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In 1774, representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies
met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the First
Continental Congress. Of the 13 colonies, only
Georgia was absent. These representatives were angry
about British laws that treated them unfairly. They
began to organize an army. The Second Continental
Congress met in 1775 after fighting began between
the colonists and the British Army. This Congress asked
Thomas Jefferson and others to write the Declaration
of Independence. When Thomas Jefferson finished
his draft of the Declaration of Independence, he took it to John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and the others
on the committee to review it. After changes were
made by the committee, the Declaration was read
to the members of the entire Congress. The purpose
of the Declaration was to announce the separation
of the colonies from England. The Declaration of
Independence stated that if a government does not
protect the rights of the people, the people can create
a new government. For this reason, the colonists
separated from their British rulers. On July 4,
1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the
Declaration of Independence.
