What did the Declaration of Independence declare?
Answer
That the 13 colonies were free and independent states
Explanation
The Declaration of Independence declared that the thirteen American colonies were free and independent states, no longer under the authority of King George III or the British Parliament. The Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, voted on July 2, 1776 to break with Britain and adopted the formal text on July 4, 1776, the date now celebrated as Independence Day. A drafting committee of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman assigned Jefferson the writing, and his draft, lightly revised, became the final document.
The Declaration is divided into a preamble, a statement of philosophical principles, a long list of grievances against the king, and a closing declaration of independence. The most famous lines hold that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. The grievances accused the king of dissolving colonial assemblies, taxing the colonies without their consent, quartering troops, suspending jury trials, cutting off trade, and waging war against his own people.
The closing words proclaimed that the United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, absolved of all allegiance to the British Crown and possessing full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things that independent states may of right do. Fifty-six delegates eventually signed, with John Hancock's bold signature first as president of the Congress. Britain refused to recognize independence, and the Revolutionary War continued until the Treaty of Paris in 1783 confirmed American sovereignty.
The Declaration carried no immediate legal force as a charter of government. Its weight was political and moral. It justified rebellion to the world, defined the colonies' war aims, and set out a theory of legitimate government that would shape the Articles of Confederation in 1781 and the Constitution in 1787.
Why this matters for your test
Recognizing what the Declaration declared is the starting point for American constitutional history. The principles it announced about consent of the governed, equal creation, and unalienable rights remain the moral vocabulary of American politics, invoked by Lincoln at Gettysburg, by Martin Luther King Jr. on the National Mall, and by every generation arguing for fuller inclusion in the promise of self-government.
Source: USCIS 128 Civics Questions (2025)
