Declaring Independence

Which statement best describes the role of government according to the Declaration of Independence?

• "The main purpose of government is to expand and glorify the state."
• "The main purpose of government is to protect the unalienable rights of individuals."
• "The main purpose of government is to protect the rights and privileges of His Majesty, the King."
• "The main purpose of government is to promote the general welfare of the  community by taking steps toward social equality." 

Which timeline shows English policies toward the American colonists in the correct chronological order? 

• Townshend Act, Quartering of troops, Stamp Act, Tea Act.
• Quartering of troops, Townshend Act, Intolerable Acts, Tea Act.
• Stamp Act, Quartering of troops, Tea Act, Intolerable Acts.
• Stamp Act, Townshend Act, Tea Act, Quartering of troops.

What was the main purpose of the tar-and-feathering shown in this British caricature of the colonists? 

• To protest their being taxed without their consent.
• To protest the high cost of British manufactured goods.
• To protest British involvement in the French and Indian war.
• To protest the quartering of troops in colonists' own home.

What was the impact of the passage of the Stamp Act by the British Parliament in 1765?

• Led to the Writing of the Declaration of Independence.
• Led to increased tensions.
• Led to Colonial protests
• Led to peaceful cooperation

What was the impact of the continued fighting between British troops on the Continental Army in Massachusetts and New York in 1775 and 1776? 

• Led to the Writing of the Declaration of Independence.
• Led to increased tensions
• Led to colonial protests
• Led to peaceful cooperation.

Which colonial leader introduced the ideas of John Locke's "social contract" theory into the Declaration of Independence?

• John Hancock
• Thomas Paine
• James Madison
• Thomas Jefferson

Which work publicized the concept of "natural rights," later found in the Declaration of Independence?

• Magna Carta
• the English Bill of Rights
• the Mayflower Compact
• John Locke's Two Treatises of Government

According to the Declaration of Independence, what was an "unalienable right" that all governments should protect?

• the right to social equality
• the right to personal liberty
• the right to religious equality
• the right to elect government officials

The passage below comes from the Declaration of Independence (1776):
"He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures . . ."
Which section of the Declaration contained this passage?

• its list of colonial grievances
• its justification of the conduct of the colonists
• its theory of government based on a social contract
• its announcement of American independence from Britain

The passage below comes from the Declaration of Independence.
"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." 
According to this passage, what is the principal role of government?

• To promote greater social equality
• To protect the natural rights of citizens
• To glorify the ruler in the eyes of the creator
• To help individuals cooperate against the forces of nature