Louis B. Vega
SOCIAL STUDIES
8th Grade
Chapter 5: Sec 4
INDEPENDENCE DECLARED
The Movement for Independence
-point of no return
-peaceful solution seemed unlikely
-Thomas Paine/ Common Sense, attacked the King
and called him a “Royal Brute” –best seller
-Monarchy and idea of King vs. “natural
right” of self rule
-opposition of tyranny: the cruel and unjust
use of power
-open discussion on the colonies
-resolution at @2nd
Continental Congress for independence from Virginia
-appointment of committee to prepare statement
to the world: the Declaration of Independence
-officially approved on Fourth of July
The Declaration of Independence
-most influential and best known and written
documents
-product of the Enlightenment and Awakening
-natural law-pattern
-development of the science of human and
political behavior Political Science
-First time in history a group of
revolutionaries were careful to explain why they
rebelled or had the right to use force to
change its government
-that democracy came from the people and is
for the benefit of all
-wartime propaganda, one sided, untrue and
exaggerated
-commitment, traitors?
Self Evident Truths
-meaning?
Self evident truths, …all
men are created equal (mankind)
-women, …women were entitled so long as
behaved as men thought they should
-pattern of industry during wartime
-no legal equality
-…only free men (white) had God given rights
that no government could take away
-slavery, toleration
-relative to societies norm
Reaction to the Declaration
-Whigs
-indifference
-Loyalists(Tories)
-some fled to Canada or England