Declaration of Independence

1.  Discussion with Mrs. Locker—passing notes
 Class notes and discussion
 Explain homework
 Ticket out the door summary

2. 1776

3. Author: Thomas Jefferson
Born on April 13, 1743 in Virginia to a wealthy
family. He was very well educated.
In June of 1776, the Continental Congress asked
Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of
Independence. It was approved on July 4, 1776.

5. 1. England banned all forms of self-government
2. “No taxation without representation”
3. Common Sense is pamphlet published
January 1776
Author: Thomas Paine
Purpose: Many colonists were on the fence regarding
independence. Common Sense is regarded as a main
reason colonists decided to support independence

6. 1. silly for an island to rule a continent.
2. America was not a "British nation"; but was composed
of influences and peoples from all of Europe.
3. Even if Britain were the "mother country" of America,
that made her actions all the more horrendous, for no
mother would harm her children so brutally.
4. America would get caught up in England’s wars,
therefore hurting America
5. The distance between the two nations made governing
the colonies from England unwieldy.
6. The original colonists came to America to escape
persecution
7. Britain ruled the colonies for her own benefit, and did
not consider the best interests of the colonists

7. All men are created equal.
“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal.”
Men are given by God certain unalienable rights.
“They are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are Life, liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness.”
We have the natural right by God to declare our
independence from England.
“When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for
one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected
them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the
earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of
Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them…
Why is the 1st point incorrect given the times?

8. A. Basic ideas about people and government
B. Reasons why the Founders thought they had
the right to be free from British rule
C. Complains against the British King

9. The Declaration sets forth the Founders’ beliefs
about the purposes of government. It explains
how government is created. It is one of the best
statements of the ideals of our nation.
The Declaration of Independence included the
ideas that “all men are created equal.” They are
born with certain rights that no one can take
away. Among these rights are the 3 basic rights
of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

10. The Declaration also says that the power of
government comes from the consent of the
people. If a government violates the rights of its
people, the people can change the government or
get rid of it and create a new one.
Jefferson used the ideas of natural law. This
means that there is an unchanging set of laws that
govern human relations. Natural law is higher
than any other law made by man. The only
purpose of government is to protect the people’s
natural rights.

11. If a government violates the natural law, the
people have a right to abolish that government
and start a new one.
An agreement existed between the colonists and
the king. The colonists agreed to be ruled by the
king so long as he protected their rights to life,
liberty, and property.
No agreement existed between the colonists and
parliament. Therefore Parliament had no right to
govern the colonies or to tax them.

12. To prove the king had violated their rights, the Founders
included a long list of complaints against him. The
complaints are based on the idea that government should
protect the rights of the people and serve the common
good.
 He refused to approve laws made by the colonists that
were necessary for their common good
 He closed the colonists’ legislatures when they opposed
his violation of the rights of the people
 He kept a standing army in the colonies even though
there was no war.
 He stopped the colonists’ trade with other countries
 He taxed the colonists without their consent
 He took away the colonists’ right to a trial by jury

13. Discuss the reasons the Declaration of
Independence was written and its
contents. Conclude with a statement
on what you found interesting in
today’s lesson.