A P R E S E N T A T I O N B Y M S . S P R I N G M A N

Our Declaration of Independence

Essential Question:

Why did the Patriots feel they needed to declare independence from Great Britain?

Signs of LIBERTY

The Liberty Bell

Does not ring due to small hairline crack

Tradition tells of a chime that changed the world on July 8, 1776, with the Liberty Bell ringing out from the tower of Independence Hall summoning the citizens of Philadelphia to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.

Ben’s Ocular Glasses

Ben was known for many things but this does not exist.

Great story… but just that – a story!

The actual building in Philadelphia.

The spot where he “found” the glasses

The Document

Where is it?

Actual back of the document… It does not have invisible ink – It does state "Original Declaration of Independence dated 4th July 1776“

The original copy is located at the National Archives in Washington D.C.

Why respect the document?

it guaranteed our basic rights

it declared our commitment to freedom

Copy of the Declaration in Philadelphia, PN

The 26 copies of the Dunlap broadside known to exist are dispersed among American and British institutions and private owners. The following are the current locations of the copies.

National Archives, Washington, DC Library of Congress, Washington, DC (two copies) Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, MD University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (two copies) Independence National Historic Park, Philadelphia, PA American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA Scheide Library, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ [The Library is privately owned.] New York Public Library, New York Pierpont Morgan Library, New York Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA Harvard University, Cambridge, MA Chapin Library, Williams College, Williamstown, MA Yale University, New Haven, CT American Independence Museum, Exeter, NH Maine Historical Society, Portland, ME Indiana University, Bloomington, IN Chicago Historical Society, Chicago, IL City of Dallas, City Hall, Dallas, TX Declaration of Independence Road Trip [Norman Lear and David Hayden] Private collector National Archives, United Kingdom (three copies)

Parts of the Declaration include:

the Preamble

Protection of Natural Rights

Grievances Against the King

Declaring Independence

Thomas Jefferson Table & Chair at the Declaration House in Philadelphia (original)

Who was the primary author of the Declaration?

Influence of Thomas Paine Author of Common Sense

A pamphlet written and published during the American Revolution

Arguments on why Colonists should separate from British rule

Increased support from American colonists

Patriots Loyalists

Who supported what???

supported the Declaration of Independence

supported England during the Revolution

Think about it…

If you were a member of the Second Continental Congress in 1776, you were a rebel and considered a traitor by the King of England. You knew that a reward had been posted for the capture of certain prominent rebel leaders and signing your name to the Declaration meant that you pledged your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor to the cause of freedom.

Would you do it?

Court house in Philadelphia burning of the king’s flag

TO A KING

TO A PEOPLE

TO THE BIRTH OF A NEW NATION

Powerful Words

Who was the King???

King George III of England

Signatures

Largest Signature was the 1st Signature

John Hancock – He was sending a clear message to King George.

What was the result of the 13 signing???

wage a war

be treated as an independent nation

assume debt with foreign nations

create a national government

Gained power to…

The Second Continental Congress…

The Declaration of Independence was adopted

Approved the Declaration of Independence

on July 4, 1776

Who ? When?

AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT THE

MEANING OF THE WORDS!

So What does it say???

By the People, For the People

Consent of the governed

means approval of the

PEOPLE

the power of government to

govern rests with the

people being governed

liberty would be achieved

when a government of the people is established

When the truth is self-evident:

it does not need

explanation

Charters of Freedom

The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights—known collectively as the Charters of Freedom, were removed from display on July 5, 2001, and have undergone long-planned conservation treatment and are sealed in new state-of-the-art encasements. On September 17, 2003, the renovated Rotunda was rededicated, and the newly re-encased Charters of Freedom were unveiled.

Benjamin Franklin

"Every day we celebrate the freedom first declared in the Declaration of Independence," he said. "Every day our government is an example to the world of democratic Government laid out in the Constitution. And every day our people exercise the liberties set down in the Bill of Rights.“