On June 11th 1776, a five men committee consisting of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman was appointed to write a draft of the Declaration by the Continental Congress. Thomas Jefferson was given the honor of writing, due to the fact that he was the most eloquent writer, the first draft and after the approval of the five men committee it was submitted to the Continental Congress. On July 4th 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved and signed by fifty-six men, to whom they agreed to "mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor"; these men represented the thirteen North American colonies that were proclaiming their separation from Great Britain, founding the United States of America.
In order to understand why these founding fathers would go to such lengths to separate themselves from Britain, after all they were committing treason by creating this Declaration, we have to go back in time to the French and Indian War, most commonly known in Europe as the Seven Years War, (1754-1763) and the aftermath.
The French and Indian war took place in America. The French and their Indian allies fought the Americans and British soldiers for control of the Ohio Valley in order to gain access to the, very lucrative, Mississippi river. At first the British were frighten of the French who devastated their settlements but they were able to recover after William Pitt was at the command of the operations. Slowly they took control over the war and forced the French out of their colonies up to Quebec were they cornered French soldiers up a rocky embankment. .
Like all wars, there was a price to pay; this one left the British government with a great debt so Parliament turned their attention to the lucrative colonies and began passing acts that increased the colonies taxes and prohibited the settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains with the Royal Proclamation of 1763.