Declaration of Independence: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress)

Declaration of Independence

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, meeting
in Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence
Hall), approved the Declaration
of Independence, severing the colonies’ ties to the British
Crown.

Library of Congress Web Site | External
Web Sites | Selected Bibliography

Digital Collections

A
Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional
Documents and Debates, 1774-1875

Documents
from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention,
1774 to 1789

This collection contains 277 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution.

• In Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America. In 1777, Mary
  Katherine Goddard printed the first official copy
  of the Declaration of Independence with the names of the
  signers attached.

George
Washington Papers

The complete George Washington Papers collection from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 65,000 documents.

• George Washington, July 9, 1776, General Orders. Washington announced the Declaration
  of Independence to the Continental Army in New York.
• Continental Congress, July 4, 1776, Printed Declaration of Independence .

Search
this collection to find additional documents related to
the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.

James Madison Papers, 1723 to 1859

James Madison (1751-1836) is one of 23 presidents whose papers are held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. The Madison Papers consist of approximately 12,000 items.

• James Madison, June 7, 1776. John C. Payne’s copy of Thomas Jefferson notes on debates of the Continental Congress. These notes include Jefferson’s copy of the Declaration
  of Independence as amended by Congress.

Printed Ephemera: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera

Thomas Jefferson Papers, 1606 to 1827

Words
and Deeds in American History: Selected Documents Celebrating
the Manuscript Division’s First 100 Years

In honor of the Manuscript Division’s centennial, its staff has selected for online display approximately ninety representative documents spanning from the fifteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.

• Enclosure, John Hancock to George Washington concerning the reading of the Declaration of Independence to the Revolutionary army, 4 July 1776.

America’s Library

Exhibitions

American
Treasures of the Library of Congress – Declaration of Independence

This online exhibition contains Jefferson’s rough draft
of the Declaration, with emendations by John Adams and
Benjamin Franklin. Also includes a fragment of an early
draft of the document, a letter to Roger Weightman with
Jefferson’s reflections on the Declaration, Jefferson’s
draft of the Virginia Constitution, and an excerpt from
Henry Home, Lord Kames’ Essays on
the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion
regarding the pursuit of happiness.

Creating
the United States

This online exhibition offers insights into how the
nation’s founding documents were forged and the
role that imagination and vision played in the unprecedented
creative act of forming a self–governing country.
The exhibition includes a section on creating the Declaration
of Independence.

Declaring
Independence: Drafting the Documents

This exhibition includes a timeline of events related
to the Declaration and a detailed essay on the drafting
of the documents. Also contains images of the Dunlap Broadside
and a number of prints portraying the debating and signing
of the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson

This exhibition focuses on the extraordinary legacy of Thomas Jefferson–founding father, farmer, architect, inventor, slaveholder, book collector, scholar, diplomat, and the third president of the United States. The exhibition contains a section on the Declaration of Independence that includes original manuscripts and prints.

Today in History

April
12, 1776

The Provincial Congress of North Carolina authorized
its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for
independence.

July
4, 1776

The Declaration of Independence was enacted on July 4,
1776.

Webcasts

Publishing
the Declaration of Independence

Robin Shields discusses the American Declaration of Independence,
focusing on its distribution through early American newspapers.
Fifteen newspapers containing the Declaration from the
Library of Congress’ Serial and Government Publication
Division’s American newspaper collection are profiled.
Shields highlights the importance of newspapers for the
success of the American Revolution and the influence newspaper
printers had on the independence movement.

External
Web Sites

Selected Bibliography

Younger Readers

Fradin, Dennis B. The Signers: The
Fifty-Six Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence.
New York: Walker, 2002. [Catalog
Record]

Freedman, Russell. Give Me Liberty!:
The Story of the Declaration of Independence. New
York: Holiday House, 2000. [Catalog
Record]

Gragg,
Rod. The Declaration of Independence:
The Story Behind America’s
Founding Document and the Men Who Created It. Nashville,
Tenn.: Rutledge Hill Press, 2005. [Catalog
Record]

Graves, Kerry A. The Declaration of
Independence: The Story Behind America’s Founding Document.
Philadelphia: Chelsea Clubhouse, 2004. [Catalog
Record]

Raum, Elizabeth. The Declaration of Independence. Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2013. [Catalog
Record]

Rissman, Rebecca. The Declaration of Independence. Minneapolis: ABDO Publishing Company, 2013. [Catalog
Record]