On July 4, 1776, the United States officially declared its independence from the British Empire when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The document contains the core principles at the heart of the American Revolution and includes a list of grievances against King George III.
Read NowThe Declaration was authored by a “Committee of Five”—John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman—with Jefferson as the main drafter. But Jefferson himself later admitted that he was merely looking to reflect the “mind of Americans."
Jeffrey Rosen and David Rubenstein write about the three most important documents in American history, why are they important, and their similarities and differences.
Watch remarks were delivered by Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, at a May 2, 2022, celebration of the newly installed marble First Amendment tablet, donated to the National Constitution Center
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Discover primary texts and historical documents that span American history and have shaped the American constitutional tradition.