Agenda

Discussion with Mrs. Locker—passing notes

Class notes and discussion Explain homework Ticket out the door summary

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

1776

Historical ContextAbout The Author

Author: Thomas JeffersonBorn on April 13, 1743 in Virginia to a wealthy family. He was very well educated.  In June of 1776, the Continental Congress asked Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence. It was approved on July 4, 1776.

Major Events of The Time

1. England banned all forms of self-government

2. “No taxation without representation”

3. Common Sense is pamphlet published January 1776

Author: Thomas PainePurpose: Many colonists were on the fence regarding independence. Common Sense is regarded as a main reason colonists decided to support independence

Points made in Common Sense:

1. silly for an island to rule a continent.2. America was not a "British nation"; but was composed of influences and peoples from all of Europe.3. Even if Britain were the "mother country" of America, that made her actions all the more horrendous, for no mother would harm her children so brutally.4. America would get caught up in England’s wars, therefore hurting America5. The distance between the two nations made governing the colonies from England unwieldy. 6. The original colonists came to America to escape persecution7. Britain ruled the colonies for her own benefit, and did not consider the best interests of the colonists

Main Points made in D of I :All men are created equal.“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Men are given by God certain unalienable rights.“They are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” We have the natural right by God to declare our independence from England.“When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them…

Why is the 1st point incorrect given the times?

3 parts of the Declaration of Independence

A. Basic ideas about people and government

B. Reasons why the Founders thought they had the right to be free from British rule

C. Complains against the British King

A. Basic ideas about people and government

The Declaration sets forth the Founders’ beliefs about the purposes of government. It explains how government is created. It is one of the best statements of the ideals of our nation.

The Declaration of Independence included the ideas that “all men are created equal.” They are born with certain rights that no one can take away. Among these rights are the 3 basic rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

B. Reasons why the Founders thought they had the right to be free from British rule

The Declaration also says that the power of government comes from the consent of the people. If a government violates the rights of its people, the people can change the government or get rid of it and create a new one.

Jefferson used the ideas of natural law. This means that there is an unchanging set of laws that govern human relations. Natural law is higher than any other law made by man. The only purpose of government is to protect the people’s natural rights.

B. Reasons why the Founders thought they had the right to be free from British rule

If a government violates the natural law, the people have a right to abolish that government and start a new one.

An agreement existed between the colonists and the king. The colonists agreed to be ruled by the king so long as he protected their rights to life, liberty, and property.

No agreement existed between the colonists and parliament. Therefore Parliament had no right to govern the colonies or to tax them.

C. Complains against the British King

To prove the king had violated their rights, the Founders included a long list of complaints against him. The complaints are based on the idea that government should protect the rights of the people and serve the common good. He refused to approve laws made by the colonists

that were necessary for their common good He closed the colonists’ legislatures when they

opposed his violation of the rights of the people He kept a standing army in the colonies even

though there was no war. He stopped the colonists’ trade with other countries He taxed the colonists without their consent He took away the colonists’ right to a trial by jury

Summary Ticket out Door

Discuss the reasons the Declaration of Independence was written and its contents. Conclude with a statement on what you found interesting in today’s lesson.