Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence
In the summer of 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman to draft a statement of independence for the 13 colonies. Jefferson drafted the document, and after several revisions, it was adopted by the Congress on the afternoon of July 4, 1776.
In exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed in the Declaration the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people, summarizing a philosophy of “self-evident truths” and listing grievances against the King that justified to the world the colonists’ decision to break ties with their mother country.
Today, the Declaration of Independence is the nation’s most cherished symbol of liberty and is celebrated each year on July 4th, a national holiday that is considered America’s birthday.The original signed Declaration is safeguarded for the American people by the National Archives and is seen by more than 1 million people each year in the Archives’ Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom.
Past Featured Records
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Courting Confrontation: The Arrest of Susan B. Anthony
Thursday, November 3, 2022 – Thursday, January 12, 2023East Rotunda GalleryOn November 5, 1872, Susan B. Anthony and 14 other women attempted to vote in Rochester, New York, challenging section... Read more
Featured Document Display: Remembering the Hollywood 10: Screenwriter Ring Lardner, Jr.
Thursday, September 8, 2022 – Wednesday, November 2, 2022
East Rotunda GalleryEarly in the Cold War, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated allegations of Communist activity in the film industry. The committee’s mandate was... Read more
Black Wall Street: 100 Years Since the Tulsa Race Massacre
Thursday, April 1, 2021 – Thursday, June 17, 2021
Online“— were dead. Figures are omitted [because] NO ONE KNOWS.” —Red Cross Report
On Memorial Day 1921, a Black shoe shiner named Dick Rowland rode in an elevator with white operator Sarah Page. The next day,... Read more
Victory in Japan: 75th Anniversary of the End of WWII
Japan Surrenders
World War II, the bloodiest conflict in history, came to an end in a 27-minute ceremony on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, six years and one day after the war erupted in Europe. On that September morning in 1945, Japanese officials signed a... Read more
National Inventors’ Day
To celebrate National Inventors’ Day, learn about Marjorie S. Joyner and her groundbreaking permanent wave machine, an innovation that revolutionized the time-intensive task of curling or straightening women’s hair. Over her 50-year career, Joyner trained thousands of students and helped write the first cosmetology laws in... Read more
