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Much of the Declaration of Independence
was based on the idea of natural rights.
Enlightenment ideas encouraged the
colonists to think about becoming an
independent country.
 Social Studies Standard 7.11.6: Discuss how the
principles in the Magna Carta were embodied
in such documents as the English Bill of
Rights and the American Declaration of
Independence.
 Social Studies Standard 8.1.2: Analyze the
philosophy of government expressed in the
Declaration of Independence, with an
emphasis on government as a means of
securing individual rights.
minuteman: groups of young soldiers
ready to assemble quickly.
preamble: introduction. The preamble of
the Declaration of Independence explains
the goals.
grievance: formal complaint.
Taxation Leads to Protests
 Taxes imposed by Britain sparked angry
protests in the American colonies.
 Tensions between the colonists and Britain began to
grow after Britain passed the Stamp Act of 1765
 Taxes were placed on newspapers, legal documents,
and other items.
 Colonists argued that because they had no elected
representatives in the British Parliament, they could
not have new taxes imposed on them.
“No taxation without representation”
Taxation Leads to Protests
 Taxes imposed by Britain sparked angry
protests in the American colonies.
 In Boston, and elsewhere, some colonists refused to
buy British goods.
 Britain eventually cancelled the Stamp Act due to the
boycott.
 Protests against the taxation issue were held by
Patriots.
 In March 1770, 5 colonists were shot and killed
during a scuffle with British soldiers. This event
called “the Boston Massacre” further angered the
colonists.
From Protest to Revolution
 The first battles of the American Revolution
broke out in the Massachusetts towns of
Lexington and Concord.
 In December 1773, a group of Patriots raided British
merchant ships anchored in Boston harbor and
dumped 342 chests of tea overboard. They were
angry about a new law that gave a British company
control of all tea sold in the colonies.
 Parliament passed several laws to punish
Massachusetts.
 The Boston Port Bill
 The Quartering Act
 The Massachusetts Government Act
From Protest to Revolution
 The first battles of the American Revolution
broke out in the Massachusetts towns of
Lexington and Concord.
 People in the colonies were angry at these
“Intolerable Acts.”
 In response, colonists organized the First
Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774.
 The delegates agreed not to buy British
goods.
From Protest to Revolution
 The first battles of the American Revolution
broke out in the Massachusetts towns of
Lexington and Concord.
 On April 18, 1775, some 700 British soldiers
marched to Lexington to seize hidden
weapons. A skirmish broke out and 8
minutemen were killed.
 The battles of Lexington and Concord marked
the start of the American Revolution.
 George Washington was voted to command
the Continental Army.
Debate Over Independence
 While few colonists at first called for
independence, public opinion shifted, helped
in part by the writings of Thomas Paine.
 In January 1776, Thomas Paine published a 50 page
pamphlet called Common Sense.
 According to Paine, King George III was “an enemy to
liberty.”
 Common sense led to only one conclusion, “Every
thing that is right or reasonable pleads for separation.”
 Paine’s pamphlet became a bestseller throughout the
colonies, and more colonists began to support
independence.
Debate Over Independence
 Declaring Independence
 Delegates at the Continental Congress came
around to the side of independence.
 In June 1776, a committee was formed to
write a document outlining the reasons for
separating from Britain.
 Thomas Jefferson was assigned the task of
writing most of the declaration.
 The Continental Congress adopted the
Declaration on July 4, 1776.
The Declaration of Independence
 In bold, clear words, the Declaration of
Independence states that the colonists have
a right to throw off British rule.
 Building on Enlightenment ideas, it uses step-by-step
logic to why the colonists wanted to cast off British
rule.
 The first section, the Preamble, or introduction,
explains its goals.
 The Preamble refers to “the laws of nature and of
nature’s God.”
 In the next section, Thomas Jefferson states the
principle that governments are created in order to
protect people’s rights.
The Declaration of Independence
 In bold, clear words, the Declaration of
Independence states that the colonists have a
right to throw off British rule.
 The third section details a long list of specific
grievances, or formal complaints, against King George.
 Jefferson accuses the king of ignoring rights that
English citizens had enjoyed since the time of the
Magna Carta.
 In the conclusion, the Declaration restates the ideas of
John Locke that the people have a right to change an
unjust government.
 He proclaims that King George has violated the rights of
the colonists.
 Why did colonists think
Parliament did not have the
power to tax them?
 They had no
representation in
Parliament
 What incident marked the
start of the American
Revolution?
 Battles of Lexington
and Concord
 Answer
#4, 5,& 7
 Finish the
worksheet.
HOMEWORK EXTENSION
 Write a detailed SUMMARY of the section and
complete the UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
section of your notes.
 Choose two of the remaining Depth & Complexity
ICONS in your notes and explain how they relate
to this section.