Name: ____________________________
Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence Part 1
On June 7, 1776, delegates from Virginia introduced a
resolution (a statement for Congress to vote on). The
resolution declared that “these United Colonies are, and by
right ought to be, free, and independent States.”
Congress agreed to take a few weeks to think over this
dramatic step. In the meantime, it asked a committee to write
a document explaining why the colonies were announcing their
independence. John Adams and Benjamin Franklin were on the
committee. So was a shy, red-headed Virginian named Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson was only 33 years old, but he was already known as a fine writer and thinker.
Adams and Franklin asked him to write the first draft of the colonies’ declaration of
independence.
Setting up a folding desk in his room in Philadelphia, Jefferson went to work. For almost
two weeks, he wrote and rewrote the document, working by candlelight late into the night.
He drew some of his ideas about rights and freedoms from George Mason’s paper, the Virginia
Bill of Rights. After Adams and Franklin made a few changes, the committee presented their
document to the Continental Congress.
For several days, Congress argued about independence for the last time. Then, on July
12, the delegates voted to separate from Britain and form their own country.
Congress spent the next two days discussing every word of the declaration and voting
on changes. Delegates from two southern colonies, where slaves worked on huge plantations,
insisted on taking out Jefferson’s statement that slavery was “a cruel war against human
nature.” Several other delegates agreed. Some of the changes angered Jefferson, but
everyone realized that all the colonies had to agree in order for them to become a united
country. Finally, on July 4, 1776, Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence.
Directions: Fill in the blank with the word you have memorized from the song (you may use
your VA Studies notebook to help you).
_____________ in the ____________ of human events, it becomes necessary for
one _____________ to dissolve the political bands which have connected them
with another and to assume among the ____________ of the _________________
the separate and equal station to which the laws of _____________ and of
nature’s _____________ entitle them, a decent ___________ to the opinions of
mankind requires that they should _____________ the causes which impel them
to the _______________.
Directions: Choose the best answer.
1. What is a statement for Congress to vote
on?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Declaration of Independence
Constitution
Resolution
Rights and Liberties
2. Who was on the committee to write a
document explaining why the colonies were
announcing their independence?
A. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and
Thomas Jefferson
B. Lord Dunmore, Benjamin Franklin, and
George Washington
C. George Mason, John Adams, and
Thomas Jefferson
D. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
and James Madison
3. Who wrote the first draft of the declaration
of Independence?
A. John Adams
B. Thomas Jefferson
C. Benjamin Franklin
D. George Mason
4. From who did Thomas Jefferson get some of
his ideas for writing the Declaration of
Independence?
A. John Adams
B. George Washington
C. George Mason
D. Jack Jouett
5. What did the delegates decide to do on July
12?
A. Give Thomas Jefferson compensation
B. Declare war on England
C. Separate from Great Britain and become a
new nation
D. Free the slaves
6. What issue did the delegates not agree
about?
A. slavery
B. becoming a new country
C. Who should write the Declaration of
Independence
D. Who should sign the Declaration of
Independence first
7. What did the colonies have to do to become
a united nation?
A. agree
B. disagree
C. assume
D. discipline
8. When did Congress vote to approve the
Declaration of Independence?
A. June 7, 1776
B. July 12, 1776
C. July 4, 1775
D. July 4, 1776