Declaration of Independence

1. Declaration of Independence By: Lindsey Andrews, Allison Workman, Reagan Meyers, Hunter Laufer

2. The Declaration of Independence • The author of this document is Thomas Jefferson. • This explains why the United States should be a free nation.

3. Purpose.. • The Declaration of Independence explains why the U.S. should be a free nation. • States that all men are created equal. All people are born with the same unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

4. What’s in it… • It argued that the British government did not look after the interest of colonists • There was many complaints by the authors about King George. • It says that the purpose of the government is to protect the rights of people.

5. *Continued* • The people agree to obey by laws and rules and in return the government promises to protect their lives, property, and the liberty of people. • The people are entitled to change a government if is disregards their rights. • If the government misuses its power, the people should rebel.

6. The 2nd Paragraph.. • States the beliefs of the rights of individuals. • “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.”

7. Who influenced this document? • The thinking of Thomas Jefferson and his fellow Americans was particularly influenced by John Locke. • John Locke is a seventeenth-century English philosopher.

8. In the end.. • The Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence with a few changes on July 4, 1776. • Great Britain officially recognized the United States as a rightfully independent nation.