2 pages question answers due in 12 hours

Burgan_Michael_DeclarationofIndependencebriefdescription.docx

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Burgan, Michael. "Finishing Jefferson's Work." Declaration Of Independence (0-7565-0042-7) (2000): 13. History Reference Center. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

Jefferson had divided his document into three sections. The first section was a preamble, or introduction. The second included a list of America's complaints against King George. The last part was the Declaration of American Independence. For the first time, the name United States of America appeared in a government document.

Today, most Americans know the preamble. Jefferson's most famous lines come in the second paragraph: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Not all the words in the final version were exactly what Jefferson wrote. The Committee of Five* had made some changes. And the Continental Congress spent a few days making its own changes. Some parts that might have offended British citizens were taken out. So was a mention of slavery. Finally, on July 4, 1776, the Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock, the president of the Congress, signed the declaration. The rest of the delegates later signed another copy of the document.

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By Michael Burgan

*Note: The Committee of Five was a group of five members of the Continental Congress who were appointed to write the Declaration. Thomas Jefferson drafted it and the Committee of Five plus the rest of Congress modified it until everyone was satisfied with it.