Declaration Project

Strictures Upon the Declaration of Independence of Congress at Philadelphia, October 15, 1776

Editor’s Note: Originally published anonymously in 1776, this 32-page missive against our July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Hutchinson, a prominent, despised Loyalist and erstwhile governor of the Massachusetts colony. In his Strictures Upon the Declaration of the Congress at Philadelphia, Hutchinson calls our Founders “impertinent” and insists that they “show in what case a […]

An Essay favoring American Independence (Oct. 22, 1776) that Rebuts a British Declaration Against Independence (Sept. 19, 1776)

Editor’s note:  Embedded within this eloquent response by a South Carolina patriot is the full text of a snotty ‘declaration’ written by British aristocrats opposing our July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence, in which they scold “misguided Americans” for “their extravagant and inadmissable Claim of Independency.” In reply, the South Carolinian asserts that what would in […]

A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the State of Pennsylvania (Aug. 16, 1776)

Editor’s Note: This Declaration of Rights — which includes “the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety” — was approved on August 16, 1776 by Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, and became an official part of Pennsylvania’s Constitution, ratified on September 28, 1776.   A […]

A Declaration of Rights and Fundamental Rules of the Delaware State (Sept. 11, 1776)

Editor’s note: This declaration of irrevocable rights and fundamental rules — essentially a bill or declaration of rights – crafted by the state of Delaware’s first general assembly was enacted in tandem with a new Constitution, the ultimate article of which states, “No article of the declaration of rights and fundamental rules of this State, agreed […]

Instructions for Independence, Acton, Massachusetts (June 14, 1776)

Editor’s note:  On June 14, 1776, inhabitants of the town of Acton, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, apparently left out of an earlier opportunity “to express their minds with respect to the important question of American Independence,” make it clear here that they are ready to break from Britain, convinced as they are that “the present age will be […]

Declaration to Become an Independent State, Murrayfield, Mass. (June 17, 1776)

Editor’s Note: The picture of brevity, this declaration by the inhabitants of the town of Murrayfield, in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, makes clear that they cast their lot “to a man, to be declared an independent State,” whenever the Second Continental Congress deems it best to do so.   Murrayfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts Declaration to Become […]

Declaration for Independence by the Inhabitants of Alford, Mass. — June 7, 1776

Editor’s note: This is what one might call a conditional declaration of independence — if the Second Continental Congress decides to sever ties with Britain, then the town of Alford, in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, “will support the measure with their lives and fortunes.” Declaration for Independence by the Inhabitants of Alford ALFORD, BERKSHIRE COUNTY (Mass.) At […]

Recommendation for Independence by Scituate, MA, residents

Editor’s note: A month before the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence was penned, the residents of this seacoast town in Massachusetts called upon the representative of Scituate to support their sentiment to break from Britain, which in their estimation was seeking “to extirpate the Americans from the face of the earth, if possible, unless they […]