1.6-1.8 Questions

According to the Declaration of Independence, which are examples of natural rights?

• freedom of speech and of the press

• the right to free health care and education

• the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

• the right to use the resources of nature, including air and water

The excerpt below is from the Declaration of Independence (1776). "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain __________, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Which phrase completes the excerpt?

• unalienable rights

• equalities of opportunity

• duties and responsibilities

• repeated injuries and abuses

The passage below is from the Declaration of Independence (1776). Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes . . . But when a long train of ________, 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. Which phrase completes the passage?

• unalienable rights

• safety and happiness

• abuses and usurpations

• duties and responsibilities

The passage below is from the Declaration of Independence. [T]o secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. [W]henever 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 . . . According to this passage, what is the chief purpose of government?

• to glorify the nation

• to protect the rights of its people

• to promote popular religious beliefs

• to increase the ruler’s wealth and power

what are natural rights?

• God-given rights that all people should enjoy

• rights that exist in America but not in Europe

• rights granted by English kings to their subjects

• rights that can only be earned through bloodshed

What was the meaning of "unalienable rights" in the Declaration of Independence?

• rights granted to all Englishmen by the Magna Carta

• rights that all citizens enjoy without any responsibilities attached

• rights that all people are entitled to and that should not be taken away

• rights granted by governments in order to win the support of their citizens

Which complaint was set forth in the Declaration of Independence?

• The King had never personally visited the colonies.

• The King had allied with France against the colonists.

• The King had repeatedly dissolved colonial legislatures.

• The King had ignored the wishes of the British House of Commons.

Why did the Second Continental Congress issue the Declaration of Independence?

• to explain the reasons for the colonists’ separation from Great Britain

• to create a stronger central government for the thirteen colonies

• to provide a method for territories to become new colonies

• to protect the rights of citizens against government abuse

The statement below was approved by the Second Continental Congress in 1776. "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." Which conclusion can be drawn from this statement?

• All Americans were social equals by 1776.

• Americans sought the traditional rights of English subjects.

• Americans established ideals that took time for them to realize.

• Americans separated from the British empire in pursuit of religious freedom.

Which right would the authors of the Declaration of Independence have considered as a natural right?

• the right of a sick mother to the help of her children

• the right of a king to make decisions for his subjects

• the right of a person to take the property of a neighbor who fails to look after it

• the right of a citizen to remain out of jail unless lawfully convicted of a crime