Author:   George Mason Date:1776 Annotation: The Virginia Constitution, written by George Mason, is significant in that it was the first constitutions dividing the government into three branches. It provided an outline to the U. S. Constitution. Document: CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA – 1776.* WE, the Delegates and Representatives of the good people of Virginia, do declare the…

Author:   Richard H. Lee Date:1776 Annotation: The Lee Resolution prompted by Richard Henry Lee was put forth June 7, 1776. Three parts of the resolution included a declaration of independence, an outline for the organization of a confederacy, and the formation of foreign alliances. Document: Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to…

Author:   John Hancock Date:1776 Annotation: In a message to patriots in Maryland, John Hancock (1737-1793), the President of the Continental Congress, recounts British hostilities against the colonists, including the recruitment of Hessian mercenaries from Germany, and stresses the need for unity among the colonies. Document: Our affairs are hastening fast to a Crisis; and…

Author:   Richard H. Lee Date:1776 Annotation: Richard Lee (1732-1794), writing to a fellow Virginian, calls for American independence, a goal suddenly and effectively popularized in January 1776 by Thomas Paine’s anonymous pamphlet, Common Sense. Lee subsequently introduced the resolution in Congress “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and…

Annotation: This is the only surviving fragment of the earliest draft of the Declaration of Independence. This fragment demonstrates that Jefferson heavily edited his first draft of the Declaration of Independence before he prepared a fair copy that became the basis of “the original Rough draught.” None of the deleted words and passages in this fragment…

Date:1776 Annotation: The Resolutions and Recommendations of Congress. Document: Continental Congress May 10-15, 1776 Friday, May 10, 1776 A letter of the 7, from General Washington, and A letter of the 3, from Thomas Cushing, Esq. being received, and read: Resolved, That they be referred to the committee on the state of the eastern colonies. A letter…

Author:   Thomas Paine Date:1776 Annotation: John Adams called him “the first man of the Revolution.” Teddy Roosevelt called him a “filthy little atheist.” His name was Thomas Paine. The author of “Common Sense,” “The Rights of Man,” and “The Age of Reason,” Paine was probably the most widely read political pamphleteer of the eighteenth century.…

Annotation: Image shows the first page of the original four page “first draught” of the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. This early draft, which included several lines condemning the British for sustaining the practice of slavery, was submitted to Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, who made several corrections before Jefferson penned a final copy…

Author:   Thomas Jefferson Date:1776 Annotation: More than a year past between the outbreak of fighting at the battles of Lexington and Concord and the decision to issue the Declaration of Independence. The major reason for the delay was the high value that the colonists attached to unanimity. While New England, Virginia, and South Carolina…

Author:   Adam Smith Date:1776 Annotation: In his Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, the Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790) argued that the individual pursuit of economic self-interest, unhindered by government interference, would promote economic and social well-being. “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher,…