I can identify and describe the important people and events associated with the Declaration of Independence I can explain why the Declaration of Independence is important and name its key political concepts ID: 643516
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Slide1
The Colonies UniteDeclaring Independence
I can identify and describe the important people and events associated with the Declaration of Independence.
I can explain why the Declaration of Independence is important and name its key political concepts.Slide2
Moving Toward Independence
WHY IT HAPPENED:
Colonist Thomas
Paine
published a pamphlet entitled
Common Sense
.
It convinced many colonists that they should rule themselves.
WHAT HAPPENED:
Delegates in the Second Continental Congress began to agree about
independence
from Britain.
They wrote a resolution of independence in June of 1776.
A committee of delegates chose Thomas
Jefferson
to write a declaration of independence to send to the king.
He was a 33 year old lawyer who had studied government and the law.
It took him
17
days and many drafts to write it.
He owned enslaved people.Slide3
The Declaration of Independence
WHAT IT WAS:
Preamble
First part of the Declaration.
It explained why the Declaration was needed.
It explained why the colonies had the right to break away from Britain and form a new nation.
Rights
It described the colonists’ main ideas about
government
.
It stated all the rights that a government couldn’t take away.
Grievances
It listed the
grievances
that the colonists had against the king and the peaceful ways they had already tried to resolve their differences with Britain.
Last Part
It stated that the colonies were free and independent
states
.Slide4
Congress Approves the Declaration
WHY IT HAPPENED:
Jefferson gave his draft to
Congress
for approval.
WHAT HAPPENED:
On
July
2, Congress voted to approve the resolution to cut ties with Britain.
On July 4, Congress approved the final
wording
of the Declaration.
On July
8
, the Declaration was read in
public
, in front of the state house in Philadelphia.
Many colonists celebrated the news.Slide5
A Dangerous Decision
By August 2, Congress members began to sign the Declaration.
John Hancock used a large signature, so that “King George III could read it without his
glasses
.”
Signers put themselves in danger.
If the colonists lost the war, signers could be charged with treason and put to death.
Ben Franklin joked about it by saying, “We must all hang
together
… or we will all hang
separately
.”
In 1776, only white men who owned
land
could vote.
This was not fair, and it would take many years for poor people, African Americans, women, Native Americans and other groups to get the full rights of citizenship (including the right to vote).
Years
later,
the Declaration would
inspire
people to fight for their rights, even though they did not have them when it was first written.
Slide6
Forming a New Government
The continental Congress set up another
committee
to plan to unite the 13 colonies.
The first plan was called the Articles of Confederation.
Approved in
1777
Each state elected representatives to serve on a national legislature.
Did not matter how big the state was.
The Articles had weaknesses:
9
of the 13 colonies had to vote yes to approve a law.
Congress did not have the power to
enforce
the laws.
They did not allow Congress to control trade or collect
taxes
.
Congress could ask for an
army
, but the states would have to come up with the soldiers.