US History
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6.2 – The Colonies Declare Independence
Main Idea:
July 4th, 1776 the colonies declared Independence from Britain.
Vocabulary:
Common Sense – an essay published in 1776 by Thomas Paine that urged the
colonies to declare independence
radical – person who wants to make drastic changes in society
traitor – person who betrays his or her country
Declaration of – 1776 document stating that the 13 English colonies were a
Independence
free and independent nation
preamble – introduction to a declaration, constitution, or other official document
natural rights – rights that belong to all people from birth
unalienable rights – rights that cannot be taken away without due process
Setting the Scene:
Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia looked down at the manuscript in his hand. A line
referring to King George as the ‘royal brute of Great Britain’ seemed to leap off the page.
Apparently, that was only the beginning! Would any printer dare to publish such a document?
Rush had asked his friend, a British immigrant to North America, Thomas Paine, to write an
essay urging the colonies to declare independence. He was known as a revolutionary writer and
philosopher. By winter of 1775, the Patriots had been fighting Britain for months. Yet, many
colonists were still reluctant to cut their ties with Britain. In a fiery pamphlet, Paine told these
colonists that it was time to make the break. He called the pamphlet Common Sense.
When Common Sense appeared in January 1776, curious readers snatched up copies. In six
months, more than 500,000 were sold. “Common Sense is working a powerful change in the minds of
men,” George Washington observed.
Paine also wrote a series of essays titled Crisis. Urged on by Paine and other radicals, the
colonists were beginning to think the unthinkable. They were thinking of creating a nation of their
own.
Common Sense
“ In England a King hath little more to do than to make war and give away jobs; which in plain
terms, is to impoverish the nation…Of more worth is one honest man to society and in the sight of
GOD, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776
 Paine set out to change the colonists’ attitude – they did not owe loyalty to King George III or
Britain
 British helped the colonists only for their own profit
 “Everything that is right and reasonable pleads for separation,” “Tis time to part”
¿¿ How did Thomas Paine’s Common Sense pamphlet influence colonial opinion ?
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Congress Votes for Independence
 Thomas Paine’s Common Sense sold many colonists on the idea of independence
 Richard Henry Lee wrote to Washington, “I am now convinced….of the necessity for separation”
“ Resolved, That these United Colonies are and of right ought to be, free and independent States,
that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection
between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved”
Richard Henry Lee, Resolution at the Second Continental Congress, June 7, 1776
 Making the Break
 Delegates faced a difficult decision – there would be no turning back once they declared
their independence
 They would be hanged as traitors if they fell into British hands
 Congress took the fateful step and a committee drew up a formal declaration of
independence (J. Adams, B. Franklin, T. Jefferson, etc)
 Thomas Jefferson was asked to write the document due to his ability to write clearly and
gracefully
“I long to hear that you have independence. And… in the new Code of Laws, which I suppose it will
be necessary for you to make, I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and
favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the
Husbands… If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a
Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or
Representation.”
Abigail Adams, letter to John Adams, March 31, 1776
 Signing the Document
 Jefferson completed the declaration and it was read to Congress
 On July 2, the Continental Congress voted that the 13 colonies were “free and
independent States”
 Delegates adopted the document on July 4, 1776 and ordered the Declaration of
Independence to be printed
 The president of the Continental Congress, John Hancock, signed it first
 Copies were distributed throughout the colonies
 Patriots greeted the news with joyous and rowdy celebrations
¿¿ What is the significance of July 4, 1776 ?
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The Declaration of Independence
 Declaration of Independence consists of a preamble followed by 3 main parts: Natural Rights,
British Wrongs and Independence
 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.”
Thomas Jefferson, Preamble, 1776
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 People form governments in order to protect their natural rights/liberties
 Governments can only exist if they have the “consent of the governed”
 If a government fails to protect the rights of its citizens, then it is the people’s “right and
duty to throw off such government, and provide new guards for their future security”
 British Wrongs
 Condemned King George III for disbanding colonial legislatures and sending troops to
the colonies during peacetime
 Complained about the limits on trade and taxes imposed without representation
 Pointed out that the colonies had petitioned the king to correct the injustices yet they
remained
“In every state of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the
most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been answered only by
repeated injury. A prince whose character is thus marked by every act
which may define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
Thomas Jefferson, Declaration ‘List of Wrongs’, 1776
 Independence
 Declaration announces that the colonies are the United States of America
 All political ties with Britain have been cut
 As a free and independent nation, the US has the full power to “levy war, conclude peace,
contract alliances, establish commerce….”
“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.”
Signers of the Declaration of Independence ‘Solemn Pledge’, 1776
1.
How did Common Sense influence the colonists ? _____________________________________
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2.
What steps did Congress take to declare independence ? _______________________________
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3.
What are the main ideas of the Declaration of Independence ? __________________________
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