1. THE BIRTH OF A DEMOCRATIC NATION

2. First Continental Congress:
Met in Philadelphia, PA
Met in September 1774
55 Delegates were present
Georgia was the only colony to not send a representative

4. First Continental Congress:
RESULTS?
Sent King George III of England a document demanding the rights of colonist be restore

5. Second Continental Congress:
Met in Philadelphia, PA
Met in May 1775
Debated over whether to remain loyal to the king or declare their independence
Thomas Paine wrote “Common Sense” in January 1776 which supported complete independence from Britain

6. Common Sense Arguments Against British Rule
It was ridiculous for an island to rule a continent.

7. Common Sense Arguments Against British Rule
America was not a “British nation”; it was composed of influences and peoples from all of Europe

8. Common Sense Arguments Against British Rule
Even if Britain was the “mother country” of America, that made her actions all the more horrendous, for no mother would harm her children so brutally.

9. Common Sense Arguments Against British Rule
Being a part of Britain would drag America into unnecessary European wars, and keep it from the international commerce at which America has excelled.

10. Common Sense Arguments Against British Rule
The distance between the two nations made the governing of the colonies from England unwieldy. If some wrong were to be petitioned to the Parliament, it would take a year before the colonies would receive a response.

11. Common Sense Arguments Against British Rule
Britain ruled the colonies for its own benefit, and did not consider the best interests of the colonists in governing them.

12. Common Sense Arguments Against British Rule
The New World was discovered shortly after the Reformation. The Puritans believed that God wanted to give them a safe haven from the persecution of British rule.

13. Second Continental Congress:
RESULTS?
Colonist decided to write the Declaration of Independence – which was approved on July 4, 1776

14. The Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson did most of the draft
King George III was referred to as a “tyrant Unfit to be the Rule of a free People.”

15. The idea that all people were created equal came from the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The idea that people had certain natural rights (such as life liberty, and property*) came from the English philosopher John Locke
*Note that Locke said property but we changed it to pursuit of happiness!