Declaring Independence

Declaring Independence

By Tara Fisher

• Thomas Paine: wrote Common Sense a pamphlet arguing that citizens, not kings or queens, should make the laws

  • Spread throughout the colonies giving people a new view on the monarchy​

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Paine's Common Sense

• June 1776 the Second Continental Congress formed a committee to write a document declaring the colonies independence

• The Declaration of Independence: formally announces the colonies' break from Britain

  • Jefferson: unalieanable rights, "life liberty and the pursuit of happiness"

  • George III violated rights by taxing the colonists without consent and passing unfair laws

  • Right to break from Britain​​

​July 4, 1776, Continential Congress Approved

Independence is Declared

Fill in the Blank

According to Paine, who should make the laws?

Multiple Choice

Who was in charge of drafting the Declaration of Independence

• Hamilton

• Adams

• Washington

• Jefferson

• Loyalists: colonists who chose to side with Britain

• Patriots: Chose to fight for independence

• Neutral

• Ended friendhips and divided families

• Many loyalists moved to Canada​ leaving their homes and property

• Natives tried to stay neutral, until they divided ​

Choosing Sides

Fill in the Blank

Individuals who sided with Britain were called?

Fill in the Blank

Individuals who wanted independence were called?

​Unfinished Business

• Although the Declaration of Independence declared "all men are created equal" it failed to mention women, African Americans and Native Americans whose rights were subject to majority rule

• Women: Abigail Adams tried to influence her husband to include rights of women in the document however delegates did not agree

• Enslaved Africans: Why did slavery exist in a land that vlaued personal freedom? Slavery continued in the colonies. By the 1780'd New England took steps to abolish slavery although it continued long after the Revolution

• Native Americans: despite the Proclamation of 1763, colonists were settling past the Appalachian mountains​. This disregard for Native Amereicans would develop into a pattern.

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Fill in the Blank

Which groups of individuals were left out of the Declaration of Independence?

Multiple Choice

True or false, cononists listened to the Proclamation of 1763.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which group of colonies took steps to end slavery?

• New England

• Middle

• Southern