1. Declaration of Independence
Unit 1 Freedom Week
Declaration of Independence

2. Background Colonist upset with growing British regulations (taxes)
First shots against Britain, fired at Lexington and Concord in April of 1775
Movement for Independence was slow going
2nd Continental Congress met in May of 1775
July 1776 Continental Congress drafts the Declaration of Independence

3. Declaration of Independence
Written by a Committee of Five: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston and Thomas Jefferson (he wrote most of the document)
The Declaration has 4 parts:
Opening – why we are declaring independence
Declaration of Natural Rights – What rights we have
List of Grievances – Everything the King has done wrong
Resolution of Independence

4. Declaration of Independence
Approved by Congress on July 4th
This document was treason against the King of England