These Declaration of Independence quotes give context to a document many of us take for granted. Many people celebrate the 4th of July commemorating the day the United States claimed independence, but actually, the majority of signatures on the document were recorded on July 2, 1776, and many historians note that all of the signatures and the final draft of the document were not completed until August 2, a full month later.
While Thomas Jefferson did write the bulk of the Declaration of Independence, it was signed by others who contributed as well.
Today, the text of the original document on parchment paper remains on display in Washington D.C. Much of the inspiration for the document and its ideas politically and philosophically come from theorists such as John Locke and Algernon Sidney.
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