Declaration of Independence

Not this… But Nicholas Cage did know his history!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he2jDZkzgiM

This!

Declaration of Independence The thirteen colonies in the America's had been at war with Britain for around a year when the Second Continental Congress decided it was time for the colonies to officially declare their independence. This meant that they were breaking away from British rule. They would no longer be a part of the British Empire and would fight for their freedom.

Declaration of Independence Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? On June 11, 1776 the Continental Congress appointed five leaders, called the Committee of Five, to write a document explaining why they were declaring their independence. The five members were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson. The members decided that Thomas Jefferson should write the first draft. Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft over the next few weeks and, after some changes made by the rest of the committee, they presented it to Congress on June 28, 1776.

Declaration of Independence Did everyone agree? Not everyone agreed at first on declaring independence. Some wanted to wait until the colonies had secured stronger alliances with foreign countries. The Congress wanted the vote to be unanimous, so they continued to discuss the issues. On July 4, 1776 the Congress officially adopted the final version of the Declaration of Independence. This day is still celebrated in the United States as Independence Day.

Declaration of Independence Famous Words The Declaration of Independence did more than just say the colonies wanted their freedom. It explained why they wanted their freedom. It listed all the bad things that the king had done to the colonies and that the colonies had rights which they felt they should fight for. "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."

4 parts of the Declaration of Independence The first part is the declaration of natural rights. It says that people have these rights by the fact that they are human. These are not rights that the government gives them -- they have them automatically because they are people. Then you have the preamble. It gives the reasons why the colonists think they have the right to rebel. It says that if their government doesn't protect their rights, they have the right to rebel. The third section gives all the ways that (Jefferson claims) the king has failed to protect the colonists' rights. This ties in to the previous section and gives the specific things the king has allegedly done wrong. A LIST OF GRIEVANCES! Finally, the fourth section comes out and says "so now, because of this stuff, we are our own country."

Opening Paragraph “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, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

Your Task! You have in front of you, a copy of the preamble, the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. Work with your partner to rewrite this part of the Declaration in your own words. You and your partner both need to write out your interpretation. Write your paragraph on a separate sheet of paper! Not the paper I gave out!