Another member of the writing committee was Benjamin Franklin, the intellectual of many talents who eventually became America’s first ambassador to France. (**)
It’s hard to believe, but the Continental Congress appointed the writing committee on June 11, 1776, about a month before the historical document was passed by Congress on July 2 and ratified on July 4...The official parchment copy was not signed by the delegates until August 2. (**)
Although we call it “The Declaration of Independence,” the document’s full name is “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America.”
Its opening lines have been committed to the American memory : (**)
“....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...” (**)
Despite the possibility of being executed for committing treason against England, delegates to the Continental Congress signed their names to the document that would guide a young country and impress the world forever. (**)
Of course, the great irony in the history of the declaration is that Thomas Jefferson was a slaveowner. “Jefferson believed that slavery was morally wrong, but nonetheless owned slaves throughout his lifetime and feared a race war if American slaves were freed...” (**)
