Declaration of Independence Flashcards

Flashcards covering key concepts from a lecture on the Declaration of Independence for AP Government.

What are the three main sections of the Declaration of Independence?

Preamble, list of grievances against King George III, and resolution for independence.

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson

What is the main purpose of the first part of the preamble in the Declaration of Independence?

To justify why the American colonists are breaking away from Britain.

According to the lecture, what was the twofold purpose of the Declaration of Independence?

To rally the troops to fight at home and to secure foreign allies.

According to the Declaration of Independence, where do people get their unalienable rights?

From their Creator.

What are the three unalienable rights mentioned in the Declaration of Independence?

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

What Enlightenment thinker most famously influenced Jefferson's concept of natural rights in the Declaration of Independence?

John Locke

According to the Declaration of Independence, why do people create governments?

To protect their natural rights.

Where does the government get its power, according to the Declaration of Independence?

From the consent of the governed (the people).

Which Enlightenment thinkers influenced the concepts of popular sovereignty and social contract in the Declaration of Independence?

Rousseau

Define popular sovereignty.

The power to govern is in the people's hands.

Define social contract.

People willingly surrender some power to a government to protect their natural rights.

According to the Declaration, what right do people have when the government infringes on their natural rights?

The right to alter or abolish it and institute a new government.