Writing of the Declaration of Independence: A Short History

By Doug West

Do you want to learn about the Declaration of Independence but don’t have the time or patience to read a thick book? Then this is the short and concise book for you! Some of the interesting topics covered in the book are:
•Meeting of the First Continental Congress at Philadelphia in 1774 and how the delegates from the colonies delt with the Coercive Acts forced upon the American colonists by the British.
•The impact of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” on the cry for independence of the American colonies from Great Britain.
•The resolution introduced by the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee that called for “That these United Colonies are, and of right to be, free and independent States,...”
•Drafting of the Declaration of Independence led by Thomas Jefferson and the Committee of Five.
•The American public’s reaction to the Declaration of Independence when it was released in early July 1776.
•Legacy of the Declaration, including the impact it had on the women’s rights movement and President Lincoln’s inspiration for emancipation of the slaves during the American Civil War.
•And much more...
The book “Writing of the Declaration of Independence: A Short History” gives a crisp look at the history of the Declaration of Independence. To illustrate the story of this important document there are numerous pictures of the people, places, and events that help tell the story of this American icon. In addition, the book contains: a list of reference books for further reading, a timeline of the events surrounding the writing of the Declaration of Independence, and a section that contains short biographical sketches of the key individuals in the book.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug West
• Release date: Sep 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005925796

Doug West

Doug West is a retired engineer, small business owner, and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with expertise in science, history, biographies, numismatics, and “How to” topics. Doug has a B.S. in Physics from the Missouri School of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He lives with his wife and little dog “Millie” near Kansas City, Missouri.

Book preview

Writing of the Declaration of Independence

A Short History

By Doug West, Ph.D.

C&D Publications

Writing of the Declaration of Independence

A Short History

By Doug West, Ph.D.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright © 2022 Doug West

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 – The American Colonies Under British Rule

Chapter 2 – The Second Continental Congress

Chapter 3 – Drafting the Declaration of Independence

Chapter 4 – The American Reaction to the Declaration of Independence

Chapter 5 – Legacy of the Declaration of Independence

Timeline of the Declaration of Independence

Biographical Sketches

References and Further Reading

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Additional Books in the 30 Minute Book Series

Preface

Welcome to the book, Writing of the Declaration of Independence: A Short History. This book is volume 63 of the 30 Minute Book Series, and as the name of the series implies, if you are an average reader this book should take less than an hour to read. Since this short book is not meant to be an all-encompassing history of the Declaration of Independence, you may want to know about this important document. To help you with this, there are several good references at the end of this book. I have also provided a Timeline, in order to link together the important events surrounding the writing of the Declaration, and a section of the book titled Biographical Sketches, which includes brief biographies of some of the key individuals in the book. In the text, those individuals who are in one of the biographical sketches will have their name in bold print the first time they appear in the book.

Thank you for purchasing this book. I hope you enjoy your time reading about the story of the creation of one of America’s foundational documents.

Doug West

August 2022

Introduction

As the days in Philadelphia grew warmer during the summer of 1776, so did the temperaments of the delegates to the Second Continental Congress. Since May they had been meeting in the Assembly Room of the first floor of the grand State House on the south side of Chestnut Street, between Fifth and Sixth Streets. The red brick building, built some 40 years prior, comprised a handsome main edifice, two stories tall with a bell tower. The delegates worked feverishly, for they were in effect the de facto government of the 13 colonies. For over a year hostilities had been commonplace between the colonists and soldiers of the mother country, Great Britain—a shooting war had begun.

The morning of Monday, July 1, 1776, started off as a typical hot and steamy day in Philadelphia, but