american revolution through declaration of independence

Bell Ringer - 10/25/2010

Having learned about the Revolutionary War, what does it mean to be a hero? Who do you consider a hero? What makes the person heroic?

From Colony to Country

From Colony to Country

War!

Lexington and Concord

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Shot heard around the World” Paul Revere rode off to warn the colonists of the British that were marching the countryside. The British were forced to retreat and move back to Boston.

Battle at Bunker Hill ( June, 1775)

• British rush the hill and the colonists are forced to retreat due to lack of supplies. “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” –Colonel Prescott. First major battle of the Revolution.

Second Continental Congress

• Convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met beginning on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun.

• Adopted the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776.

• With the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, the Congress became known as the Congress of the Confederation.

Second Continental Congress Cont.

• Began printing paper $ to pay soldiers

• Organized a committee to deal with foreign nations.

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense

• Common Sense presented the American colonists with a powerful argument for independence from British rule at a time when the question of independence was still undecided.

Paine Argued:

– It was absurd for an island (England) to rule a continent (America).

– America was not a "British nation"; it was composed of influences and peoples from all of Europe. The distance between the two nations made governing the colonies from England unwieldy.

– The distance between the two nations made governing the colonies from England unwieldy.

– Britain ruled the colonies for its own benefit, and did not consider the best interests of the colonists in governing them.

What to do?• During June and July of

1776, the main question facing the Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia revolved around independence: should the American colonies represented at this Congress declare their separation and freedom from the United Kingdom of Great Britain?

Diversity: Making Everyone Happy

Parts of the Declaration of Independence

1. The Preamble• Why the document was written

2. The Declaration of Natural Rights• Basic unalienable (can’t be taken away rights)

3. The List of Grievances• Complaints against the British King and government

4. The Resolution of Independence• Claims that the colonists are free and independent

The Writing Process

The Declaration of Independence Performed

• Please follow along, labeling the four parts as the actors perform them.

1. The Preamble• Why the document was written

2. The Declaration of Natural Rights• Basic unalienable (can’t be taken away rights)

3. The List of Grievances• Complaints against the British King and government

4. The Resolution of Independence• Claims that the colonists are free and independent

Signing…

The Price They Paid

Would you have signed? Why or why not?