Declaration of Independence
Follow the path in order. Click on the Icons. Pay attention to the directions as you navitage this lesson.
Start Here
Quick Vocab
Hover over each image to read a short definition
Colonies
Continental Congress
Monarch
Framers
Ideological
Natural Rights
Taxes
Self-Government
Grievances
Next
Most students have heard of the Declaration of Independence, but few have looked closely at the text or thought about why it was written. In this assignment, you will read different ideas from historians to answer the question: Why did the Framers write the Declaration of Independence? When thinking about why the Framers wrote the Declaration of Independence, historians sometimes see two possible motives: Selfish reasons – Some argue the Framers wanted to protect their own power, wealth, and property. For example, many were landowners or merchants, and breaking from Britain meant they could make laws and trade in ways that benefited them. Ideological reasons – Others believe the Framers were mainly driven by Enlightenment ideas about liberty, natural rights, and self-government. From this view, they wrote the Declaration to stand up for the principle that all people are born with rights that cannot be taken away. You will look at evidence and decide if they were motivated more by personal gain, by their beliefs about freedom and rights.
Return
Why did the Framers declare independence?
Historians have disagreed as to whether the colonial leaders were motivated by selfish or ideological reasons. Watch the videos below. Determine which video presents the motivations for the Declaration of Independence as ideological and which indicates it could have been more self-serving reasons that brought it about. Answer Questions 1-2 on THIS GOOGLE DOC.
Video 1:
Video 2:
Next
Why did the Framers declare independence?
Read the different historian interpretaions of the Declaration of Independence, click the images to enlage them. Answer questions 3 & 4 on your Google Worksheet.
HOME
What do you think?
On your Google Worksheet, complete question 16 using the ACE writing strategy. There are sentence starters to help! Check that you've answered questions in complete sentences and run your doc through spell check or Grammarly!
Click on the resources to enlarge them and review them for your response.
Video 2
Video 1
HOME
The Declaration vs. The Constitution
The Declaration of Independence influenced the Constitution by laying out the basic ideas that would later shape the new government.
- Natural Rights – The Declaration talks about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The Constitution protects these rights through laws and the Bill of Rights.
- Consent of the Governed – The Declaration says governments get their power from the people. The Constitution puts this into practice with elections and representation.
- Limited Government – Both documents show distrust of too much power. The Declaration lists the king’s abuses, while the Constitution creates checks and balances so no branch becomes too strong.
- Equality – The Declaration says “all men are created equal.” The Constitution begins with “We the People,” showing government is meant to serve everyone (though equality expanded more over time).
- Right to Change Government – The Declaration says people can abolish or change a government that fails them. The Constitution allows amendments, giving citizens a peaceful way to make changes.
Purpose for writing it:
When & Where:
Click to answer final question
Declaration of Independence
Start Here
Making Connections
Next
Why did the Framers declare independence?
Before reviewing the sources, lets dig deeper into what selfish and ideological reasons for independence might look like:
Possible Selfish Reasons
Possible Ideological Reasons
- Protecting Economic Interests
- Many Framers were rich landowners, merchants, or slaveholders. British taxes and trade rules hurt their money and businesses, so independence could help them keep or increase their wealth.
- Desire for Power and Control
- By breaking away from Britain, colonial leaders could take control of the government themselves, rather than being ruled by a distant king and Parliament. Independence gave them the chance to become the new ruling class in a government they designed.
- Avoiding British Limits on Expansion
- The British government had placed limits on how far west colonists could expand (like the Proclamation of 1763). Many leaders wanted access to more land and resources, which they could gain if Britain no longer controlled those rules.
- Belief in Natrual Rights
- They believed that all people are born with certain rights (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) that no government can take away.
- Government Exists to Serve the People
- The Framers believed that governments get their power from the people. If a government is unfair or does not protect people’s rights, the people have the right to change it or get rid of it.
- Rejection of Tyranny
- They saw King George III as a tyrant who violated their rights through unfair taxation, dissolving colonial governments, keeping standing armies in peacetime, and ignoring their petitions.
- Desire for Self-Government
- The colonists believed they were capable of governing themselves and should not be ruled by a distant monarchy that did not represent their interests.
Next
Watch this video to review the events that led to the American Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence. Answer the question on the right when the video is over.
Why did the Framers declare independence?
Before reviewing the sources, lets dig deeper into what selfish and ideological reasons for independence might look like:
Possible Selfish Reasons
Possible Ideological Reasons
- Protecting Economic Interests
- Many Framers were rich landowners, merchants, or slaveholders. British taxes and trade rules hurt their money and businesses, so independence could help them keep or increase their wealth.
- Desire for Power and Control
- By breaking away from Britain, colonial leaders could take control of the government themselves, rather than being ruled by a distant king and Parliament. Independence gave them the chance to become the new ruling class in a government they designed.
- Avoiding British Limits on Expansion
- The British government had placed limits on how far west colonists could expand (like the Proclamation of 1763). Many leaders wanted access to more land and resources, which they could gain if Britain no longer controlled those rules.
- Belief in Natrual Rights
- They believed that all people are born with certain rights (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) that no government can take away.
- Government Exists to Serve the People
- The Framers believed that governments get their power from the people. If a government is unfair or does not protect people’s rights, the people have the right to change it or get rid of it.
- Rejection of Tyranny
- They saw King George III as a tyrant who violated their rights through unfair taxation, dissolving colonial governments, keeping standing armies in peacetime, and ignoring their petitions.
- Desire for Self-Government
- The colonists believed they were capable of governing themselves and should not be ruled by a distant monarchy that did not represent their interests.
Next
Why did the Framers declare independence?
Before reviewing the sources, lets dig deeper into what selfish and ideological reasons for independence might look like:
Possible Selfish Reasons
Possible Ideological Reasons
- Protecting Economic Interests
- Many Framers were rich landowners, merchants, or slaveholders. British taxes and trade rules hurt their money and businesses, so independence could help them keep or increase their wealth.
- Desire for Power and Control
- By breaking away from Britain, colonial leaders could take control of the government themselves, rather than being ruled by a distant king and Parliament. Independence gave them the chance to become the new ruling class in a government they designed.
- Avoiding British Limits on Expansion
- The British government had placed limits on how far west colonists could expand (like the Proclamation of 1763). Many leaders wanted access to more land and resources, which they could gain if Britain no longer controlled those rules.
- Belief in Natrual Rights
- They believed that all people are born with certain rights (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) that no government can take away.
- Government Exists to Serve the People
- The Framers believed that governments get their power from the people. If a government is unfair or does not protect people’s rights, the people have the right to change it or get rid of it.
- Rejection of Tyranny
- They saw King George III as a tyrant who violated their rights through unfair taxation, dissolving colonial governments, keeping standing armies in peacetime, and ignoring their petitions.
- Desire for Self-Government
- The colonists believed they were capable of governing themselves and should not be ruled by a distant monarchy that did not represent their interests.
Next
Click on image to enlarge
Within the Declaration of Independence is a list of grievences (complaints) against the British Government and King George III. Analyzing these grievences could serve as a clue about the motivations of the Framers in declaring independence. Read through the list of grievences on your worksheet (6-13). Try to determine if the complaint would only apply to the rich and powerful in the colonies or if it would be something that would apply to and harm all colonists. Wrap up this section by answering questions 14 & 15.
Next
Read the words in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence and answer question 5 on your worksheet. You can enlarge the text by clicking on it.
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration, inspired by Enlightenment ideas like social contract theory, presented strong arguments for liberty and self-government. It argued that governments exist to protect the rights of the people, and if they fail to do so, citizens have the right to change or replace them. The document was written to rally colonists, explain the colonies’ position to Britain, and show other nations that they were now an independent country. The Declaration had three main parts: the preamble, which outlined natural rights; a list of grievances against King George III; and the formal statement declaring independence. Its message was clear and bold: the colonies would no longer be ruled by a distant monarch (king), but would chart their own course as free and independent states.
The Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress. Thomas Jefferson was the main author. This document officially announced that the thirteen colonies were breaking away from Great Britain. It was written after years of conflict over unfair taxes and strict British control, and it marked an important turning point in American history. Even though the American Revolution had already started, Congress decided to declare independence later, once it became clear that peace with Britain was impossible. The Declaration of Independence helped bring the colonies together and set the foundation for the United States of America.
Next
CR: Declaration of Independence
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Transcript
Declaration of Independence
Follow the path in order. Click on the Icons. Pay attention to the directions as you navitage this lesson.
Start Here
Quick Vocab
Hover over each image to read a short definition
Colonies
Continental Congress
Monarch
Framers
Ideological
Natural Rights
Taxes
Self-Government
Grievances
Next
Most students have heard of the Declaration of Independence, but few have looked closely at the text or thought about why it was written. In this assignment, you will read different ideas from historians to answer the question: Why did the Framers write the Declaration of Independence? When thinking about why the Framers wrote the Declaration of Independence, historians sometimes see two possible motives: Selfish reasons – Some argue the Framers wanted to protect their own power, wealth, and property. For example, many were landowners or merchants, and breaking from Britain meant they could make laws and trade in ways that benefited them. Ideological reasons – Others believe the Framers were mainly driven by Enlightenment ideas about liberty, natural rights, and self-government. From this view, they wrote the Declaration to stand up for the principle that all people are born with rights that cannot be taken away. You will look at evidence and decide if they were motivated more by personal gain, by their beliefs about freedom and rights.
Return
Why did the Framers declare independence?
Historians have disagreed as to whether the colonial leaders were motivated by selfish or ideological reasons. Watch the videos below. Determine which video presents the motivations for the Declaration of Independence as ideological and which indicates it could have been more self-serving reasons that brought it about. Answer Questions 1-2 on THIS GOOGLE DOC.
Video 1:
Video 2:
Next
Why did the Framers declare independence?
Read the different historian interpretaions of the Declaration of Independence, click the images to enlage them. Answer questions 3 & 4 on your Google Worksheet.
HOME
What do you think?
On your Google Worksheet, complete question 16 using the ACE writing strategy. There are sentence starters to help! Check that you've answered questions in complete sentences and run your doc through spell check or Grammarly!
Click on the resources to enlarge them and review them for your response.
Video 2
Video 1
HOME
The Declaration vs. The Constitution
The Declaration of Independence influenced the Constitution by laying out the basic ideas that would later shape the new government.
Purpose for writing it:
When & Where:
Click to answer final question
Declaration of Independence
Start Here
Making Connections
Next
Why did the Framers declare independence?
Before reviewing the sources, lets dig deeper into what selfish and ideological reasons for independence might look like:
Possible Selfish Reasons
Possible Ideological Reasons
Next
Watch this video to review the events that led to the American Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence. Answer the question on the right when the video is over.
Why did the Framers declare independence?
Before reviewing the sources, lets dig deeper into what selfish and ideological reasons for independence might look like:
Possible Selfish Reasons
Possible Ideological Reasons
Next
Why did the Framers declare independence?
Before reviewing the sources, lets dig deeper into what selfish and ideological reasons for independence might look like:
Possible Selfish Reasons
Possible Ideological Reasons
Next
Click on image to enlarge
Within the Declaration of Independence is a list of grievences (complaints) against the British Government and King George III. Analyzing these grievences could serve as a clue about the motivations of the Framers in declaring independence. Read through the list of grievences on your worksheet (6-13). Try to determine if the complaint would only apply to the rich and powerful in the colonies or if it would be something that would apply to and harm all colonists. Wrap up this section by answering questions 14 & 15.
Next
Read the words in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence and answer question 5 on your worksheet. You can enlarge the text by clicking on it.
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration, inspired by Enlightenment ideas like social contract theory, presented strong arguments for liberty and self-government. It argued that governments exist to protect the rights of the people, and if they fail to do so, citizens have the right to change or replace them. The document was written to rally colonists, explain the colonies’ position to Britain, and show other nations that they were now an independent country. The Declaration had three main parts: the preamble, which outlined natural rights; a list of grievances against King George III; and the formal statement declaring independence. Its message was clear and bold: the colonies would no longer be ruled by a distant monarch (king), but would chart their own course as free and independent states.
The Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress. Thomas Jefferson was the main author. This document officially announced that the thirteen colonies were breaking away from Great Britain. It was written after years of conflict over unfair taxes and strict British control, and it marked an important turning point in American history. Even though the American Revolution had already started, Congress decided to declare independence later, once it became clear that peace with Britain was impossible. The Declaration of Independence helped bring the colonies together and set the foundation for the United States of America.
Next