Which sentence from the Declaration of Independence best develops the idea that people have the Right?

Lesson Plan

Projects

Each of the projects is designed to allow you to demonstrate your skills and abilities with respect to what you have learned in this lesson. We offer you many choices so that you can find the one(s) that you find most interesting or relevant. In many of these projects we offer you help in how to approach them.

Jefferson was heavily influenced by some great political philosophers before him (e.g. Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, and Montesquieu)

• Create a Comparison Chart to show what issues Jefferson agreed with three of these thinkers and what areas he would have had disagreement and be prepared to do a ten minute presentation on this map.
• Write a short play about Jefferson's dinner conversation with any two of his historical influencers.
• Write an essay or build a presentation that shows which of Jefferson's ideas in the Declaration of Independence came from these great thinkers. Consider using Google Docs or Slideshare.
• Create a discussion between Jefferson and one of the historical figures. You might consider using Wetoku to enact the conversation.

The colonial period between 1753-1776 was pivotal in how the country was formed.

• Create the front page of a newspaper or a web homepage (simulated or live) that consolidates this period. Write 4-6 articles on the page and find the appropriate images and headlines for your front page.

The Declaration of Independence is an 18th century document. How would the ideas be communicated today? You can choose to...

• Rewrite the Declaration of Independence as a 21st century document in your own language
• Build a Facebook page for the D of I, include any relevant pictures of the proceedings and different documents or videos that you can find that you think are appropriate
• Perform a song or poem that describes the key ideas in the Declaration

The Declaration of Independence included these three major ideas:

1. People have certain Inalienable Rights including Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness
2. All Men are created equal
3. Individuals have a civic duty to defend these rights for themselves and others

How important do you think these principals are today? Are we still living by them? Pick one and

• Write a paper to examine and defend your position.
• Give a speech explaining whether we are living up to the ideals.
• Write a fictional story based in the present day that deals with one or more of these ideas. Create a conflict and determine how your lead character(s) will deal with them.
• Create a forum/survey (online or offline) to collect opinions around how well America is living up to any or all of these principals. Make a presentation on your findings.
• Conduct an interview with Thomas Jefferson and have him explain why he felt one of the above ideas was so important.... Come up with 2 other follow-up questions you would ask him about this issue and have him answer those as well.

The three ideas are strongly entangled. What would it mean if one of the three were removed? Write two similar short stories. One that describes a scenario when all three ideas are in play, the other when only two are.

• Is there another idea that you think should be inserted as an inalienable right. Write a story that demonstrates the right and its critical importance.

Those in the Second Continental Congress did not just walk in and sign the Declaration of Independence. It took about a year from the time they first met to the time they signed it. Research what went on during the period that led up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and

• Take on the role of a late night comedian. Write a monologue that pokes fun at what went on.
• Develop a series of "supposed" Television news interviews to show how things developed.

Looking back on the Declaration of Independence almost 50 years later, Thomas Jefferson explained that the document’s purpose was never meant to be thoroughly original; its purpose wasn’t to articulate anything that hadn’t be said before, but to make the case for the American colonies in plain terms and persuade the world to see common sense. “It was intended to be an expression of the American mind,” Jefferson explains. He goes on to claim that “[the Declaration’s] authority rests then on the harmonizing sentiments of the day.” (Jefferson to Henry Lee, May 8, 1825)

Jefferson finished his timeless defense of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” in little more than two weeks, and like most writers, he was no stranger to the revision process. Between the Committee of Five and the Second Continental Congress, there were 86 edits to the document. The Second Continental Congress removed whole sections. Jefferson was most angered by the removal of one particular clause, a clause blaming the King for forcing the slave trade upon the American colonies.

The final draft of the Declaration of Independence contains a preamble, a list of grievances, a formal declaration of independence, and signatures.

Preamble

This first part of the Declaration contains an assertion of individual rights. Perhaps the most famous line states, “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.” This part goes on to say that if the government tries to take these rights away, the people have the right to form a new government. Jefferson also addresses a counterclaim in this section, acknowledging that “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes…” He counters by reminding his audience of the “long train of abuses and usurpations” that makes it “…their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

Grievances

The longest part of the Declaration begins with "He has refused his Assent to Laws" and goes on to list the unfair actions of the British king and Parliament. In their complaints, the colonists make it clear that they are angry with the British king and government for taking away their rights as English citizens. They point out that the king has ignored or changed their colonial governments, as well as their rights to a trial by jury. The colonists accuse the king of sending a hired army to force them to obey unjust laws. They say the king is “unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”

Note: The norms and structure of argumentative writing in the 18th century were different than they are in the 21st century. The list of grievances that serves as the Declaration’s evidence seems largely anecdotal by today’s standards. However, the Declaration’s claim and underlying assumption (big idea) are especially applicable to the writing standards of 21st-century classrooms.

Formal declaration of independence

The final paragraph, beginning with "We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America," affirms that the 13 colonies are free and independent states. It breaks all ties with the British government and people. As independent states, they can make trade agreements and treaties, wage war, and do whatever is necessary to govern themselves. This formal declaration of independence ends with important words. The words tell us what the signers of the Declaration of Independence were willing to give up for freedom: “…we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Signatures

There are 56 signatures on the Declaration of Independence. Fifty men from 13 states signed the document on August 2 in 1776. The other six signed over the course of the next year and a half. As the President of the Second Continental Congress, John Hancock signed first. He wrote his name very large. Some of the men abbreviated their first names, like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. All of the signers risked their lives when they signed the Declaration of Independence.

Legacy of the argument

Contrary to popular belief, the words of the Declaration of Independence did not gain immediate prominence. In fact, they remained obscure for decades. And yet the spirit of the Declaration caused ripples almost immediately, most famously with the French Revolution in 1789. The Haitian Revolution followed soon after, and the subsequent decades would see many Latin American countries continuing the fight for independence from colonial powers. In 1945, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh also invoked the document when declaring Vietnamese independence from the French colonial empire.

Within the U.S., the women’s suffrage movement adapted the Declaration of Independence for their cause, asserting in the 1848 Declaration of Sentiments that “all men and women are created equal.” Meanwhile, the country’s celebrations of independence haunted enslaved people and abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, whose 1852 speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” pondered the nation’s shortcoming despite its dedication to values like liberty. As Douglass said, “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.”

As World War I came to a close, leaders from Eastern Europe gathered inside Independence Hall on October 26, 1918 to sign the Declaration of Common Aims of the Independent Mid-European Nations. Those gathering in Independence Hall that day sought to bring autonomy to the nations of the former Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires. The signers pledged their mutual support and their belief that “it is the unalienable right of every people to organize their own governments on such principles and in such forms as they believe will best promote their welfare, safety, and happiness.”

After the signing ceremony, Doctor Thomas Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia, read the Declaration of Common Aims on Independence Square, just as John Nixon read the Declaration of Independence on July 8, 1776.

Which sentence from the Declaration of Independence best develops the idea that represents government is the basis of our constitutional democracy?

Which sentence from the Declaration of Independence best develops the idea that King George 111?

Which conclusion from the Declaration of Independence is best supported by the reasoning in these?

What is the main purpose of this excerpt of the document?