A crowd gathered along the waterfront in New York City in the summer of 1776. The scene they witnessed was terrifying.
The largest expeditionary force in British history sailed into the American harbor. Over 300 ships brought 32,000 professional soldiers and Hessian mercenaries to crush a rebellion.
Nearby, Gen. George Washington’s army gathered to hear their commander read a document that would forever change the nature of their fight: the Declaration of Independence.
And contrary to how Americans now think of that document — as an inspiring declaration that detailed the grievances of Colonists against the British king and announced their independence from Great Britain — what Washington read to his army was also something else.
As Professor of American History Christopher Magra explains, the Declaration of Independence was America’s first formal declaration of war. Read more at The Conversation.
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