Learning Target: I will explain the meaning of each section of the Declaration.
Introduction (informs the reader of the main intentions)
Preamble (introductory part of a statute stating the intent of the law)
Indictment of King George III (formal accusation charging the King with multiple crimes)
Denunciation of the British people (formal declaration of condemnation)
Conclusion
The 56 signatures
"The text of the Declaration can be divided into five sections--the introduction, the preamble, the indictment of George III, the denunciation of the British people, and the conclusion" (Stephen E. Lucas 1989).
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-01-02-0176-0004 Jun 11, 1776 The Declaration of Independence, [11 June–4 July 1776] "he has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating it’s most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. this piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of the christian king of Great Britain. determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought & sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce:11 and that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of distinguished die, he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, by murdering the people upon whom he also obtruded them; thus paying off former crimes committed against the liberties of one people, with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of another." Founders Online, National Archives
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2021/07/02/preserving-the-dunlap-broadside-of-the-declaration-of-independence Jul 2, 2021 "Few records created during momentous historical events are as compelling and influential as those associated with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The National Archives’ copy of the Dunlap Broadside printed on July 4, along with the real-time proceedings of that day inscribed in volume 3 of the Rough Journal, are tangible links to that day. Today’s post looks at the conservation treatment undertaken on both records between 2016 and 2018." National Archives Pieces of History
https://www.monticello.org/thomas-jefferson/jefferson-s-three-greatest-achievements/the-declaration/committee-of-five Jan 30, 2024 "Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, but he did not work alone. On June 7, 1776, Virginia Delegate Richard Henry Lee put forward a resolution that "all political connection is, and ought to be, dissolved" between Great Britain and the Colonies. On June 11th, the Contenetal Congress nominated a drafting committee of five men to compose a declaration of independence." Monticello
The Declaration of Independence Lesson Plan are lessons from UShistory.org that are broken into an Introduction and five major study areas.
Nations come into being in many ways. Military rebellion, civil strife, acts of heroism, acts of treachery, a thousand greater and lesser clashes between defenders of the old order and supporters of the new--all these occurrences and more have marked the emergences of new nations, large and small. The birth of our own nation included them all. That birth was unique, not only in the immensity of its later impact on the course of world history and the growth of democracy, but also because so many of the threads in our national history run back through time to come together in one place, in one time, and in one document: the Declaration of Independence. National Archives > America's Founding Documents > The Declaration of Independence: A History
Declaration of Independence Links
Transcript of Lee Resolution (1776) Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances. That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation. Transcription courtesy of the Avalon Project at Yale Law School.
Lucas, Stephen E. The Stylistic Artistry of the Declaration of Independence. Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration, Spring 1990.
Virginia Declaration of Rights strongly influenced Thomas Jefferson in writing the first part of the Declaration of Independence. It later provided the foundation for the Bill of Rights.
The Signers’ Gallery provides interesting facts about some of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Signers of the Declaration of Independence provides a chart with the following information: Name, State, Rep., Date of Birth, Birthplace, Age in 1776, Occupation, Number of Marriages, Number of Children, Date of Death, and Age at Death.
Presenting the Facts: National Treasure examines the 2004 movie and presents historical proof of errors made in the film.
Course of Human Events is a Declaration Resources Project Blog that is updated and maintained by Harvard University.
Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents
Home | Online Exhibition | Timeline | Essay | Acknowledgments
Written in June 1776, including all the changes made later by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and other members of the committee, and by Congress
