Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

America's Break Up Letter

Background

• Trouble had been brewing between the colonies and the British government since the 7 Years War (French and Indian War)

• British government put new taxes in place

• Reasoning: we paid to defend you, you can help pay to live here

Background

• Problem: Americans had been used to having a say through their representative governments in their colonies about decisions like taxes

• Repeated attempts to get representation had failed

• They decided to break up with King George III

• The War for Independence had been going on for a year at this point

Background

• The Continental Congress wants a formal declaration drawn up saying "Aight, Imma head out"

• They hire Thomas Jefferson to head a committee to draft this declaration

Purpose:

To entertain, to inform, to persuade/argue

Audience:

The person intended to receive the message

Message:

The point the author wants to get across

Fill in the Blanks

The purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to...

Multiple Choice

The audience for the Declaration of Independence was...

• Thomas Jefferson

• James Madison

• King George III

• King Louis XVI

Multiple Select

The message of the Declaration of Independence was... (check all that apply)

• to tell King George III why they were leaving

• to outline the freedoms people should be allowed to have

• to point out how the rights of the Americans, as British citizens had been violated

• To secede from the Union and start an independent nation in the South

• To depose the king and get a new one

Structure of the Declaration of Independence

Structure sets up the argument

Paragraph 1

• Tells when it is necessary to split from a political organization

• To explain the conditions that would lead to a separation in the first place

• To explain the main point

Paragraph 2

• What rights man and the government should have

• What men should be allowed to do when those commitments of the government are not made to the people they govern

Middle Section

• Outlines everything the King did wrong in the relationship

• Everything is basically line-itemed

• Like a break-up letter, the colonies are telling the king what he did wrong

Final Three Paragraphs

• Addresses how the colonies have tried to fix the situation

• Tells how the King refused to listen

• Gives the call to action: What are the colonies going to do now that their requests haven't been met?

Open Ended

What has been your opinion of the Declaration of Independence up until this point?