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Chapter 6
InMay 1776, five people were chosen to
write a Declaration of Independence. The
committee chose
Thomas Jefferson
, who
was from the Virginia colony, to write the
first “sloppy copy” of the Declaration.
Jefferson (later to be our third president)
hadahomeworkassignment!Heworkedon
the paper most of May and much of
June. He received help from
Benjamin
Franklin
, one of Philadelphia’s most
famous citizens. Remember, many of the
laws and ideas set forth by William Penn
were used in writing the Declaration of
Independence.
Jefferson completed his homework. The
committee of people decided it was time to
present the paper to Congress. Members of
Congress discussed every paragraph and
took out one-third of the writtenmaterial.
Some issues, such as slavery, were removed.
The southern colonies would not agree to
sign the declaration unless that part was
removed. Finally, after many hours of
discussion, the
Declaration of Indepen-
dence
from England was approved. The
datewas July4, 1776. Twelve colonies voted
in favor of the declaration. NewYork chose
not to vote.
It is interesting that, at first, the leaders of
the Pennsylvania colony did not approve
of the Declaration of Independence.
Remember, many religious groups in
Pennsylvania did not believe in fighting.
This declaration would certainly mean a
war. In the end, Pennsylvania voted to
approve the paper. Once approved, it also
took time to prepare the declaration. The
first time the Declaration of Independence
was printed and read to the citizens was on
July 8, 1776.
There you have it — the story leading to
our breaking away from England’s rule. You
can predict what topic will be in the
next lesson.
Why dowe call this building
Independence Hall?
