However, instead of looking ahead, we are looking back at the start of it all.
On July 4, 1776, 56 men signed a document declaring 13 British colonies as one United States of America.
This year, Americans will choose their next president and many other lawmakers, and decide which initiatives to enshrine in local law. It's a practice made possible by rebels of the British Crown more than two centuries ago. Since then, America has evolved dramatically, and the stage is set for history to be made once more this November.
By this charter, they formed a new country — one free from a distant king's rule. The Declaration of Independence showcased the rights and beliefs of the new country. It was a written record of what America would stand for and was signed by the nation’s founding fathers:
- John Adams (MA)
- Samuel Adams (MA)
- Josiah Bartlett (NH)
- Carter Braxton (VA)
- Charles Carroll of Carrollton (MD)
- Samuel Chase (MD)
- Abraham Clark (NJ)
- George Clymer (PA)
- William Ellery (RI)
- William Floyd (NY)
- Benjamin Franklin (PA)
- Elbridge Gerry (MA)
- Button Gwinnett (GA)
- Lyman Hall (GA)
- John Hancock (MA)
- Benjamin Harrison (VA)
- John Hart (NJ)
- Joseph Hewes (NC)
- Thomas Heyward, Jr. (SC)
- William Hooper (NC)
- Stephen Hopkins (RI)
- Francis Hopkinson (NJ)
- Samuel Huntington (CT)
- Thomas Jefferson (VA)
- Francis Lightfoot Lee (VA)
- Richard Henry Lee (VA)
- Francis Lewis (NY)
- Philip Livingston (NY)
- Thomas Lynch, Jr. (SC)
- Thomas McKean (DE)
- Arthur Middleton (SC)
- Lewis Morris (NY)
- Robert Morris (PA)
- John Morton (PA)
- Thomas Nelson, Jr. (VA)
- William Paca (MD)
- Robert Treat Paine (MA)
- John Penn (NC)
- George Read (DE)
- Caesar Rodney (DE)
- George Ross (PA)
- Benjamin Rush (PA)
- Edward Rutledge (SC)
- Roger Sherman (CT)
- James Smith (PA)
- Richard Stockton (NJ)
- Thomas Stone (MD)
- George Taylor (PA)
- Matthew Thornton (NH)
- George Walton (GA)
- William Whipple (NH)
- William Williams (CT)
- James Wilson (PA)
- John Witherspoon (NJ)
- Oliver Wolcott (CT)
- George Wythe (VA)
To honor the country’s 248th birthday, The Gaggle presents a reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Here to read the country’s founding document are reporters and other staff members at The Arizona Republic.
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Declaration of Independence: A Transcription
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Contact the producers at kaely.monahan@arizonarepublic.com and aluberto@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter @KaelyMonahan and @AmandaLuberto.