Social Studies Monday October 15, 2012 WARM UP—News Notes Today’s Learning Goal—I can describe

what ideas can be found in the Declaration of Independence.

Write today’s learning goal under your news notes. At the end of today’s lesson we will come back to this and make sure you have achieved today’s goal.

Tape or glue your handout notes onto page

Rebellion Becomes Revolution The publication of a pamphlet titled Common

Sense by Thomas Paine, helped convince many Americans that it was time to fight for independence.

In May of 1776, the Continental Congress, made up of delegates from the 13 colonies, were still undecided about declaring independence from Great Britain.

While the delegates were debating the issue, Congress appointed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence. The committee chose Thomas Jefferson to write the draft.

On July 4, 1776, Congress agreed to adopt the document that proclaimed independence from Britain—the Declaration of Independence.

Rebellion Becomes Revolution John Hancock, the president of the Congress,

was the first to sign the Declaration. The core idea of the Declaration is that people

have natural and unalienable rights, or rights that government cannot take away.

“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.”

-Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

Rebellion Becomes Revolution Jefferson also explains that if a government

disregards these rights, it loses its right to govern. The people then have the right to abolish that government, by force if necessary. They can then form a new government that will protect their rights.

When Jefferson spoke of “the people,” however, the meant only free, white, landowning men. Women, the enslaved, and those without property were left out of the Declaration.

The Declaration explained that the colonies were to now be free and independent states.

Americans had declared independence. Now they had to win their freedom on the battlefield.

The Declaration of Independence

Social Studies Video Clips—The Declaration of

Independence