The Declaration of Independence was a charter and a manifesto, yes, but in essence it was a memo, a hastily drafted, ...

Amid contention, criticism, and compromise, a divided nation had to present a unified front. It came at a cost.

Warning: This graphic requires JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript for the best experience. Historian Andrew Davenport arrived at Monticello with an extraordinary ...

When Thomas Jefferson was chosen to draft the Declaration of Independence, he had an exceedingly difficult task ahead of him. The 33-year-old planter, who had left law practice just before Britain’s ...

The Declaration of Independence isn’t just a philosophical breakup letter. It was a strategic move to secure vital support ...

The men who drafted the Declaration of Independence read the newspapers in Philadelphia, and they were influenced by the rumors being reported. When the Continental Congress voted to declare ...

Americans often treat their nation’s founding text as a relic best observed through thick glass at the National Archives. It is easy to forget that the old document was once a top story. Emily Sneff, ...

As we near July Fourth, one fascinating story from American history will remain largely untold: how the Declaration of Independence — the document itself — was written, copied and stored. The whole ...

The main objectives of the Declaration of Independence were to announce a cause of action and formally justify the Continental Congress’s July 2, 1776, decision to separate from Great Britain. The ...

Cutting ties with a king might have seemed like "Common Sense" in the 1770s, but the desire was not unanimous among the colonists—until the Declaration convinced them otherwise. John Trumbull's ...