The Declaration by the Representatives of the United Colonies of North America, Now Met in General Congress at Philadelphia, Setting Forth the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms.
This collection of documents from the Second Continental Congress includes the "Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms," primarily drafted by Thomas Jefferson. Its author justifies armed resistance to Britain by citing Parliament's efforts to establish absolute rule and the colonists' need to defend their birthrights against violence, aiming to garner support and explain the colonies' position as they moved towards revolution. While it is viewed as justification for war, it left the door open to negotiation while laying the groundwork for the Declaration of Independence a year later.
United States. Continental Congress.
The Declaration by the Representatives of the United Colonies of North America, Now Met in General Congress at Philadelphia, Setting Forth the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms. The Letter of the Twelve United Colonies by their Delegates in Congress to the Inhabitants of Great Britain…London: 1775.
Lehigh University Catalog Record: https://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/asa/Record/259115
A version of this text has been digitized and is available through the Internet Archive.