The Declaration of Independence of United States was drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776. The draft is regarded as one of the nation's most respected symbol of liberty.
In it, Jefferson expressed the beliefs in the minds of the American people. The political viewpoint of the Declaration was not novel; its ideals of personal liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers.
Jefferson summarized his philosophy in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.
