The Declaration of Independence
An Analytical View
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people
to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and
to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which
the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the
opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel
them to the separation...
Thomas Jefferson
The Declaration of Independence (1776)
Overview
Perhaps no document in history has undergone as much scrutiny as the Declaration
of Independence. In this formal statement announcing the severed ties between
the thirteen colonies and Great Britain, Thomas Jefferson wrote essentially
of a new theory of government, in which the government itself was expected and
required to protect “natural rights” of citizens.
Since Thomas Jefferson’s writing of the Declaration, many groups have
interpreted the document to mean different ideas, and frequently, the Declaration
has been used to justify other political and social movements. While the Declaration
is an important historic document and incorporates many of America’s most
basic beliefs, it has no effect of law in 21st Century America.
In this lesson, students will question the importance of the Declaration of
Independence, its meaning during the time of the Revolution and its impact today.
Related Resources for the Lesson
In this lesson, students will use the following resources:
- Episode #2 of Liberty!, entitled, “Blows Must Decide”. (Note:
The segment of the episode that deals with the Declaration of Independence begins
at the 44 minute mark in the video and runs until 53:35.)
- An analysis of John Locke’s “Two Treatises
of Government”, located at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/.
Specifically, students will be looking at the following
entries:
- Related Questions
PDF (for students)
- Related Questions
PDF (for teachers, with answers)
Relevant Standards
This lesson addresses the following national content
standards established by the Mid-Continent Research
for Education and Learning (McREL) (http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks/).
US History:
• Understands the creation of the Declaration of Independence (e.g.,
historical antecedents that contributed to the document
and individuals who struggled for independence)
• Understands how the principles of the Declaration
of Independence justified American independence
• Understands differences and similarities between
the Declaration of Independence and other documents
on government (e.g., the French “Declaration of
the Rights of Man and Citizen” and John Locke's
Two Treatises on Government)
• Understands contradictions between the Declaration of Independence and
the institution of chattel slavery
Civics:
• Knows the essential ideas of American constitutional government that
are expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution and other writings (e.g., the Constitution
is a higher law that authorizes a government of limited
powers; the Preamble to the Constitution states the
purposes of government such as to form a more perfect
union, establish justice, provide for the common defense
and promote the general welfare)
• Knows major historical events that led to the
creation of limited government in the United States
(e.g., Magna Carta (1215), common law, and the Bill
of Rights (1689) in England; colonial experience, Declaration
of Independence (1776), Articles of Confederation (1781),
state constitutions and charters, United States Constitution
(1787) and the Bill of Rights (1791) in America)
• Knows basic values and principles that Americans
share (e.g., as set forth in documents such as the Declaration
of Independence, the United States Constitution and
the Gettysburg Address)
• Understands how the basic premises of liberalism and democracy are joined
in the Declaration of Independence, in which they are stated as "self-evident
Truths" (e.g., "all men are created equal," authority is derived
from consent of the governed and people have the right to alter or abolish government
when it fails to fulfill its purposes)
Strategy for the Lesson
The teacher may elect to begin this lesson by having students discuss what
they see as the advantages and disadvantages of declaring independence from
Britain. The teacher might open this discussion by noting that the Continental
Congress did not consider independence for more than a year after the first
shots were fired at Lexington and Concord. Ask students to speculate or discuss
what other options were being considered to reconcile the colonists with the
British.
The teacher should write student responses (or designate a student as the “secretary”)
regarding the advantages and disadvantages of independence on the chalkboard
or on an overhead transparency.
Suggested answers include:
| Advantages |
|
Disadvantages |
Possibility of foreign aid from France
Legitimacy in the world community
Captured soldiers treated as POWs not spies or rebels
Independence might unite different areas of the colonies
Stating for the world the ideological basis of this new country
Freedom from subservience to the King
|
|
Might lose friends in England who supported
cause of colonists in regard to representation in Parliament but not independence
Might cause division within the colonies
If Revolution failed, the and leaders might be tried and executed as traitors.
Colonies were poorly
prepared for war
Fighting the largest military
power in the world
No weapons nor
manufacturing to make them
Dependent on England for
elements needed to fight a
war.
Chances of winning the war
were slim.
Colonists would be cutting
themselves off from the
biggest, freest empire in the
world.
Sentimental attachment to
homeland. |
Once the students have finished brainstorming, the teacher and class should
overview the immediate situation and conditions that prompted colonists to declare
independence, either through the textbook or using the Liberty! Web site. The
teacher should remind students that the idea of independence was not necessarily
embraced by all colonists, and that while many believed the British had violated
the colonists’ basic rights, the violation was not enough to warrant a
rebellion.
Students may also wish to research some of the issues or questions brought
up by Thomas Paine in Common Sense during their brainstorming.
Next, the teacher should either direct students to access the Declaration of
Independence online or distribute copies in handout form. Once students have
their copies, it is suggested that the teacher help students divide the Declaration
into three basic parts and define those terms.
Those parts include:
1. The preamble: A preamble is a preliminary statement, especially
the introduction to a formal document that serves to explain its purpose. In
this instance, Jefferson used the preamble to discuss the basic rights of man.
It has since become the most famous part of the document.
The Preamble of the Declaration runs from Jefferson’s opening of the
Declaration to the words, “To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a
candid world.”
Note: Jefferson derived many of his ideas for the preamble from the Virginia
Declaration of Rights written by his friend George Mason as well as from his
own draft preamble to the Virginia Constitution, which in turn were based upon
Locke but much more “radical”.
2. A list of grievances against King George III: A grievance is
a. An actual or supposed circumstance regarded as just cause for complaint
b. A complaint or protestation based on such a circumstance
The list of grievances runs from “He has refused his Assent to Laws,
the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” to “He
has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring
on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known
rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
Note: In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson listed several
complaints against King George, in which he hoped to lay the foundation for
the case supporting independence.
3. A formal declaration of war, in which the colonists pledged their “lives,
fortunes, and sacred honor.”
The formal declaration includes the rest of the document.
Next, the teacher should distribute the question sheets to the class. Allow
sufficient time for students to complete the questions. Once students have completed
the questions, the teacher should evaluate them according to the depth of answer
desired, the amount of time allowed for the assignment as well as any other
criteria established by the teacher, such as spelling and grammar.
Extension Activities:
1. Ask students to evaluate other political documents in regard to the influence
of the Declaration on their creation. Two documents that students might evaluate
include:
a. French “Declaration of Rights of Man” (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/rightsof.htm),
written in 1789
b. Seneca Falls Conference “Declaration of Sentiments”
(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Senecafalls.html),
written in 1848
2. Ask students to compare these documents with the Declaration (the teacher
may wish to substitute other documents if they are available) and in chart form,
show specific instances where the authors of these documents borrowed from Jefferson.
3. Have students compare the final draft of the Declaration of Independence
with Locke’s writing and George Mason’s
documents.
