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The Purpose of the Declaration of Independence

What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence? Why was it written? What was it supposed to accomplish? In the days leading up to the Declaration by the Continental Congress, there were many Americans who were not yet decided about which side they wanted to be on. Did they want to stay loyal to the British King, or were they going to risk being labeled traitors by the British government, being put in prison, losing everything they had, or even . . . death?!


There were four main purposes of the Declaration:

  • Getting reluctant colonists on board
  • Explaining the colonists' position on the purpose of government
  • Listing the colonists' grievances against King George III to show the legitimacy of their actions to others
  • To encourage foreign nations to help them

    • Read a complete copy of the Declaration of Independence text here.


    Purpose of the Declaration of Independence -
    Getting reluctant colonists on board

    Many members of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia knew that a lengthy war with Great Britain was inevitable by spring 1776. Several battles had already been fought including the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Ticonderoga. They knew that the Americans would have to hold together in unison if they were ever going to defeat the powerful British Army.
    Continental Congress
    Continental Congress

    By May of 1776, the representatives to Congress from the southern colonies and the northern colonies were mostly decided that an absolute break was justified and necessary. The people of the middle colonies was not so sure though. Some of them still wanted to try to reconcile with Britain through diplomatic channels. Some of them believed that a break with Great Britain was inevitable, but also believed that that time had not come yet. But, for the most part, they thought the populations of the middle colonies would soon be persuaded that independence was necessary.

    So the representatives that believed the time had come, wanted a way to clearly state to their brothers the reasons why a break with Great Britain was necessary now. One purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to boldly state their reasons for separation with Britain to both their friends and their enemies.

    Purpose of the Declaration of Independence -
    The purpose of government

    Why did many of the colonists believe that a break with Great Britain was necessary? One purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to explain the Americans' view of the purpose of government. If you read the text of the Declaration, you will see that the signers believed that all men were created equal by God, and that they possessed certain unalienable rights. This means that God gives mankind certain rights when each one is born. Among these rights are "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

    Spirit of 76
    Sometimes though, there are people and events in life that try to take away these rights. So, men create governments in order to "secure" or protect their rights. The government derives its power from the "consent of the governed." This means that the people who are being ruled over have a right to choose how their government functions. If the government tries to do things without the people's consent, then that would be unjust. Notice that the signers did not think that a government, such as that of Great Britain, had the right to tell people what to do, or to dictate to people how they should live. Nor did they believe that a government existed for supplying people's needs or solely for the building up of its own self. They believed that governments should be allowed to exist only to protect their God given rights.

    The Declaration also says that if ever "any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute New Government." This means that if a government starts doing things that destroy people's rights, rather than protecting their rights, it is their right to change or destroy that form of government, and to institute a new one that will protect their rights.

    The Declaration goes on to list a great many violations of the trust that the people of the thirteen colonies had with the King of Great Britain. The members of the Continental Congress listed all of these grievances to prove to their fellow Americans, to the population of Great Britain, to the King himself, and to the entire world, that they were justified in breaking away from this unjust government that was not protecting their God given human rights, but was instead, actively working to destroy the very rights it was supposed to be protecting.

    Read a complete copy of the Declaration text here.




    Purpose of the Declaration of Independence -
    Grievances against the King

    Many people know that the Americans were unhappy with various taxes that the British government was placing upon them. But there are many, many other grievances that the Declaration points out as well. One purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to point these things out for the world to see. The following list explains many of the grievances that are found in the Declaration itself:

    King George III
    King George III
  • "He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good." - Each of the thirteen colonies had its own legislature elected by its own people in order to make local laws. The king, however, required that any laws passed by the colonial legislatures must first receive his approval before they were passed. Sometimes he would strike down laws that were created by the people for the "wholesome and necessary" public good. For example, many colonies tried to abolish the slave trade, but the king would not allow it because he wanted the profit. This fact is mentioned in Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration, but was removed in the full Continental Congress, in order to appease southern states who would not cooperate if abolishing slavery was on the table.
  • The king would require his appointed governors in each colony to suspend certain laws passed by the colonial legislatures, if he didn't like them, and would require that they not be reinstated until he gave his consent. Then he would wait and wait and not do anything so that many of these laws were not implemented for years.
  • The king would not grant the right of many colonists to elect their own representatives to their own legislatures. The colonists believed that it was their right to elect their own representatives to the government because government should only be by the consent of the governed, but the British government treated this as if it were a right to be granted only by the king.
  • The king dissolved many of the colonial legislatures whenever they would stand up to his injustices. Then he wouldn't allow new legislatures to be constituted for a long time. This created a vacuum in which no government existed, thus exposing the people to all the dangers that governments are supposed to be protecting them from.
  • The king passed laws making it more difficult for people to emigrate to the American colonies and made it more difficult and expensive to get land. The colonists believed that one of their God given rights was to own property that would assist them in their "pursuit of happiness," but the king treated the American land as his own to give to whomever he pleased.
  • In certain instances the king did not allow the colonial legislatures to create judicial courts, saying that only the king had the right to appoint such courts. Several colonies went for long periods of time without courts as a result of this. This broke a fundamental rule of the purpose of government which is to secure the people's right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Without courts, criminals could violate people's rights and not be punished or captured and people had no way of receiving compensation for injuries.
  • The king decided that the length of time in office and the salaries of colonial judges would be at his own discretion, meaning he could fire them whenever he wanted, and change their salaries whenever he wanted. This of course would have the effect of giving him great control over the decisions made by these judges, rather than them doing what they felt the cases before them justified. Again, this violated the principle that the government existed to secure people’s rights.
  • This one is self-explanatory - "He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance."
  • The king had allowed since 1765, standing armies to be positioned in the colonies without the colonists consent. The Quartering Act of 1765 required that British troops stay in the colonies after the French and Indian War ended. The colonists were also required to support these British troops financially. Standing armies were long considered a threat to the people in English thought.
  • The king's policies had the effect of making the military power sovereign over the civil authorities, since he had all control over the military and would not allow the colonial legislatures any say in how they were used. This violated the principle of consent by the governed.
  • The king had sent troops to wage war against Americans in Boston and other places, killed people, destroyed trade and burned towns.  All of this destroyed his right to any place of authority over the people.
  • The king had hired foreign armies to make war against the Americans.
  • The king had encouraged Indians to make war against the Americans.
  • The British government passed a law allowing British naval vessels to capture any American ships they could find and then force the captives to fight against their own brethren.
  • The colonists had repeatedly used proper diplomatic channels to address these grievances, but had been continually rebuffed by the king and by the parliament.

    • Read a complete copy of the Declaration text here.

    Purpose of the Declaration of Independence -
    Hopes of Foreign Intervention

    The members of the Continental Congress knew that they would require foreign support if they were to defeat Great Britain. Their main hopes lied with France and Spain. France and Spain had long been enemies of England and if the Americans could get one or the other of them to be on their side, it would greatly affect the outcome of the coming Revolutionary War.

    If the Americans could present a united front, it could possibly persuade the French or Spanish to join with them against Great Britain. The Americans would need the financial and military assistance of one of these great powers. It would also be in the interest of these nations to weaken both Great Britain and the American colonies by dividing them because they would become a powerful adversary if they remained together.

    If the Americans appeared weak however and appeared to be divided, it might dissuade the French and Spanish from joining together with them. One purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to present that strong unified position the other European governments were looking for in order for them to recognize an independent and strong sovereign government in the United States. 



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