The Declaration of Independence — Recitation & Background (2025)

Learn why understanding the Declaration of Independence is important especially in these tumultuous times when patriotism is at an all time low. 

Discover why the Second Continental Congress decided to have a Declaration of Independence and how a committee of five of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston were chosen to draft it. 

Explore why John Adams insisted that Thomas Jefferson draft it, and how the Committee and the Second Continental Congress changed Jefferson's draft. 

Hear the entire Declaration of Independence, the most profound words written in the English language that were approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

Most Americans have never read the entire Declaration of Independence and have a elementary grade level understanding of it. Most remember the soaring words of 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 the are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”), and maybe the last clause (“we mutually pledge our to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor”), and have not reviewed in any detail the remainder of the 1320 words. The rest is not just taxation without representation. There were 27 grievances listed by the Founding Fathers, of which taxation without representation is but one. 

In addition to the amazing, stirring words we are familiar with, and with the exceptions of John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin, nearly no one knows the entire roster of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

The full roster of the signers is John Adams, Samuel Adams, Josiah Bartlett, Carter Braxton, Charles Carroll of Carrolton, Samuel Chase, Abraham Clark, George Clymer, William Ellery, William Floyd, Benjamin Franklin, Elbridge Gerry, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, John Hancock, Benjamin Harrison, John Hart, Joseph Hewes, Thomas Hayward, Jr., William Hooper, Stephen Hopkins, Francis Hopkinson, Samuel Huntington, Thomas Jefferson, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Richard Henry Lee, Francis Laws, Philip Livingston, Thomas Lynch, Jr., Thomas McKean, Arthur Middleton, Lewis Morris, Robert Morris, John Morton, Thomas Nelson, Jr. , William Paca, Robert Treat Paine, John Penn, George Read, Caesar Rodney, George Ross, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Edward Rutledge, Roger Sherman, James Smith, Richard Stockton, Thomas Stone, George Taylor, Matthew Thorton, George Walton, William Whipple, William Williams, James Wilson, John Witherspoon, Oliver Wolcott, and George Wythe.

Listen at your leisure to the amazing Declaration of Independence. Read the entire Declaration of Independence here: https://patriotweek.org/2021/07/24/the-declaration-of-independence-september-11/

To learn more about the Declaration of Independence & Patriot Week, visit www.PatriotWeek.org. Our resources include videos, a TV series, blogs, lesson plans, and more.

Check out Judge Michael Warren’s book America's Survival Guide, How to Stop America's Impending Suicide by Reclaiming Our First Principles and History at www.AmericasSurvivalGuide.com, amazon, or other major on-line retailers.

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