1. Declaration of Independence

2. The Declaration of Independence
Richard Henry Lee’s proposal ( )
”That these colonies are and ought…”
Committee of 5: Robert Livingston (NY), Roger Sherman (CN), Ben Franklin (PN), John Adams (MA), and Thomas Jefferson (VA)
Jefferson is the principle writer of the DoI.
Enlightenment, Republicanism, Humanism
John Locke (Life, Liberty and Property)

3. Lee Resolution
Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

4. Declaration…cont. 4 parts:
Preamble – “When in the course of human events…”
Political Theories – Unalienable rights: Life, Liberty and Happiness
Injuries and Usurpations – “absolute tyranny”
Formal Proclamation of Independence
“We pledge to each other our Lives, Fortunes [and] Honor”

5. Issues brought up in the Dec.
A legal document calling for altering or abolishing government.
Natural Rights: All humans are born with natural rights.
Limited Government: King and Parliament are bad. Usurpers of power.
What kinds of risks are being taken by the signers?
“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” --Ben Franklin

6. Project
Create a poster, write a twenty line poem, write a song, but create something non-essay like about the Declaration of Independence.
What are the significant ideas of the DOI? What do you have the freedom to do? What do we fight for in our lives?
Due Tuesday.

7. Questions
What building is planned at a former Burlington Coat Factory, two blocks away from “Ground Zero”?
What objections do people have against the construction of this building?
What was the only concern of Community Board 1, the local government agency that approved of the plans, with the building?
What is 1 reason to build the cultural center?
What is 1 reason to not build the cultural center?