American Declaration of Independence

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founding document historical document legal act political document

The American Declaration of Independence is the 1776 document in which the thirteen American colonies formally asserted their separation from Great Britain and articulated foundational principles of individual rights and self-government.

Aliases (12)

Statements (62)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	founding document → historical document → legal act → political document →
approvingBody	Second Continental Congress →
author	Thomas Jefferson →
commemorationDate	Fourth of July → Independence Day →
committeeMember	Benjamin Franklin → John Adams → Robert R. Livingston → Roger Sherman →
containsConcept	consent of the governed → life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness → right of the people to alter or abolish government → unalienable rights →
country	United States of America →
culturalRole	expression of democratic ideals → symbol of American identity →
dateAdopted	1776-07-04 →
declaredIndependenceFrom	Great Britain → Kingdom of Great Britain →
hasLegalEffectToday	limited →
influenced	French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen → Latin American independence movements →
influencedBy	Enlightenment philosophy → John Locke → natural rights theory →
language	English →
legalStatus	symbolic foundation of United States law and political philosophy →
locationOfOriginal	National Archives Building → Washington, D.C. →
mainSigner	John Hancock →
numberOfColonies	13 →
originalTitle	The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America →
placeAdopted	Pennsylvania → Philadelphia → Second Continental Congress →
relatedDocument	Articles of Confederation → Bill of Rights → United States Constitution →
relatedEvent	American Revolutionary War → Lee Resolution →
shortName	American Declaration of Independence → Declaration of Independence →
signer	Benjamin Franklin → Charles Carroll of Carrollton → John Adams → John Hancock → John Witherspoon → Richard Henry Lee → Robert R. Livingston → Roger Sherman → Samuel Adams → Thomas Jefferson →
significance	articulated principles of individual rights → articulated principles of popular sovereignty → articulated principles of self-government → asserted separation of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain →
structure	formal declaration of independence → list of grievances → preamble →

Referenced by (69)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
American Revolutionary War ("Declaration of Independence") → American Revolutionary era ("Declaration of Independence") → Declaration House ("Drafting of the United States Declaration of Independence") → John Hancock ("Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence") → Patriots ("Declaration of Independence") → Samuel Huntington ("Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence") → Thirteen Colonies →	significantEvent
American Enlightenment ("Declaration of Independence") → Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress ("Declaration of Independence") → Declaration of Rights and Grievances (1774) ("Declaration of Independence") → John Locke ("United States Declaration of Independence") → Lee Resolution ("Declaration of Independence") → Two Treatises of Government ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	influenced
Edward Rutledge ("United States Declaration of Independence") → James Wilson ("United States Declaration of Independence") → John Hancock ("United States Declaration of Independence") → Philip Livingston ("United States Declaration of Independence") → Thomas McKean ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	signatoryTo
Archives I ("Declaration of Independence") → National Archives Building ("Charters of Freedom") → National Archives Building ("Declaration of Independence") →	houses
American Dream ("Declaration of Independence") → French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen → Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	influencedBy
Declaration House ("United States Declaration of Independence") → Independence Avenue ("United States Declaration of Independence") → Independence, Missouri ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	namedAfter
Committee of Five ("Declaration of Independence draft") → Edward Rutledge ("Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence") → Thomas Jefferson ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	notableWork
Declaration House ("United States Declaration of Independence") → Thomas Stone National Historic Site ("Declaration of Independence") →	associatedWith
Act of Abjuration ("United States Declaration of Independence") → Declaration of Arbroath ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	comparedTo
Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms ("United States Declaration of Independence") → Olive Branch Petition ("Declaration of Independence") →	followedBy
Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms ("Declaration of Independence") → Independence Day ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	relatedDocument
United States Declaration of Independence → United States Declaration of Independence ("Declaration of Independence") →	shortName
Charles Carroll of Carrollton ("United States Declaration of Independence") → John Hancock ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	signatoryOf
Elbridge Gerry ("United States Declaration of Independence") → John Hancock ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	signature
Richard Henry Lee ("United States Declaration of Independence") → Robert Morris ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	signed
520 Chestnut Street ("Declaration of Independence") →	associatedWithDocument
American civil religion ("Declaration of Independence") →	centralSymbol
American Loyalists →	consequenceOf
Second Continental Congress ("Declaration of Independence, 1776-07-04") →	dateOfAdoption
John Adams (miniseries) ("Declaration of Independence") →	depictsEvent
Connecticut Colony ("Declaration of Independence of the United States") →	dissolutionEvent
Province of Delaware ("Declaration of Independence") →	event
United States government ("Declaration of Independence") →	foundationDocument
Committee of Five ("draft Declaration of Independence") →	hasPart
National Archives and Records Administration ("Declaration of Independence") →	holds
Gettysburg Address ("the Declaration of Independence") →	mentions
Hancock ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	notableForAssociationWith
United States Declaration of Independence ("The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America") →	originalTitle
Lee Resolution ("Declaration of Independence") →	pavedWayFor
Lee Resolution ("Declaration of Independence") →	preceded
Declaration and Resolves ("Declaration of Independence") →	precedes
Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	quotedDocument
United Colonies ("Declaration of Independence and assertion of statehood") →	reasonForChange
"I Have a Dream" speech ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	referencesDocument
Stephen Hopkins ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	signatory
Patriots ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	supportedDocument
Statue of Liberty ("United States Declaration of Independence") →	tabletRepresents
Signers' Garden ("Declaration of Independence") →	theme