DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

• Meant to rally troops to fight at home.

• Meant to secure foreign allies who could be able to help the Americans win the war.

I. Preamble

II. List of Grievances against King George III

III. Resolution for Independence

PREAMBLE

• Justification for why the American colonists are breaking apart from Britain.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

• Natural Rights Theory - John Locke

• Rights do not originate from a monarch, meaning they cannot be taken away.

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

• Complimentary set of ideals from Rosseau - Popular Sovereignty/Social Contract

• Popular Sovereignty: The idea that government power derives from the consent of the governed

• Social Contract: Some freedoms sacrificed (respecting government) in exchange for government protection

“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

• The people have the right to replace the government and uphold its purpose of protecting their natural rights.