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 HAPPINESSALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUALLIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS Declaration of Independence

What led to it? Believe me, dear Sir: there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose; and in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America. —Thomas Jefferson, November 29, 1775Thomas Jefferson

What led to it? year war ended 1765 – Stamp & Quartering Act (1774) Townshend Acts $$ TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION! Coercive Acts/ Intolerable/ Quartering II st Continental Congress 4/ 1775 Revolutionary War begins – 2 nd Continental Congress

Declarations of Independence! Thomas Paine’s Common Sense: Argued for colonial independence (1/1776) stimulated debate.

Declaration of Independence Written primarily by Jefferson. 13 colonies at war with GB now independent List of grievances against King George III 1 year+ after start of Rev War Voted on July 2, 1776 Adopted by Continental Congress July 4, 1776 ?? Signed August 2, 1776 Housed in National Archives

Declaration of Independence Page 306 Go around your table – each person state one significant phrase from the Declaration and what it means.

Content of the Declaration of Independence Asserts natural rights (LLP!!!) Right to Revolution List of grievances against King George III

Who signed it? Instantly became traitors Put family and selves at risk Men of means and education 25 lawyers/ jurists 11 merchants 9 farmers/ large plantation owners 1 teacher 1 musician 1 printer

Who Signed? 56 delegates eventually signed including:  John Hancock  Sam Adams  John Adams  Benjamin Franklin

What did they risk? EVERYTHING! Enormous sacrifice They could be captured, tortured as traitors; Put families at risk; Some died from wounds/ hardships from Revolutionary War; Some had homes pillaged & burned

Now In groups of 2 or 3; in the hallway, Wulf Den, 116 … you choose; take turns reading the entire Declaration of Independence. Please stop and discuss the meaning at the end of each paragraph, or in the case of the 2 nd paragraph and the end of each long sentence.

What Does the Declaration of Independence Represent? Rights of Individuals: “they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness …” Purpose of Government: “that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men…” Popular Sovereignty “deriving their powers from consent of the governed” Rights of marginalized “all men created equal” Moral Standard/ Framework for US Lincoln’s political philosophy

International Implications “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.” Victor Hugo Inspired French Revolution of 1789 Aftermath of the cold war Tiananmen Square 1989 – Chinese demonstrators passed out copies of the Declaration of Independence Universal Declaration of Rights

International Implications “Wasn’t it the best minds of your country, who wrote your famous Declaration of Independence, your Bill of Rights, and your Constitution? … Those great documents … inspire us all, they inspire us despite the fact that they are over 200 years old. They inspire us to be citizens.” Vaclav Havel, then president of Czechoslovakia 1995

John Adams If we have time, McCullough’s John Adams: “Join or Die”; “Independence”

Homework – Due 9/13/2012 Memorize part of the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence. From: “We hold these truths to be self evident” to “…it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security”