The Road to Independence Part II Revolutionary War The Road to Independence Part II

I. The Declaration of Independence A. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was published in January of 1776. It helped to stir the colonists and the delegates of the Second Continental Congress to declare independence.

B. June 7th, 1776 – Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution to declare independence from Great Britain.

1. The delegates needed to consider the resolution carefully 1. The delegates needed to consider the resolution carefully. If it was passed, they would be called traitors by King George III and killed if the war was lost.

2. Lee’s supporters formed a committee which consisted of John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Thomas Jefferson was asked to write the declaration.

C. The Deed is Done 1. Jefferson wrote the document, the Second Continental Congress adopted Lee’s resolution on July 2, 1776 and the Declaration of Independence was officially approved on July 4, 1776.

2. John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress, signed the Declaration first, and he wrote his name in large bold letters.

a. So King George III “…can read my name without spectacles, and may now double his reward of 500 pounds for my head.”

D. Parts of the Declaration Preamble a. Explains why the Continental Congress drew up the Declaration. b. Thought that when a colony breaks ties with the mother country, its reasons should be explained.

2. Declaration of Rights a. “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.”

b. Government should be based “on the consent of the governed.” c. If a government takes away the rights of the people, it is the people’s responsibility to overthrow that government.” (Social Contract Theory-Locke)

3. Declaration of Colonists complaints against the British government. 4. The final section declares that the colonies are “free and independent states” with full power to make war, to form alliances, and to trade with other countries.