1. Happy Monday! 
Patriot Patrick Henry is well known for his phrase “Give me liberty or give me death!” What is the meaning of this quote and why is it important?
2. How did France help enable colonial victory?
3. What do you think was the colonists greatest strength entering the war?
Britain’s greatest strength?
6. What terms did the Treaty of Paris 1783 establish?

2. Today’s Focus: PRIMARY SOURCES 
“Common Sense” “Declaration of Independence”

3. “Common Sense” Background
AUTHOR: THOMAS PAINE
Credited with turning the tide of public opinion at a crucial time, convincing many Americans that war for independence was the only option to take, and they had to take it now!
Philadelphia
January 10, 1776
The first printing sold out in two weeks and over 150,000 copies were sold throughout America and Europe
1/5 of Americans read or heard about
General Washington ordered it read to his troops

4. Examining “Common Sense”
15 minutes!

5. “Declaration of Independence”
January 1776 – Common Sense is distributed throughout colonies
June 7, Richard Henry Lee offers a resolution to Congress that “these United Colonies…ought to be free and independent”
June 11, 1776 – Congress appoints a committee to write a Declaration of Independence: Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, John Adams, Robert Livingston and Thomas Jefferson

6. “Declaration of Independence”
July 4, 1776 – Declaration of Independence is adopted by Congress, John Hancock was the first person to sign it
August 2, 1776 – Declaration of Independence is signed by 50 present members of Congress, Franklin remarks “We must all hang together or we shall hang separately.”

7. “Declaration of Independence”
Although there were 5 men appointed to write the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson was the main author
Congress only accepted the Declaration of Independence after they cut a large portion that attacked slavery

8. Analyzing the “Declaration of Independence”
Why is it referred to as the greatest breakup letter in human history?
Use your guiding questions as you read through the document with your partner!
As usual if there are words you do not know- LOOK THEM UP! Do not skip 
We will be going over these questions in 15 minutes!

9. YOUR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE!
Preamble: Discuss the reasons for why you are writing this Declaration. What reasons do you believe you should declare your independence?
Declaration of Student Rights: Explain what you believe, the philosophy and ideals behind your document. What beliefs about your independence do you have?
List of Complaints/Grievances: List the GENERAL GROUP/PERSON to whom you are addressing your complaints, and what you specifically are complaining about. An example might be “Our Teachers have assigned an enormous amount of homework that we were forced to complete at times inconvenient.” (You may not list any individuals by name, and all complaints must be intelligently worded and appropriate for school!)
Statements of prior attempts to redress grievances: List the ways in which you have already tried to address your complaints. In what ways have you already tried to address your complaints?
Declaration of Independence: Describe how you want things to change as a result of this Declaration. How would you want things to change if you became independent?