Declaration of Independence -June 1776 Congress was debating Independence Richard Henry Lee -Committee appointed to begin work on formal document -meant to explain the reasons for independence -mostly written by Thomas Jefferson -Congress edited the final draft -Issued July 4, 1776

Declaration of Independence -June 1776 Congress was debating Independence Richard Henry Lee -Committee appointed to begin work on formal document -meant to explain the reasons for independence -mostly written by Thomas Jefferson -Congress edited the final draft -Issued July 4, 1776

Concepts in the Declaration -Jefferson took ideas from many Enlightenment thinkers -Natural Rights and Social Contract from John Locke -All men are created equal -Listed specific reasons for our independence -Grievances against King George III and the British Parliament -Does not describe any particular form of government for the new nation

Eternal Statement -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. That to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it.”

Choosing Sides -Loyalists those who remained loyal to the King and the British often called Tories -Patriots those who supported the move for independence risked everything because they could be hung as traitors -Undecided As many as a third of the colonists were undecided as to whether independence or remaining part of England was the best decision