American Decision for Independence
In May 1775 the Second Continental Congress met, with delegates prepared to defend the colonies militarily by creating the Continental Army. While thus preparing for armed resistance, many delegates still hoped a compromise with Britain was possible. The Congress drafted what became known as the Olive Branch Petition. (Offering an olive branch refers to making a gesture of peace or reconciliation.) This 1775 document requested negotiation of tax and trade policies with the British government. The delegates swore their loyalty to the king and expressed the hope that their grievances with Britain could be addressed. When the petition was delivered to him, the king refused to read it.
In early 1776 Thomas Paine, a recent immigrant from England, published Common Sense, a pamphlet advocating colonial separation from Great Britain. The pamphlet, which was widely read in the colonies, made the argument that it was only common sense that the colonies declare their independence from Britain. Paine vehemently attacked the institution of monarchy, with statements such as, "For as in absolute governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king." Paine's pamphlet helped convince many colonists that it was time to sever political ties with Britain.
Declaration of Independence
In June 1776 the Second Continental Congress created a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence, which justified the American colonies' separation from the British Empire. A major reason for that justification was to encourage foreign support for the Americans' cause. The declaration was mostly written by Thomas Jefferson, who drew upon the ideas of the English political philosopher John Locke to justify the decision for independence. Locke based his views on social contract theory, the idea that government originates as an agreement between the governed and those who govern. He believed in the idea of natural right, any right that all people possess by being human, including the rights to life, liberty, and property. If a government fails to protect these rights, then the social contract is broken, and people have the right to replace that government. Thus, before listing the specific grievances that caused the colonies to declare independence, the Declaration of Independence includes this declaration of natural rights:
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. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government. …The idea that the government was based on the "consent of the governed," while promoted in writing by Locke and other writers, was revolutionary in practice. Since ancient times, most European governments had been monarchies. The new government would be a republic in which people ultimately held political power. From the beginning, the United States thus embraced the principles of natural rights and limited government. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress approved the final language of the Declaration of Independence.
Winning Independence
Won by the Americans with the aid of France, the American Revolution (1775–83) concluded with an official recognition from Britain that the colonies were independent.