Declaration of Independence
The Continental Congress was moving toward a final break with England, so Congress appointed a committee to draft a formal declaration of independence which adopted a resolution: "That these United Colonies are, and, of right, ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolves from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connexion between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." It was written mostly by Thomas Jefferson who was helped by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. They borrowed heavily from ideas that had been voiced throughout the colonies in the form of local "declarations of independence."
On July 4, 1776, the declaration was approved. The first part restated the theory of John Locke:that governments were formed to protect the rights of life, liberty, and property; "property" was replaced with "the pursuit of happiness." The Second part listed the alleged crimes of the king who had violated his "contract" with the colonists. It also endorsed the idea that "all men are created equal" and claimed that the American colonies were now a sovereign nation.