A Nation Declares Independence A Call For Independence

A Nation Declares Independence

A Call For Independence • • • The colonist begin to split into 3 groups: Patriots wished to leave England form a new nation, Loyalists wished to remain with England, and a third group was undecided In January of 1776, Thomas Paine wrote a 50 page book called “Common Sense”, the book called for American Independence In May of 1776, Virginia authorized it’s delegates to support independence, soon afterwards Richard Henry Lee approached Congress to speak on behalf of America cutting all ties to England, since the resolution originated in Virginia, a 33 year old farmer named Thomas Jefferson was given permission to begin writing and listing grievances against the King of England

The Declaration • • • Based on the ideas of the Enlightenment, it uses step by step logic to explain why the colonists wanted to break away from England It begins with a Preamble that explains why Americans are breaking away from England Next it discusses the Natural Rights that all men are entitled to (such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness): based on the teachings of John Locke and Lord Montesquieu Jefferson next lists all grievances that would show exactly what the English government had without question done to violate the rights of a colonies and to lodge formal complaints against King George III Finally the Declaration states that the people have a right to abolish an unjust government and since the King of England had violated the basic human rights of the Americans, we as a nation were dissolving the bond that kept us English

Impact of the Declaration • When Congress met in 1776, it was almost certain that it was going to declare independence, it just needed a few key events to occur to win over colonial support • The actual signing of the Declaration took place in August of 1776 but we celebrate July 4 th as our holiday because that is the day the document was approved and written • The Declaration changed the nature of the Revolution forever, no longer were Patriots fighting to gain fair treatment from a king, they were now fighting to create a new nation