1785 in the United States

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 49. Chapters: 1785 establishments in the United States, Continental Congress, United States Declaration of Independence, University of Georgia, Letters to the inhabitants of Canada, William Goddard, Second Continental Congress, President of the Continental Congress, First Continental Congress, Land Ordinance of 1785, Committee of Five, Continental Association, Congress of the Confederation, Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, Nassau Hall, Carpenters' Hall, Jacob Duché, Conway Cabal, Board of War, Charles Thomson, Olive Branch Petition, Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, Mount Vernon Conference, Superintendent of Finance of the United States, Goddard broadside, Papers of the Continental Congress, Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, Galloway's Plan of Union, Petition to the King, Committee of the States. Excerpt: The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America-Independence Day-is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress. The Declaration justified the independence of the United States by listing colonial grievances against King George III, and by asserting certain natural rights, including a right of revolution. Having served its original purpose in announcing independence, the text of the Declaration was initially ignored after the American Revolution. Its stature grew over the years, particularly the second sentence, a sweeping statement of individual human 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. This sentence has been called "one of the best-known sentences in the English language" and "the most potent and consequential words in American history". After finalizing the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. It was initially published as a printed broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The most famous version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is usually regarded as the Declaration of Independence, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Although the wording of the Declaration was approved on July 4, the date of its signing has been disputed. Most historians have concluded tha