The Declaration of Independence

1. The Declaration of Independence Carolyn Moore E.P. Todd Elementary School November 9, 2003

2. “The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people…” John Adams Colonial Leader from Massachusetts

3. For many years, colonists living in America were content under British rule. Even though each colony had a royal governor to oversee the government, Parliament allowed colonial legislatures to make some of the laws that affected them. In the late 1700s, this began to change….

4. Problems with Parliament • Costs of French and Indian War • Proclamation of 1763 • Greater authority of colonial governors • Sugar Act • Stamp Act • Intolerable Acts

5. The Colonists React • Letters and petitions to the King • Boycotts • Boston Tea Party • Committees of Correspondence • First Continental Congress

6. “I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Patrick Henry Virginia House of Burgesses March 1775

7. After the fighting at Lexington and Concord, a Second Continental Congress was called. It met in Philadelphia in May, 1775. Congress petitioned for peace and prepared for war. By 1776, after a year of fighting, independence was on the minds of many colonists.

8. June 2, 1776 “Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown; and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved” Richard Henry Lee Delegate from Virginia With this resolution from the colony of Virginia, the Second ContinentalCongress began official debate on independence

9. June 11, 1776 A writing committee is created to draft a document which, if approved, would declare independence from Great Britain. Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson form the committee.

10. The committee entrusted the writing of the document to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, a tall redhead from Virginia, coupled his own ideas with those he had learned from his reading to write what became the Declaration of Independence.

11. Jefferson's Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence

12. July 2, 1776 After a month of debate, in a unanimous vote, Congress approves Virginia’s resolution for independence. This vote changed the American colonies into the United States of America.

13. July 3, 1776 Congress debates the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson’s original text is discussed and argued, and changes are made.

14. July 4, 1776 Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence. The final version of the document contains four distinct parts, each with its own purpose: • Preamble • Statement of Rights • Charges Against the King • Statement of Independence

15. The Signing of the Declaration of Independence

16. July 8, 1776 The Liberty Bell is rung at the State House in Philadelphia, and the Declaration of Independence is read to the public for the first time.

17. In a letter to his wife, John Adams described how he thought the occasion of the birthday of a new nation should be celebrated: “It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, bells, bonfires, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore.”

18. References • Boehm, Richard. et al. Early United States. Orlando: Harcourt Brace and Company,2000. • Fink, Sam. The Declaration of Independence. New York: Scholastic Inc. 2002. • Fradin, Dennis Brindell. The Signers. New York: Scholastic Inc. 2002. • All images from the American Memory Collection, The Library of Congress • Sound from 2000 Music Clips, rights purchased from Media Graphics International, 1998.