Steps to the Declaration of Independence AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
Steps In order for the Declaration of Independence to be possible, there were many things that had to come before Some of the most important stepping stones to the Declaration were documents that began to limit the power of government in England or began to establish a sense of self rule in the Colonies The Magna Carta (1215): This document was passed in 1215 and forced King John to give up part of his power in order to remain King of England The Mayflower Compact (1620): While only a couple paragraphs in length, the Mayflower compact is important due to the fact that it is the first governing document written by Colonists in an attempt at self rule
Steps The Petition of Right (1628): The Petition of Right was a major English document that set out specific rights for citizens This rights were only for the nobility at first, but the rights were eventually extended to the common people English Bill of Rights (1689): This document goes even further in limiting the power of the King and lays out even more concrete rights for citizens Albany Plan of Union (1754): This was a failed proposal to unify the Thirteen Colonies in mutual defense during the French and Indian War This is important because it signifies one of the first movements to unify the Colonies as a cohesive body
The Enlightenment The Enlightenment was a Western European explosion of thought based upon reason Many of the thoughts questioned how the authority of rulers was derived This explosion of thought took place in the early 1700’s
Popular Sovereignty John Locke was one of the fore thinkers during the Enlightenment period He is the father of an idea known as popular sovereignty, belief that governmental power is derived from the consent of the people (Second Treatise of Civil Government) Locke argues that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are natural rights that belong to us all (unalienable rights) The belief that the people should run the government is supported by the Social Contract Theory This social contract theory states that if a government does not live up to the expectations of its citizens, then the citizens have the right and responsibility to cast that government out This therefore puts the authority of the government in hands of the people (Consent of the governed)
First Continental Congress The Continental Congress convened in 1774 to begin discussions on how to appropriately reconcile with England In this Congress, it was determined that the best course of action was to try and resolve the difference between England and the Colonies through diplomacy The U.S. then offered a peace settlement known as the Olive Branch Petition The Olive Branch Petition was ultimately rejected by King George III, which pushed the Colonies even closer to the Declaration of INdependence
Second Continental Congress After the Olive Branch petition was rejected, a Second Continental Congress was convened Thomas Jefferson was called upon to draft a Declaration of Independence that would enumerate the reasons why separation from Great Britain was warranted The Declaration drew heavily upon Jefferson’s previous writings as well as the concepts of popular sovereignty and the social contract theory
Parts of the Declaration The Declaration of Independence is split into 3 main parts The Preamble- This introduces the reasons why the document is being written The Grievance Section- This section detailed the reasons why a separation from G.B. was necessary Conclusion- The Formal Declaration of Independence
A Vote for Independence On July 2 nd the vote for Independence was cast. With the adoption of the Lee Resolution, the United States had officially decided to declare themselves independent from Great Britain John Adam’s and many others wrote that July 2 nd would be a day celebrated with fireworks and festivities The Declaration was formally announced to the American people on July 4 th, 1776 Hence the reason Independence Day is celebrated on July 4 th