Our Declaration of Independence 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 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

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

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) Copy of the Declaration in Philadelphia, PN

Parts of the Declaration include: the Preamble Protection of Natural Rights Grievances Against the King Declaring Independence

Who was the primary author of the Declaration? Thomas Jefferson Table & Chair at the Declaration House in Philadelphia (original)

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

Who supported what??? Patriots Loyalists supported England during the Revolution supported the Declaration of Independence

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

Powerful Words TO A KING TO A PEOPLE TO THE BIRTH OF A NEW NATION

Who was the King??? King George III of England

Signatures Largest Signature was the 1 st Signature John Hancock He was sending a clear message to King George.

What was the result of the 13 signing??? Gained power to wage a war be treated as an independent nation assume debt with foreign nations create a national government

Who? When? The Second Continental Congress The Declaration of Independence was adopted Approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776

So What does it say??? AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT THE MEANING OF THE WORDS!

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-theart 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.