HOW TO COMPLETE A
CLOSE READING
BUILDING ARGUMENTS WITH TEXT EVIDENCE
STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES
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Comparing Great American Documents-Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness?
Standard 8.23 Determine the central ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence and write an
expository piece in which the legacy of these ideas in today’s world is described and validated with
supporting evidence from the text.
In the classroom, students will read and analyze various United States’ documents that directly discuss
American’s “Liberty”; juxtaposing these documents with the Declaration of Independence in order to
discover whether America has lived up to its creed.
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ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1. Does America live up to its creed of “All Men Are Created Equal?”
2. What is equality? What is Liberty?
3. How has the concept of Liberty evolved over the centuries?
4. How can Americans achieve Liberty?
5. How am I included in the founding father’s ideals of “Life, Liberty, and the
Pursuit of Happiness?”
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MATERIALS: Thomas Jefferson: “Declaration of Independence” (Anchor Text)
Dr. King’s Response: “Letter From Birmingham Jail”
TASK SHEET - ENGAGING IN THE TASK PART I
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Read the Declaration of Independence again
on your own.
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After reading the text of The Declaration of
Independence, as a table group, develop a
chart in which you list and explain words and
phrases that are used in the text that
represent liberty.
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Then individually on an index card, write a
paragraph examining what the text shows
you about the author’s perspective on liberty.
Cite specific evidence from your group’s
chart.
QUOTES FROM THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE
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“…all men are created equal” – 11
“Endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights” – 13-14
“deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” 15-16
“it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new
Government.” 17-18
“Safety and Happiness” – 19
“it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new
Guards for their future security.” – 27-28
“Public Good” – 37
“We must therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation,
and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.”
118-119
“united States of America” – 121
“..of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.” – 125
“…and that as Free and independent States, they have the full Power to levy War,
conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts
and Things which Independent States may of right do.
“Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown” – 126-127
CHARTING EXAMPLE – WITH YOUR GROUP, CREATE A LIST OF THE
ITEMS YOU BROUGHT OUT OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
PARAGRAPH EXAMPLE – USE THE QUOTES YOU PULLED FROM THE
DOCUMENT TO EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER AND TO JUSTIFY YOUR
CONCLUSIONS.
• To break all political ties with England, the independent seeking colonists
write a document that declares their separation and gives their rationale
behind their actions. The document is meant for the King of England, but
the writers of the document know the importance of the declaration will
ensure the longevity and open reading of the document by many.
Liberty is the foundational theme for the Declaration of Independence.
Jefferson references the idea of liberty several times throughout the
document. He infers that liberty is a “Law of Nature,” and is given to man
by God. “They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights.” The Parliament of England has “usurped” the liberty of the
colonists; and in doing so, has brought about the rebellious actions on
the American continent. Jefferson states that government should derive,
“their powers from the consent of the governed,” or the people. The lack
of colonial representation provides the motivation the colonists need to
absolve themselves of said government and “institute a new
Government,” based on the ideals of “Safety and Happiness.” Jefferson
declares these attributes as liberty – “Happiness,” “Safety,” and most of
all the “duty” to replace those that abuse power and to procure the
protection of the people under this new government.
TASK SHEET: ENGAGING IN THE TASK PART II
• Reread Letter from Birmingham
Jail on your own.
• After reading the text of Letter from
Birmingham Jail, again as a table
group, continue your chart in which
you now list and explain words and
phrases that are used in the letter
that represent liberty.
• Again, individually on an index
card, write a paragraph examining
what the text shows you about the
author’s perspective on liberty. Cite
specific evidence from your
group’s chart.
QUOTES FROM LETTERS FROM A BIRMINGHAM JAIL – GO THROUGH
THE DOCUMENT AND PULL QUOTES THAT REFERENCE OR SUPPORT
KING’S THOUGHTS ON LIBERTY.
• “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – 35
• “…tied in a single garment of destiny.” – 36
• “Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider
anywhere within its bounds.” – 38-40
• “self purification” – 74
• “…we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society
that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic
heights of understanding and brotherhood.” – 105-107
• “The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed
that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation” – 109-110
• “Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their
privileges voluntarily.” – 125-126
• “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by
the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” – 130-131
• “The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust.” – 174
• “ One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely,
one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St.
Augustine that ‘an unjust law is no law at all’.” – 176-177
QUOTES FROM LETTERS FROM A
BIRMINGHAM JAIL - CONTINUED
• “An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any
law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality
is unjust. All segregation statues are unjust because segregation distorts the soul
and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority
and the segregated a false sense of inferiority.” – 183-188
• “A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority.” – 204
• “Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application.” – 213
• Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering that outright rejection.” – 255256
• “Birthright of Freedom.” - 340
• “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever.” – 338
• “We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because
the goal of America is freedom.” – 495-496
• “sacred heritage of our nation.” - 505
• “One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat
down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the
American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaea Christian heritage,
thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were
dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the
Declaration of Independence.” 544-549
CHARTING EXAMPLE
PARAGRAPH EXAMPLE: WRITE A PARAGRAPH ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF THE
LETTER FROM A BIRMINGHAM JAIL AND THE AUDIENCE KING INTENDED TO
READ IT. BACK UP YOUR ANSWERS WITH TEXT.
• King is discussing a moral wrong that is taking place in America during this
time. Segregation and the Jim Crow laws had plagued the social
structure of the South for over 50 years at this point and had created a
false sense of superiority/inferiority. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail,
King states, “Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All
segregation statues are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and
damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of
superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority.” In his letter to
the clergymen of Birmingham, King states that, “injustice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere.” The purpose of King’s letter is to put the
social injustices taking place into blunt writing. He knows there is a need
for change, and that the change cannot be done if the leaders and
politicians of the region are “by standing” and not taking action. He is
admonishing the clergy for not playing more of an active role in fight
against this injustice. While the letter is for the clergy, it is also meant for
the people as a whole. He states, “ One has not only a legal but a moral
responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility
to disobey unjust laws.” While people continue to obey the unjust laws
that keep the races segregated, there will be no equality or justice in the
South or in America.
TASK SHEET – ENGAGING IN THE TASK PART III
• Finally, citing pertinent information from The Declaration of
Independence and Letter from Birmingham Jail in your table group,
create a chart to compare and contrast the texts and how they
develop their ideas of liberty over the course of their texts.
• Again, individually on an index card, write two paragraphs. In one
paragraph compare how the words and/or phrases used in the two
texts to identify how the two texts are similar and another paragraph
to contrast the two texts. Again cite specific evidence from your
group’s charts and the texts to support your claims.
• From these close readings of the texts, students may be asked to
use their charts and index cards to write an expository essay in
which they compare and contrast the ideas within the Declaration of
Independence with other contemporary writings.
COMPARISON: TAKE THE TWO DOCUMENTS AND NOW COMPARE AND
CONTRAST THEM. DETERMINE HOW THE IDEAS OF LIBERTY ARE SIMILAR AND
DIFFERENT. USE THE TEXT TO SUPPORT YOUR CONCLUSIONS.
Declaration of
Independence
Both
Letter from a
Birmingham Jail
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Independence
The audience is the
oppressor (Parliament)
Totally want to break away
from authority
Formal rebellion
Possible violence
Political enemy
Issue of taxation and
representation
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Appeal to god and natural
law. – both contend that
liberty is a right given by
God.
Discussion of just and unjust
laws
A struggle with the laws of
man
Peace
Both audiences have to do
with people who are
supposed to
support/protect the people.
Civil disobedience
Both struggle for the
freedom of the oppressed
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Interdependence
The audience is a supposed
ally (the clergy)
Want to work/negotiate
with the authority.
Information rebellion
Non-violent
Enemy is racism
Moral issue
VISUAL IMAGE OF CHART
CONCLUSIONS TO BE DRAWN BASED ON THE IDEA OF LIBERTY AND THE USE
OF THE TWO DOCUMENTS. BE SURE TO CONNECT WITH TEXT EVIDENCE.
• Both men determine that one must be ready for the
consequences. Death was a possible consequence for
those that wrote the Declaration of Independence, both
in the war and after if they had lost. Death was a
consequence for King. Consequences for these actions
did not fall on only the authors of these documents, but
also those involved in the movements these men were
leading. Consequences also fell upon innocent people
with no connection. An example of these
consequences is the bombing of the Birmingham church
and the young girls that were killed in that explosion. I
have attached a video that puts Langston Hughes
poem: Ballad of Birmingham to music.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHxG2b4rAlA