Argentine Declaration of Independence

Hello there. My name is José de San Martín, and I want to tell you about my home. I loved my home, the land we now call Argentina, so very much. It has big mountains and wide rivers. Imagine your family lives in a great big house. You would want to make the rules for your own house, wouldn't you? You would want to decide when to play and what games to play. That is how we felt about our country. We were one big family, and we wanted to make the rules for our own home, together.

But we had a little problem. A king, who lived far, far away across the big ocean in a place called Spain, was telling us what to do. He made all the rules for our home, even though he had never visited. My friends and I thought this was not fair. We believed we could take care of our own home better than anyone. So, we came up with a big, brave idea. We decided to meet and talk about it. We all traveled to a special city called Tucumán and gathered in a little white house to share our feelings and make a very important plan for our future.

Then, the most wonderful day arrived. It was July 9th, in the year 1816. Inside that little white house, all my friends stood up and agreed. We all shouted, “We will be free.”. Oh, what a happy sound that was. Everyone cheered and hugged. Being free meant we could finally be in charge of our own home. We could sing our own country’s songs and fly our very own flag. Our flag is so beautiful, with two light blue stripes and one white stripe, and a happy sun right in the middle. I helped my country grow strong, and it all started because we loved our home and wanted to take care of it ourselves.