The United States Declaration of Independence

This is an 1823-facsimile of the engrossed copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, created on June-July 1776 and ratified on July 4, 1776. The location of Engrossed copy is at the National Archives and the rough draft is at Library of Congress. It is signed by 56 delegates to the Continental Congress to announce and explain separation of the United States from Great Britain.

The United States Declaration of Independence announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain became independent and thus were no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, over a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The US Independence Day is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress.

To read the Declaration, click on the image and use the magnified version.