Rotarian Tom Hamilton provided a great summary of the events surrounding the creation of the Declaration of Independence.
The American colonies were in open rebellion against the King of England, and were tired of British rule. The King made a speech to his parliment, indicating he was fed up the the colonists and was going to send military to enforce his laws.
The colonists convened a second Continental Congress to discuss matters, which resulted in a diversity of opinions and got bogged down in discussions. John Adams asked Thomas Jefferson to come up with a document that summarized what they were trying to accomplish. Although Adams expected to heavily edit the document, it was so well written that only minor revisions were made.
Fifty six men signed the resulting Declaration of Independence, and by doing so put their lives and livelyhoods at great risk.