The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-07-04

,rndred and thiriy-one years ago
balfhundrcd earnest men rep
~ - thirteen oppressed and rest
'.r;os declared those colonies free
/, Independent statcs. ], was a
Zen 10 take. but England S king
,.,.cd it on them by continued
nsot of oppressive measures, and
S.,egarding the rights that the
cbarta guaranteed all subjects
,oln On June ! Richard Henry
,anresenting the people of Fir-
. ,be leading colony Of the New
!, rose in the old State House in
. s.lnbia where Congress was sitting
roved. ms instructed by the Gen
,ssemblv Of his colony, ''thnt
unitcd Colonies are, and of right
4. N be, free and Independent
"a. that they are ahsolved from
.nsoiance TO the British crown;
.a,t all connection between them
.,he State of Great Britain is, and
4, IN be, totally dissolved; that
rs should be Immediately taken
.,ocurine the assistance of foreign
u and a confederation be formed
LA the colonies more closely To-
~
.c;Iy had he finished reading before
4 Adams of Massachusetts, for
4 years an advocate of American
Esudsnce. rose to second the mo-
\ Next day the motion was taken
,cusideration and referred TO Il
-ttee of the whole. On June 10
a voted that the consideration of
a resolution he set for Monday,
Ii. snd committee be appointed
La declaration 10 the effect of |
|rsolution. On June II the COM
|e was named, II consisted of /
Ia Jefferson. chairman, John
&, Benjamin Franklin. Roger Sher-
and Robert Livingston Since /
Eri Henry Lee had made the reso-
4 he should have been named as
ian of this committee. but his
UoEing suddenly III, he was called |
4 The evening before. Some hint
4 here was politics back Of it, too. |!
Stron was appointed by the other
.xr of the committee to write the
.rart document which would set
A 10 the world the specific reason
colonies should throw off the
. of England. de repaired to the
4 of Mr.. Gratz. on the corner Of
. md Seventh streets. Philadelphia.
/ tier small wooden desk was
|ior him. began the task Of vo,cing
|m!iments Of the people Of the
.xs in as brief paper as possible.
|Itdersou worked In front room
y second floor of the Graft resi-
y aul was from June II to June
. riting and revising this memora-
krument. When completed the
|lnhon contained l0l2 words.
|g q simple, powerful document.
I bold these truths 10 be sclf-evi-
~ be wrote. that I'll men are
Va equal; that they arc all en-
y BY their Creator with inherent
inalicnable rights; that among
/ are life. Liberty and tho pursuit
SppiDeSg.' y Enemies Of Jefferson
|sontendcd that il lacks originality,
|e claimed no originality for it. He
n embodied in il the crystallized
cis and sentiments Of the masses
colonies. yoiciug the spirit Of
a and resentment against the un.
Ffes. the wTltS of assistance, the
Il OF mercenaries To be quartcrcd
= coIonlsts, and other like wrongs.
|sers of Tom Paine have arisen to
'at the instrument so revered by
HznS is nothing more nor less than
q OF Palnc's 'Commousense, -
esl Jefferson was merely copy
When the instrument had been
~ BY Jefferson he submitted it
= adams and Franklin. who re
4 y to some extent. changing or
l2 out about ono hundred words.
lasn offered the rest Of thc com
1 VINO took II as the three had
'ure rs the Declaration Of indie
s was presented to Congress.
20 ordered 10 lie on The table.
~ congress resolved itself into