Declaration of Independence
Daily Objectives:
1. Identify when and who wrote the Declaration of Independence
2. List 4 significant facts about the Virginia Declaration of Independence
3. Explain how the Declaration of Independence influenced the Constitution.
Key Vocabulary Terms
Independence
Grievance
Unalienable Rights
Preview
Background: Read textbook pages 33-36 “Colonial Resistance and Rebellion” and
“Movement Toward Independence” and complete the questions below.
1. The American colonists had begun to experience their own _____________________________.
2. Who was the king of Great Britain starting in 1760? ______________________________________
3. Why did he implement the policy of mercantilism on the colonies? _______________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. After 1763, Great Britain began to tax the colonies. Why? _______________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5. The colonists protested the taxes and boycotted English goods. What did they hope the
British would do? ______________________________________________________________________
6. What did the British actually do? _______________________________________________________
7. What was the purpose of the First Continental Congress in 1774? _________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
8. King George responded to the requests of the Congress by sending _____________________.
9. What was the purpose of the Second Continental Congress? ___________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Do you think the colonists have the right to ask for independence? ___________________
What document made the colonists believe that they deserved to have the same rights
as those people living in Great Britain? ___________________________________________
Declaration of Independence
Directions: Continue reading in the textbook pages 36-38 “The Declaration of
Independence” and complete the fill in activity below.
The Congress now acting as a _________________________ for the _____________________,
appointed a committee to write a __________________________ that would officially announce
the ________________________ of the United States. ______________________________,
however, did almost all of the work. His draft of the ________________________________________
explained why the United States should be a ______________ nation.
The Declaration argued that the ____________________ government did not look after
the interests of the _________________________. The authors included a long list of ____________
by ___________________________ and called him a “_______________________... unfit to be the
Ruler of a free People.” The document was much more than a list of _______________ though.
The second paragraph of the __________________________________________ set forth the
colonists’’ beliefs about the ________________________ of _________________________. It said:
“We hold these ___________________ to be ______________________________,
that all __________ are created ___________________, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain _______________________________, that among
these rights are ____________________, ________________________ and the
_______________________________________________. “
The paragraph went on to say:
“ That to ___________________ these rights, _________________________ are
instituted among ____________, deriving their just ________________ from the
______________________________, that whenever any form of __________________
becomes destructive of these ends, It is the ____________________ of the
_________________________ to alter or _____________________ it, and to
Institute new ____________________________...”
In other words, the purpose of government is to ___________________ the rights of the
_______________. Moreover, government is based in the ___________________ of the people.
The people are ____________________ to change or overthrow a government if it disregards
their _______________ or their ________________.
These ideas were not new. The thinking of ______________________________ and his
fellow Americans was particularly influenced by _____________________, a seventeenth
century English philosopher. In his Second Treatise of Government published in __________,
Locke wrote that good government is based in a __________________________ between the
people and the rulers. The people agree to give up some of their freedom and abide by the
_________________________ of their ____________________________. In return, the government
promises to ______________________ the ____________________, ___________________ and
__________________ of the people. If the government misuses its power, the _______________
should _________________. Locke also wrote that all people should equally enjoy the rights to
life, liberty and property.
Declaration of Independence
The __________________________________________________ approved the Declaration of
Independence, with a few changes, on _____________________________. The American
colonies were now ______________________ states- at least in theory. True freedom, though,
would not come until the ___________ ended and Great Britain officially recognized
the______________________________________________ as a rightfully ______________________
nation.
Thinking Activity
The Declaration contains many profound statements.
A few of them are below.
Translate each phrase below into words that you can understand.
What it says:
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;
What are these 3 rights
To secure these rights, governments are instituted
among men,
Deriving their powers from the consent of the
governed.
What it means in your words:
Declaration of Independence
What You Need To Know
Date of the document: ________________________________________________________________
Author of the document: _______________________________________________________________
Purpose of the document: _______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
How did the document influence the Constitution?_________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Homework: Color these pictures for homework
Assessment Activity
The 5-4-3-2-1 about the Declaration of Independence
There were five members of the Second Continental Congress assigned to a
committee to write the Declaration. This was called
the___________________________________. The members included Roger
Sherman, John Adams, Robert Livingston, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin
Franklin. Of course, it was ____________________________who wrote the
document.
The Declaration was completed and ready to sign by ______________
________________by all members of the 2nd Continental Congress at
Independence Hall in Philadelphia. But really, the members of the Congress
approved it on July 2nd. It did not become public knowledge until the 4th.
The Declaration can be broken down into________________________
1)
2)
:
B_____ that the colonists had rights as individuals and citizens
A _____________- listed all of the complaints (grievances) the colonists
had against King George III and the British government
3) D______________ the colonies independent
________________ Thomas Jefferson wrote in the
Declaration that later became part of the United States ___________
There are
1) All men are created equal
2) People have certain unalienable rights (life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness)
The Declaration of Independence led to the creation of
_____________________
_______
called the United States.