Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms

The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms was a Resolution adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 6, 1775. Written by Thomas Jefferson and revised by John Dickinson,[1] the Declaration explains why the Thirteen Colonies had taken up arms in what had become the American Revolutionary War.

  1. ^ Boyd, Julian P., ed. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 1. Princeton University Press, 1950. Includes two drafts by Jefferson, one by Dickinson, and the version adopted by Congress.