Declaration+of+Independence

Declaration of Independence By Ellie

French and Indian War. Quartering Act Stamp Act Boston Massacre Boston Tea Party Intolerable Acts These acts led up to the Declaration of Independence. These acts were established by the British Parliament (except the French and Indian War) because they were in debt.

__**Why it was written**__ The Declaration of Independence was written because the colonies wanted to express their feelings about why they felt that they needed Independence.

__**Writer of the Declaration of Independence**__ Thomas Jefferson at the age of 33 wrote the first copy of the Declaration of Independence. It took him about 2 weeks to write it. Its final approval was on July 4, 1776.

__**Signing of the Declaration of Independence**__ The signing took place on August 2,1776. John Hancock was the first to sign it. He signed his name so big that any one could read it without spectacles. Then the rest of the founding fathers signed it. They were in danger because they were committing treason.

__**Extra Facts**__ In December of 1776 a cry from the colonies rose, "The British are coming!" in September 1777 the British came and captured Philadelphia. Copies of the Declaration were to be sent out to all of the other colonies. Also the Declaration was written on parchment.

__**Definitions**__ Parchment- the skin of a sheep or goat that is turned into a material on which something can be written or painted. Treason-the betrayal of one's country to the mother country, punishable by death, in some countries.