![]() We hold these Truths to be self–evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers From the Consent of the Governed, that whenever 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, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. This broadside is not only the earliest printing of the Declaration in Charleston it is also the only known existing copy of the document printed by Peter Timothy. His wife inherited the printing business. After the war, Peter was sailing to Antigua when he was lost at sea. His family was exiled by the British to Philadelphia. He was arrested in 1780 on charges of treason and spent time on a British prisoner-of-war ship before being sent to a prison in St. Yet, when news of the Declaration reached Charleston in early August of 1776, he quickly rebuilt his press to spread the news. Fearing the British would confiscate his press, Timothy temporarily suspended publication from 1775 to 1777. Peter Timothy became an ardent supporter of the patriot cause. In 1738, he became publisher of the Gazette of South Carolina. The son of French Huguenots who arrived in 1731, Timothy inherited the press after the death of his father. In 1776, Peter Timothy of Charleston printed this copy of the Declaration of Independence and brought the news of independence to South Carolina. The most radical idea advanced by the American revolutionaries was the proposition set forth in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Thomas Jefferson wrote the initial draft of this document, which was then edited by other members of the committee and by Congress as a whole. These resolutions encouraged the Continental Congress to appoint a five-member committee to draft a formal declaration of independence. During the spring of 1776, colonies, localities, and groups of ordinary Americans-including New York mechanics, Pennsylvania militiamen, and South Carolina grand juries-adopted resolutions endorsing independence. ![]()
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