The Declaration of
Independence
• The Declaration of
Independence was signed on
July 4, 1776.
• The main writer was Thomas
Jefferson.
• The Declaration of
Independence was written to
tell the world that the United
States was now a free and
independent county, free from
the rule of King George III and
Great Britain.
• Your assignment follows.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Title the next page of your notebook:
The Declaration of Independence
Vocabulary Study Chart
• You will be Copying vocabulary words
from the Declaration of Independence,
and then rewriting the paragraph in your
own words.
• 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.--That to secure these
rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of
the governed, --That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these
ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its foundation on such principles and
organizing its powers in such form, as to them
shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness.
evident
• Obvious, clear
• Easy or clear to understand
endowed
• Given, gifted
• To give somebody something they want
unalienable
• cannot be taken away
Liberty
• Freedom, independence
pursuit
• Search, quest, striving, goal, aim,
objective
secure
• Protect, Safe
• Protected from danger
instituted
• begun, founded, established
• To start something, to get underway
consent
• Permission
• To give permission or approval for
something to happen.
alter
• A change or adjustment to something
abolish
• destroy, terminate, eliminate, extinguish
• To put an end to something
Your assignment
• Rewrite the paragraph of the
Declaration of Independence that
begins “We hold these truths to be selfevident” in your own words.
• 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.-That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed, -That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,
and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing
its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness.