recognized as one of the most eloquent political statements, although some of the grievances were exaggerated and he declared all men were equal when many other Americans owed slaves and didn’t saw them as equal. The document was presented on Congress in June 28.