history paper

Alison Black
10/28/13
History 1050
Declaration Of Arms
The document that I found that states the people of the colonies want independence from Britain is called the Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, and was written July 6, 1775. It took me quite sometime to find this document, but the way I found this document was by first searching Google for documents that were written before the Declaration of Independence. Then I went through all the documents and read through many of them to see which ones clearly stated they wanted independence from Britain and met all the criteria. The website I found this document on was on the website titled greatamericandocuments.com. I then searched through all the different documents that were written during this time, and then on this website I clicked on the link that said Declaration of Arms, and found the material needed for this assignment. The Declaration of Arms was written after the breakout of fighting at Lexington and Concord, and the battle of Bunker Hill, all happening within the same months. Also it was written to explain why the thirteen colonies had taken up arms during the Revolutionary war. The document was written by John Dickinson and Thomas Jefferson, and was later approved on July 6, 1775 by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. This declaration basically declared that the citizens of America were tired of acting like slaves and wanted some type of freedom from Britain "to die free men rather than live as slaves." It describes what the colonists thought was unconstitutional and what needed to be changed with the British Parliament, and states that Americans will lay down their arms when there is liberty given to them. The colonists main goal of this document was not to declare independence from England but was to reconcile with England, and make the British aware of the rights they thought they deserved. Unlike the Declaration of Independence, the Declaration of Arms did not directly declare they wanted immediate independence from the British, but in both of these documents the colonists state the problems they were facing when King George III was their ruler, and the new freedoms they thought they deserved under their government.
The Declaration of Arms was a huge contributor to the writing to the Declaration of Independence; this is because it opened the eyes of the British Parliament and gave them the idea that the colonists wanted freedom and wanted things to be changed. This document was the stepping-stone for the colonists, and contributed tremendously in a positive way to receiving independence from Great Britain. It also gave the writers of the Declaration of Independence an idea of what to write in the Declaration Of Independence, which is now why we live in a country with as much freedom in the U.S as we do today.

"Congress Issues a "Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms"" History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. .
Dickinson, John. "Declaration of Arms." Declaration of Arms. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. .
Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence - 1776." The Declaration of Independence - 1776. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. .