Changes

[[Image:Declaration_of_independence.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Declaration of Independence]]

[[Image:Declaration_of_independence.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Declaration of Independence]]

The '''Declaration of Independence''' declared [[America]]'s freedom from [[England]].  It was drafted in 1776.

The '''Declaration of Independence''' declared [[America]]'s freedom from the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]].  It was drafted in 1776.

The ideas in the Declaration of Independence, drafted by 33-year-old [[Thomas Jefferson]] with help by other Founders, were powerful.  Invoking the authority of God frequently throughout the document, the Declaration contains the most striking legal statement of all time:  "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."  The phrase "that all men are created equal" was original to the Declaration of Independence and was quoted frequently by [[Abraham Lincoln]] (e.g., in the [[Gettysburg Address]]) and by other future Americans.   

The ideas in the Declaration of Independence, drafted by 33-year-old [[Thomas Jefferson]] with help by other Founders, were powerful.  Invoking the authority of God frequently throughout the document, the Declaration contains the most striking legal statement of all time:  "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."  The phrase "that all men are created equal" was original to the Declaration of Independence and was quoted frequently by [[Abraham Lincoln]] (e.g., in the [[Gettysburg Address]]) and by other future Americans.