What few people may realize is that Jefferson’s task was not a new concept in the spring of 1776. By the time Jefferson put pen to paper, several American declarations of independence had already been written. Jefferson’s beloved home of Virginia had already penned a declaration of independence, stating that Virginia considered itself free of English rule. The Virginia declaration led to Richard Henry Lee’s remarks on the floor of the Continental Congress.

In historian Pauline Maier’s book, “American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence,” she devotes an entire chapter to “The Other Declaration of Independence,” writing that Americans in colonies (or, as they soon became, states) and localities adopted between April and July 1776 at least 90 declarations of independence. “Most have been forgotten under the influence of ‘the’ Declaration of Independence ...,” Maier writes.

Among these other declarations, several listed life, liberty and property as unalienable rights. Many contained other ideals which were later expressed in Jefferson’s more famous declaration. Published June 12, 1776, George Mason’s Virginia declaration stated, “All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent natural rights among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty.” As a knowledgeable representative of Virginia, Jefferson would have likely been aware of Virginia’s declaration as he wrote his.

Jefferson was also an adherent of the Age of Enlightenment when the philosophies of John Locke, David Hume, Francis Hutcheson, and other thinkers were common reading among America’s educated and privileged. Jefferson was an avid reader and many of Locke’s ideas and Enlightenment thoughts found their way into Jefferson’s declaration.

Though the Declaration’s most famous lines concern self-evident truths and pursuits, the majorities of Jefferson’s document, as well as the lesser-known declarations, are dedicated to rejecting the authority of a king to subjugate a people.

“(Jefferson’s) Declaration of Independence set forth a philosophy of human rights that could be applied not only to Americans, but also to peoples everywhere,” writes Gordon S. Wood in his book, “The American Revolution: A History.” “It was essential in giving the American Revolution a universal appeal.”

But first independence had to be approved before the Declaration could be signed.

On July 1, 1776, with conditions hot and muggy and a storm brewing over Philadelphia, with news of British victories and American military failures ringing in the colonists’ ears, John Adams of Massachusetts argued for independence before his fellow Congressmen. Expecting to destroy his political career, Adams stood firm for independence. Jefferson later wrote that Adams was “not graceful nor elegant nor remarkably fluent,” yet, he “spoke with a power of thought and expression that moved us from our seats.”

As historian David McCullough describes it in his book, “John Adams,” Jefferson was the author of independence and Adams was the voice of independence. Though no transcript was kept of Adams’ speech, New Jersey Delegate Richard Stockton described Adams as “the Atlas” for independence … Adams “sustained the debate and by the force of his reasoning demonstrated not only the justice but the expediency of the measure.”

Still, after Adams’ rousing speech, by the end of July 1, only nine colonies voted for independence while New York abstained, Delaware was evenly divided, and Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted against independence. And so they adjourned until the next day.

On July 2, 1776, 12 colonies voted for independence with only the New York delegates still abstaining while they waited further instructions from their state legislature. Though they would not officially vote, the New York delegates expressed their personal approval for independence.

It was enough for John Adams to feel triumphant enough to write his wife, Abigail. In this letter, he correctly predicted part of the spirit which would accompany Independence Day through the ages, though he got the date wrong.