The Declaration of Independence

Who wrote the first draft of the Declaration?

• Ben Franklin
• John Hancock
• James Madison
• Thomas Jefferson

To whom were the signers writing this "break-up letter"?

• The world
• King George
• George Washington
• No one

What are unalienable rights?

• Rights of this world
• Rights granted by the King
• Rights you have just because you were born
• Rights given in the Constitution

The Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in order to —

• A  guarantee the individual rights of citizens against government abuse
• A  explain the reasons for the colonists’ separation from Great Britain
• A  create a stronger central government for the thirteen new states
• A  provide a method for territories to become new states

What are the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence?

• All men are created equal, all men have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, government gets its power from the people
• The only rightful purpose of government is to protect our basic rights and having a monarchy is an unnatural way to select a leader
• It needed to be explained and justified to the world why we were declaring our independence from Great Britain.
• King George III created an absolute tyranny and the Declaration of Independence proves that

Rights that cannot be taken from the people.

• Unalienable Rights

• Popular Sovereignty

• Social Contract

• Natural Rights

Thomas Jefferson borrowed many of his ideas from which Enlightenment Philosopher?

• John Locke

• Thomas Hobbes

• Thomas Paine

• John Adams

“Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.” What important idea does this language express?

• Popular Sovereignty

• Unalienable Rights

• Natural Rights

• Social Contract

To Great Britain, the signing of the Declaration of Independence was

• an act of loyalty.
• an act of treason.
• an act of bravery.
• an act of insanity.

What are our natural rights according to Jefferson?  (He got the idea from John Locke, but he changed the last right.)

• Freedom of speech, religion, and press
• Life, liberty, and property
• Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
• Voting, rebelling, and health