Understanding the Declaration of Independence

Name: ______Period _____ Understanding the Declaration of Independence Now that we have all been introduced to the Declaration of Independence, it is time to get a better understanding of what the document actually said and how it was organized. Complete the following using a copy of the Declaration as well as a dictionary. Part I: complete the following about the first two paragraphs.

The Introduction (1st Paragraph) Summarize the main point of the introduction. ______

The 2nd Paragraph: Rights (“We hold these truths…) Use a dictionary to help rewrite the famous 2nd paragraph of the Declaration in your own words.

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. ______

That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

______

That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, ______

and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. ______

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; ______

and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. ______(When there is a long history of problems…), it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. -- ______Part II: Grievances: The longest section of the Declaration is a list of grievances, or complaints against the King and England. As you read the following complaints from the Declaration, write down what they are referring to from our “Road to Revolution” unit.

EXAMPLE:

Effect (the grievance) He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

Cause (Why the colonists were complaining) The British soldiers stationed in Boston to enforce the Townshend Acts.

1. Effect: For imposing taxes on us without our consent

Cause:______

2. Effect: He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

Cause:______3. Effect: He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

Cause:______

4. Effect: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

Cause:______

5. Effect: For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world

Cause:______

6. Effect: He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

Cause: ______

7. Effect: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury and For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

Cause: ______

Part III: Redress of Grievances: What have the colonists already done to try and solve these problems? (This part is in the 3rd and 2nd to last paragraphs,” In every stage of…”)

Explain what the colonists have already done to resolve these problems. ______Part IV: Conclusion: In 1776, the last paragraph received the most attention. Read the last paragraph and answer the following:

What is the main idea of the last paragraph? ______