The Declaration of Independence

John Locke(1632-1704) Consent of the Governed Social Contract The right to rule comes from the people If the monarch violates rights, the people can overthrow him. Social Contract People set up government and agree to be governed by it People have natural rights of life, liberty, and property

Why did we declare independence? Proclamation Act of 1763 British declared that colonists could not settle west of the Appalachians This enraged farmers and speculators

Why did we declare independence? Stamp Act – 1765 Required stamps to be placed on printed materials First direct tax Britain had placed on the colonists Results Sons of Liberty formed to resist the tax due to taxation without representation Colonists began boycotting England’s goods

Why did we declare independence? Intolerable Acts – 1774 (Coercive Acts) Passed to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party Shut down Boston’s port The government would be appointed by Parliament Trials could be transferred to England Colonists were required to house British soldiers

The decision to assert independence Intolerable Acts united colonists Committees of Correspondence proposed plans to meet First Continental Congress – 1774 created the Albany Plan of Union

The decision to assert independence Lexington and Concord (1775) – first shots of Revolution Second Continental Congress (1775) called for the Continental Army

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense Paine attacked the King, not just Parliament Changed public opinion to desire to declare independence

The Declaration of Independence Written by Thomas Jefferson Continental Congress issued it on July 4, 1776 This began the United States of America