DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE USA: HISTORICAL AND LEGAL ANALYSIS OF THE PREREQUISITES AND CONSEQUENCES OF ADOPTION

The article examines the historical background and consequences of the adoption of such a very important document in the history of political and legal thought as the Declaration of Independence of the United States of 1776. Special emphasis is placed on the content side of this document, the main ideas that were integrated into the text of the Declaration and the prospects for their further practical implementation are revealed. The authors conclude that the colonists' leaders initially intended to prepare a document convincing Americans of the rightness of their cause and addressing potential supporters abroad. But over time, the Declaration became much more important and began to be used as an announcement of the creation of a new nation, as a diplomatic call for recognition, as a statement of a certain political philosophy and as a slogan to defend freedom, both at home and abroad.