Question

Summarize the reasons for writing the Declaration of Independence. One paragraph.

Answer 1

The Declaration of Independence was written to explain and justify the American colonies’ decision to break political ties with Great Britain by asserting Enlightenment principles—natural rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and the idea that governments derive power from the consent of the governed—and to document the long list of specific grievances against King George III (taxation without representation, dissolving colonial legislatures, maintaining standing armies in peacetime, obstructing justice, restricting trade, and more) that showed Britain had violated those principles. By presenting a reasoned case for revolution, the document aimed to unify the colonies, rally domestic and colonial support, and secure international sympathy and aid (particularly from France), thereby legitimizing the new states as independent sovereigns in the eyes of the world.