DECLARATION OF

INDEPENDENCE

War Begins

1. In May 1775, the Continental Congress met again. The war had just started.

2. The first battle was a British victory at Lexington, Massachusetts.

3. The colonists had still NOT yet discussed starting a new country.

Common Sense

1. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense in January 1776.

a. Many colonists read the book.b. It said that the colonies should

leave Britain.

Richard Henry Lee

1. In June 1776, Richard Henry Lee suggested becoming an independent country.

a. The Continental Congress began to discuss the idea.

Thomas Jefferson

1. The Continental Congress decided to write the D of I.

a. 5 people worked on it (John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, Thomas Jefferson).

b. Jefferson was chosen to write.

Independence Hall’s Assembly Room, Philadelphia

Committee of Five

Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson working on the Declaration of Independence.Painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1900).

Preamble

1. The Preamble is the introduction. 2. It states that people must explain their

reasons for independence.

Natural Rights

1. The second section states that everyone has the natural rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

2. It states that governments are meant to protect these rights.

List of Wrongs

1. The third section lists ALL of the complaints against King George.

The USA

1. The last section declares that the USA is a new country.

2. The colonies are no longer controlled by Britain.

Video

The draft of the Declaration of Independence being presented to the 2nd

Continental Congress. The painting, by John Trumball, currently hangs inthe Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

National Archives Building, Washington, DC

The Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in the National Archives Building, Washington, DC

Thomas Jefferson’s Rough Draft