3.1 Notes: Uniting for Independence
Unit 3: From Colonies to Confederation
Theme 1: Philosophy and History: Roots of American Democracy
I. Timeline of Unification and Independence
English
Establish 13
Colonies
French
and
Indian War
British Laws and Taxes
Native
American Wars
1584
Roanoke
Granted
Charter
1643
1684
1732
Georgia
Granted
Charter
1754
B. Albany
Congress and
Albany Plan
of Union
Adopted
A. New England
Confederation
1763
Treaty of
Paris
Signed
1765
C. Stamp
Act
Congress
1773
D. Committees of
Correspondence
and Safety Form
SEP/OCT
1774
E. First
Continental
Congress
APR
1775
Lexington
and
Concord
Revolutionary War
APR
1775
Lexington
and
Concord
1.
Continental
Army
Created
2. Declaration
of
Independence
Adopted
MAY
1775
JUL
1776
3. 11/13
States Write
Constitutions
4. Articles of
Confederation
Adopted
1777
NOV
1777
F. Second Continental Congress
1
MAR
1781
13TH State
Ratifies
Articles
SEP/OCT
1781
Battle of
Yorktown
SEP
1783
Treaty of
Paris
Signed
G. Confederation Congress
III. Motivations for Independence
A.
The long-standing British policy of salutary neglect came to an abrupt end with the French and Indian War:
1.
Colonists experienced the presence of large numbers of British troops in America both during and after the war.
2.
Parliament passed many taxes after the war to make the colonists pay for the war and to maintain a British
military presence in North America to protect the frontier.
3.
The Proclamation of 1763 forbid the colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains in order to
prevent further conflict with Native Americans, land which the American colonists believed they fought and died
to win from France:
B.
Even though the American colonists fought for and alongside the British during the war, the war drove a wedge
between Britain and the colonists.
C.
Americans came to believe their rights as Englishmen were being violated with all these laws and taxes since they had
no representation in Parliament.
D.
Britain claimed they had virtual representation through the British people.
2
IV. Declaring Independence
JAN 1776
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense is published urging independence.
7 JUN 1776
Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduces a resolution at Congress calling for independence. Congress
debates.
10 JUN 1776
Congress votes to postpone further debate over Lee’s resolution until all colonial delegations can receive
instructions to vote for independence. (Not all were authorized to do so.) In the meantime, they appoint
a five man committee to draft a formal declaration of independence:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Benjamin Franklin (PA)
John Adams (MA)
Thomas Jefferson (VA)
Robert R. Livingston (NY)
Roger Sherman (CT)
Jefferson writes the draft of the declaration.
28 JUN 1776
The Committee of Five presents Jefferson’s draft to Congress. They spend the next couple of days editing
the document, eliminating Jefferson’s claim that Britain forced slavery on the colonies.
2 JUL 1776
Congress votes 12-0-1 to adopt Lee’s resolution, with NY abstaining because they never received
permission to vote for independence due to the colonial government having to evacuate New York City
due to the British invasion that summer. Independence is officially declared. New York would vote for it
later.
4 JUL 1776
Congress votes to adopt Jefferson’s formal Declaration of Independence, as edited by the Congress. A
handwritten copy is taken to local printer John Dunlap that night and approximately 200 broadsides are
printed, to be distributed and read publicly in the coming weeks (with only John Hancock and Charles
Thomson’s signatures). It was read aloud for the first time on July 8, 1776 outside Independence Hall.
Washington had it read aloud to the Continental Army in New York City on July 9, with the British invasion
of New York underway.
19 JUL 1776
Congress adopts a resolution to have a copy engrossed (handwritten) and then signed.
2 AUG 1776
Timothy Matlack’s engrossed copy of the Declaration is signed by most of the delegates to Congress, with
some adding their names in the coming weeks and months. This is the official copy that is on display at
the National Archives.
3
V. The Document
A.
B.
The Declaration is organized into 5 parts:
1.
Introduction – states the purpose of the document, which is to explain to the world why independence is being
declared
2.
Preamble – outlines Locke’s philosophy of the purpose of government and the right of the people to rebel when
that government takes away the natural rights of the people
3.
Indictment – lists the offenses that King George III has committed against the natural rights of the American
people
4.
Denunciation – denounces the British people for ignoring the warnings and pleas of the American people
5.
Conclusion – states the colonies’ right and intent to separate from Britian using much of the language of the
original Lee resolution
The document was signed by 56 delegates to Congress, grouped by state, in columns from right to left:
1.
2.
Not all of these men were present or even members of Congress on July 4. It is believed that approximately only
50 men were present during the voting:
a)
Some signers were members of Congress, but were away on business when the vote took place.
b)
Some signers did not become members of Congress until after the vote took place.
Of those present on July 4, eight never signed it:
a)
Four voted against it and were no longer members of Congress when it was signed.
b)
One voted against it and refused to sign, even though he remained a member of Congress.
c)
Three voted for it, but were away on business when it was signed.
3.
Two men voted against it, but signed it anyway.
4.
John Hancock’s name is the largest, and located in the middle at the top, as he was the first to sign it as the
president of Congress. Matthew Thornton’s signature is not with the rest of the New Hampshire delegates
because he signed it later and there was no room; it is located at the lower right corner.
4
C.
Different Versions:
Matlack Engrossed Copy
1823 Facsimile
Dunlap Broadside
1.
What do you notice different about each version?
VI. Symbolism of the Signing
A.
Last Lines of the Declaration:
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually
pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
B.
Benjamin Franklin’s Alleged Quote:
“…we must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
5