The primary motivation behind America's Declaration of Independence was to disclose to far off countries why the settlements had decided to isolate themselves from Great Britain. The Revolutionary War had just started, and a few significant fights had just occurred.
The Declaration was introduced to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 2, 1776. It was endorsed with a couple of minor changes. Of the 56 underwriters of the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock, of Massachusetts, was the first.