The Men Behind the Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America was singed by the second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4th, 1776. This document stated that they original 13 colonies of the United States were now independent states and would no longer be ruled by Great Britain. There were three men that are mainly responsible for its creation. These men were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. Each of these three men were founding fathers of the United States of America and instrumental in its creation. .
Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 on the Shadwell plantation just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. He was born into one of Virginia's most prominent families that were part of Virginia's planter elite (Jefferson, 2013). The planter elite was considered the highest class of people in the South at the time and controlled almost 90% of all the land. Jefferson stated his education at the age of nine studying both Latin and Greek at a local private school run by Reverend William Douglas (Jefferson, 2013). Jefferson would then continue his education studying at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia from 1760 to 1763. After studying at William and Mary Jefferson then went on to study law passing the Virginia bar exam in 1767 and practiced law from 1767 to 1774.
Jefferson started his political life in 1769 as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. The Miller Center (n.d.) states that in 1774 Jefferson wrote "Summary View of the Rights of British America". In this document Jefferson opposed the British control over the colonies. The Miller Center (n.d.) states "He became known as a man of immense abilities in articulating the colonial position for independence" (para. 5). It was this lead to him being appointed to the Second Continental Congress.
