The Declaration of Independence

King George III (1738-1820)�

• King of England.
• Ended the French and Indian War
• Strong supporter of policies leading to American Revolution
• Sugar Act
• Stamp Act
• Townsend Act
• Tea Act
• Intolerable Acts
• Quartering Act

Timeline of Events

The Olive Branch Petition (July 1775)

• Sent by the Second Continental Congress to King George III.
• Written mostly by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania.
• Asked the king to:
• Stop violence
• Protect colonial rights
• Avoid breaking ties
• 👑 British Response:
• King refused to read it.
• Declared colonies in open rebellion.
• Sent more troops to America.

Why Declare Independence?

• After the Olive Branch Petition failed:
• Colonists saw no path forward within the British Empire.
• Britain viewed the colonies as property, not partners.
• Ideas from the Enlightenment (Locke, Rousseau) were spreading:
• Government must protect rights
• Citizens have a right to overthrow tyranny
• 🗞️ Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (Jan 1776):

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Common Sense

• Advocated for Independence from Britain
• In Common Sense, Paine asked some really important questions, like:
• Why should a huge continent be tied to a little island thousands of miles away?
• Why should colonists submit to laws that hurt their trade and industry?
• Why should the colonists show loyalty to a king who oppresses them?

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Background

• January 1776 – Common Sense is distributed throughout colonies

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• June 7, 1776 - Richard Henry Lee offers a resolution to Congress that “these United Colonies…ought to be free and independent”

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• June 11, 1776 – Congress appoints a committee to write a Declaration of Independence:
• Benjamin Franklin
• Roger Sherman
• John Adams
• Robert Livingston
• Thomas Jefferson

Main Author – Thomas Jefferson

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

Purpose

To show why the colonies were revolting against Britain and Declaring their Independence

4 Parts of the Declaration of Independence

• Preamble – Explains the purpose of the document
• Declaration of Natural Rights – Philosophical foundation
• List of Grievances – Specific complaints against King George III
• Resolution of Independence – The colonies declare themselves free

PREAMBLE

• First part of the Declaration of Independence
• Introduction
• Explains why the Continental Congress wrote the Declaration of Independence

Preamble

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to separate.”

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When it is necessary for people to separate from their government, these people need to tell others the reasons why they are separating.

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Declaration of Natural Rights

• Second part of the Declaration of Independence
• Lists the rights of the citizens:
• Explains that in a republic, the government is there to protect the rights of the people
• Jefferson calls these rights UNALIENABLE rights, which means they can never be taken away

Declaration of Natural Rights

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

• Only men are mentioned in the Declaration
• These ideas are taken from the Enlightenment thinker, John Locke who said people have natural rights like life, liberty and property.

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Declaration of Natural Rights

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed…”

• Only Men mentioned
• Government’s job is to protect the rights of the people
• Governments should get their power from the people they govern

Declaration of Natural Rights

“ That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it…it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government and provide new Guards for their future security.”

• If a government is not protecting the people’s rights the people have the right AND obligation to overthrow that government and start a new one.

List of Grievances

• Third part of the Declaration of Independence
• List of the colonists’ complaints with England
• They specifically blame King George III
• There are 28 grievances, or complaints, that are listed in this section of the Declaration of Independence

List of Grievances

• Here are some of the complaints:
• British soldiers in colonies without permission
• Quartering British troops in the colonies
• Not punishing these troops when they harm colonists
• Cutting off the colonists’ trade with the rest of the world
• Taxing the colonists without their permission

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STAMP ACT

TEA ACT

INTOLERABLE ACTS

QUARTERING ACT

NAVIGATION ACTS

Resolution of Independence

• Final part of the Declaration of Independence
• Declares that the colonies are “Free and Independent States”
• Includes the signatures of the signers of the Declaration of Independence

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Resolution of Independence

• These states have the power to:
• Declare war
• Trade with other countries
• Form alliances

The Signers

• John Hancock was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.
• (He signed it very largely so King George could see it all the way from England.)
• There were 56 signers of the Declaration from all of the 13 colonies.
• Signing the Declaration was considered treason, punishable by death

Key Principles of the New Government

• The Declaration outlined a new vision for government:
• Popular Sovereignty – Power comes from the people
• Natural Rights – Rights are given by birth, not rulers
• Rule of Law – No one is above the law—not even the king
• Limited Government – Government’s power is restricted
• Right to Revolution – People can rebel against injustice

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• The best government is a limited government

A Landmark

• Marks the FIRST TIME EVER that a group of revolutionaries explained in detail why they had the right to change their government
• Ideas of the Declaration of Independence influenced the French Revolution and revolutions in South America.

Debate over Slavery

• Jefferson’s original draft included a passage condemning slavery:
• “[King George] has waged cruel war against human nature itself… violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people…”
• But: Southern colonies (esp. South Carolina & Georgia) refused to sign if it remained.
• The slavery passage was removed to keep the colonies united.
• The contradiction:
• Declaring “all men are created equal” while enslaving thousands.
• The issue of slavery would divide the U.S. for generations.

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Remember…

1. Main idea of Declaration of Independence and Constitution – governments should be based on the consent of the governed
2. Declaration of Independence states that people have the right to overthrow an oppressive government
3. The main purpose of the Declaration is to justify the colonists’ revolt against England
4. First man to sign Declaration – John Hancock
5. John Locke contributed to the Declaration