Ms. Nicoll History Unit 1 

 
Name: Shira Sobol 

Date: September 7, 2017 

Class: 8th Grade - US History 

 
Slides and Notes
 
Topic Student Notes

The Declaration of Independence 

Title 
Unit 1: Lesson 2 

Analyze the philosophy of government expressed in the 

Main Idea  Declaration of Independence​, with an emphasis on 
government as a means of securing individual rights.  

- From 1774 - 1789, Americans got a bunch of 

terrible legal acts, Coercive Acts (a series of 
measures imposed by the British government on 
the colonies in response to their resistance to new 
taxes)  
- So the colonies formed the Continental Congress.  
- The first Continental Congress was comprised of 
delegates from the colonies which first met in 
1774, like stated before, in reaction to the Coercive 
Acts. 
Background 
- The first government ever written in the 
Information 
United States wasn’t the constitution, but it 
was the Continental Congress. This was an 
action done by the colonists as a means of 
fighting back, it was resistence in every 
sense of the word. 
- This was the first formal way of creating their 
independence.  
- The congress served as the government of the 13 
American colonies and later the United States 
  

- In 1775, the Second Continental Congress forms, 

The Second
convened after the American Revolutionary War 
Continental
(1775-83) had already begun. 
Congress
- Since the colonists were already fighting for their 

 
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Ms. Nicoll History Unit 1 

independence, they wanted to declare their 

independence, and do so formally by writing it 
down.   
- The Second Continental Congress created a 
committee to write a document declaring the 
colonies’ independence from Britain, also know as 
“The declaration of independence”  
- The authors of the declaration of independence 
included Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and the 
main author Thomas Jefferson 
 
- It started to get written in 1775, and only finished 
getting written in June, 1776, which is when they 
sent their declaration to the King, but the king 
rejected it which was one reason why the 
Revolutionary War happened.  
 
- There was many reasons to why Great Britian 
didn’t agree and started the revolutionary war:  
- The Great Awakening and Enlightenment 
was one reason that caused the 
Revolutionary War. 
- The 1st Continental Congress was a reason 
why the Revolutionary War happened. 
- The 2nd Continental Congress was a reason 
why the Revolutionary War happened.  
- Lastly, really sending the Declaration of 
Independence to King George III, really 
upset him, and caused him to be so livid, 
that the war continued and didn’t stop.  

- Five years later they realized that the Continental 

Congress wasn’t enough to make the nation work 
properly.  
So they wrote a new article called the Articles of 
Confederation, which was the first real attempt at the 
branches of government.  
Then what?  - Since there was no unification with the 
Continental Congress, the Articles of 
Confederation was created and mainly focused all 
about the structure of the government and its’ 
branches(1780-1789) 
And then it was finally replaced in ​1789​ by the 
Constitution.  

 
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Ms. Nicoll History Unit 1 

- The Declaration of Independence formally 

announced the colonies’ break from Great Britain 
 
- On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress 
approved the Declaration of Independence  
What is important   
to remember?  - This act broke all ties to the British Crown, no 
more silk, tea, protection, economic, political, and 
social acts, the United States of America was 
officially born and was declared free of all British 
power.  
 

Equal, Unalienable, Life, Liberty, Governments, Men, 

Declaration of
consent, destructive, abolish, new government, safety, 
Independence
and happiness 

- Jefferson built upon the writings of the English 

philosopher John Locke 
- Locke argued for fair government, meaning you 
can punish people but only if they would do 
something wrong 
- If majority of the citizens disagree with the 
government than the citizens can create a new 
one 
Instead of “property” Jefferson listed the “pursuit of 
Philosophy of 
happiness” as one of people’s natural rights.  
Government 
 
Locke argued that “just” or fair governments:  
- Are based on the consent of the people 
- Protect people’s “natural rights” to life, liberty, 
and property 
- Should be changed or replaced if they become 
unfair 
All these rules is how they built their government later 
in the future.  

- Came before John Locke 

- He was an English philosopher, and his 
Wait! What about  philosophy was that people are evil, and his idea 
Thomas Hobbes  was in order to protect you from you, we need to 
establish a social contract agreeing that we’ll be 
nice 

 
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Ms. Nicoll History Unit 1 

- “Social Contract Theory” (it is “we as a group agree 

to be nice”) is why Hobbes is considered 
foundational for most Western political 
philosophy 
- Montesquieu’s, and Rousseau’s 

- The first idea was that all men possess “certain 

unalienable rights” meaning you can’t change 
laws and take them away because people are born 
Key Points of the  with individual rights that cannot be taken away 
Declaration of from them.  
Independence - For example rights that couldn’t be taken away 
from you were, life (someone can’t murder you), 
liberty (no one can take away your freedom), and 
happiness 

“To secure these rights, Governments are instituted 

among Men”  
- Meaning If I am a government official (police, 
laws, taxes so I can build something to protect me) 
it is my duty to protect these rights.  
Key Points of the 
“Whenever any Form of Government becomes 
Declaration of
destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the people to 
Independence 
alter or to abolish it” 
- Meaning, If the government does not protect these 
rights but, becomes destructive and weakens 
them, we as citizens can take/change/remove the 
government  

“Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” 

Jefferson argued  1. The right to live 
for...  2. The right to have freedom (liberty) 
3. The right to pursue happiness 

- King George III​ had violated the colonists’ rights 

violations, according to Thomas Jefferson, 
Continental Congress, etc. 
- List of over 25 right’s violations the King did  
- Jefferson charged the king with passing unfair 
Jefferson also 
laws interfering with colonial governments 
argued that…  
- He accused the king of taxing colonists without 
their consent (agreement) 
- The presence of a large British army in the 
colonies was seen as another violation of 
colonists’ rights. 

 
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Ms. Nicoll History Unit 1 

- Social Contract (Agrees with Hobbes and his 

philosophy) 
- Colonies had the right to break away from Great 
Britain and form a new government 
- Jefferson was influenced by the Enlightenment 
And, finally, 
idea of the social contract 
Jefferson argued 
- This is the idea that governments and rulers must 
for... 
protect the rights of citizens. In exchange, the 
people agree to be governed. 
- Jefferson said that because King George III had 
broken the social contract with the colonists, the 
colonists should no longer obey him.  
 

 
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