Declaration of Independence PDF

Declaration of Independence AKS 33 b Click the DOI title to play It’s Too Late to Apologize 3:21  Declaration The Second Continental Congress chose to officially declare independence. The Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson to...

Declaration of Independence AKS 33 b Click the DOI title to play It’s Too Late to Apologize 3:21  Declaration The Second Continental Congress chose to officially declare independence. The Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson to pen a statement outlining the reasons for the colonies’ separation from Great Britain. On July 4, 1776, the delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed to the world that the American colonies were united in the fight for independence. © Brain Wrinkles  Thomas Jefferson was the principal writer of the Declaration of Independence. © Brain Wrinkles  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” © Brain Wrinkles  Declaration The Declaration announced to King George III that the colonists were united against him. It stated why the colonists declared their independence, and the colonists hoped to win support from countries all over the world. The Declaration also expressed the colonists’ belief that everyone deserves natural rights. There are three main parts of the Declaration: the Preamble, a list of grievances, & the official declaration. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles  Preamble Click the title and listen. Stop at :45 sec. hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.  When people decide Preamble as a group to separate for one political process to create a new one hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the re Fa Especially earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of as ir, on when their Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the able rights are opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the violated causes which impel them to the separation. It is their duty to fully To e explain why they are g ur separating. Click the title and continue listening. Stop at 1:13 sec. Preamble 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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. Circle any word or phrase that is unfamiliar to you. 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. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Excerpt from the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence  Drag a circle around any word or phrase that is unfamiliar to you. obvious We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, Rig una hts e d that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, ble v i d g i ve u to o p pr that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That To fre s ely to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, eek deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Cre ate d from ng Wi per th th i Com mis e s n io  Drag a circle around any word or phrase that is unfamiliar to you. Granted rights by We believe Are equal to Rights the each other we are Creator We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, unable to give that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, up that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, Rights that a deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. gov’t Protect should the not take iv e t h e ir p owers Created by the rights Rece away h t h e p e rm ission of people or wit p e o p le o r citizens citizens the  Grievances The middle section of the Declaration of Independence is a list of 27 grievances, or complaints, against King George and the British Parliament. This is the largest part of the Declaration, and it clearly states the ways that the king had wronged the colonists. Click the image and continue to listen. Starting at 4:21 and stopping at 5:21 sec. © Brain Wrinkles  Grievances Some of the grievances include: “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” (The king issued taxation without the colonists’ consent.) “For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments.” (The king denied the colonists’ right to self-government by dissolving their legislatures.) “He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.” (The king always kept an army in the colonies.) “For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us.” The king allowed soldiers into the colonists' homes to take food and beds. © Brain Wrinkles  Click the Declaration image and continue to listen. Starting at 8:08 sec. The final part of the Declaration officially declared the colonies free from British rule. It announced the formation of the United States of America and declared they were no longer connected to Great Britain. The conclusion also contains the signatures of 56 signers from all 13 states. Three Georgians signed the document: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton. © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles  Georgia’s Delegates’ Signatures Notice where the signatures are located © Brain Wrinkles  Gwinnett Button Gwinnett (1735-1777) was born in England in 1735 and arrived in Georgia in 1765. He was a merchant, plantation owner, and an important figure in Georgia’s politics. During the Revolutionary War period, Gwinnett was an influential member of the Whig Party (Patriot) and became the leader of the radical St. John’s Parish patriot group. © Brain Wrinkles  Button Gwinnett – Gwinnett County was named in his honor. © Brain Wrinkles  Gwinnett After signing the Declaration of Independence, Gwinnett became chairman of the committee who wrote the Georgia Constitution of 1777. In 1777, he became Georgia’s governor, but only served a few months. While in office, Governor Gwinnett challenged his enemy Lachlan McIntosh to a duel. Both men were shot, but Gwinnett’s wound was fatal. Gwinnett died of his injuries three days later (May 19, 1777). Fun Fact: The signature of Button Gwinnett is rare and valuable. A letter he wrote sold for $722,500 in 2010! © Brain Wrinkles © Brain Wrinkles  Hall Lyman Hall (1734-1790) was a minister and a doctor from Connecticut (Yale graduate) who practiced medicine in Georgia and South Carolina. He moved to Georgia in 1760 and joined Button Gwinnett in leadership of the St. John’s Parish. Hall was a member of the Georgia delegation to the Second Continental (only one at first) Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence (when Gwinnett and Hall joined him). © Brain Wrinkles  Lyman Hall – Hall County is named in his honor. © Brain Wrinkles  Hall After the American Revolution, Hall returned to his medical practice. He was elected governor in 1783, and focused on important issues like rebuilding Georgia’s economy and dealing with Loyalists and American Indians. Hall was also instrumental in the founding of the University of Georgia (we will learn more about this later this school year). © Brain Wrinkles  Walton George Walton (1749?-1804) was a successful lawyer who became involved in Georgia politics during the Revolutionary War. He was born in Virginia and moved to Georgia in 1769. Walton had the longest and most successful political career of the three signers. Walton served in the provincial congress and was the president of the Council of Safety. Walton was a delegate to the Continental Congress and was the third Georgian to sign the Declaration of Independence. © Brain Wrinkles  George Walton – Walton County is named for him. © Brain Wrinkles  Walton During the American Revolution, Walton served as a Patriot colonel. He was wounded and captured by the British (released in a prisoner exchange) and ended up walking with a limp for the rest of his life. When the war ended, Walton remained active in Georgia politics for the next 30 years. He was a governor of Georgia (twice), representative to Congress, circuit court judge, chief justice of Georgia, US senator, and superior court judge. © Brain Wrinkles