1. Declaring
Independence
The tree of liberty must
be refreshed from time
to time with the blood
of patriots and tyrants."
-Thomas Jefferson

2. Declaration Of Independence:
• July 4, 1776
• Thomas Jefferson was
chosen to prepare the
final draft
• Declared the rights of
Life, Liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness
to be “unalienable
rights-ones that can
never be taken away”

3. Thomas Jefferson
• We hold these truths to be self-
evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.
Thomas Jefferson, the
principal author of the
Declaration

4. War for Independence:
• Loyalists: those
who opposed
independence
and remained
loyal to the king
• Patriots: the
supporters of
independence
Britannia offers solace and a
promise of compensation for her
exiled American born Loyalists
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to
be purchased at the price of chains and
slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know
not what course others may take; but as
for me, Give me Liberty, or give me
Death!“ -Patrick Henry

5. Important Battles:
• Battle of Saratoga
– Americans defeat the
British with French
help
– The victory bolstered
France’s belief that the
Americans could win
the war
• As a result, the French
signed an alliance with
the Americans
The scene of the surrender of the British General John
Burgoyne at Saratoga, on October 17, 1777, was a
turning point in the American Revolutionary War that
prevented the British from dividing New England from
the rest of the colonies. The central figure is the
American General Horatio Gates, who refused to take
the sword offered by General Burgoyne, and, treating
him as a gentleman, invites him into his tent.

6. Important Battles continued…
• Yorktown
– American and French troops led by
George Washington and Marquis de
Lafayette surround British troops and
General Cornwallis at Yorktown
– Intense bombardment and American
fighting forces Cornwallis to surrender
– The Americans had shocked the world
and defeated the British
– In September of 1783, delegates
signed the Treaty of Paris, which
confirmed U.S. independence and set
the boundaries of the new nation

7. Articles of Confederation
• The plan established a form of
government called a
confederation, or alliance
among the 13 states
• Set up a unicameral system of
government (Congress)
• Each state would have one vote
regardless of population
• Powers were divided between
the states and national
government

8. Weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation
• Congress could not enact or collect taxes
• Each state had only one vote in Congress,
regardless of population
• Nine out of thirteen states needed to agree to
pass any laws
• Articles could not be amended unless all
states approved
• No executive branch of government to
enforce laws of Congress

9. Weaknesses continued…
• No national court system to settle legal
disputes
• There were thirteen separate states that
lacked national unity

10. Weaknesses continued…
• No national court system to settle legal
disputes
• There were thirteen separate states that
lacked national unity