Declaration of Independence

July 4, 1776

After Jefferson's draft was trimmed by committee (they cut his passage blaming slavery on the king), Congress adopted the Declaration. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident...' The signers pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. Some would lose all three. A nation was announced, not yet achieved. The document was rushed to a Philadelphia printer and read aloud to crowds who tore down a statue of George III.