Transcript Declaration of Independence

Declaration of
Independence
Purpose
1.
Declare Independence – follow up on the motion
of Richard Henry Lee
2.
Explain why it was being declared / justify this
declaration…eloquently
3.
To present it in such a way as to win domestic
and foreign sympathy / support for independence

Committee of 5 chosen to write it: Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Sherman,
Livingston

Jefferson was delegated by this committee to write the first draft
by himself because, they said:
It should be written by one person (consistency)
He was the most skilled writer among them – had practice in this kind of
argument (Summary Views, Causes and Necessities)
He was considered popular and non-confrontational, well-liked: was not
part of any faction, unlike some of the others
He was from Virginia – South, First Colony – and an Aristocratic
Plantation Owner – giving the revolution credibility, respectability (as was
the case with Washington’s appointment)
 Jefferson asked of Adams “what can be your
reasons for assigning the task of writing it to me”.
 Adams replied
“ Reason first – You are a Virginian, and a Virginian
ought to appear at the head of this business. Reason
second – I am obnoxious, suspected, and unpopular.
You are very much otherwise. Reason third – You
can write ten times better than I can.”

The Summary View was written for the VA Convention to
elect delegates to the Continental Congress in 1774. It
furthered the Revolutionary cause and secured his reputation
as a fine writer – it was like a first draft, practice run
It condemned British treatment of the colonies and defended
American freedom and self govt.
Displayed his dramatic style, conjuring a convincing black and white
picture in which the king and his parliament were villains and the
colonists their slaves.
It asserts that the colonies were subject only to the laws adopted by
their own legislatures and that their natural rights had been violated
by Great Britain.
It calls for a repeal of taxes and a lifting of the ban on American
trade and manufacturing.
It also asserts that the colonists wanted to abolish slavery and the
slave trade but that the king has prevented them from doing so
It contains his view on expatriation.
Joseph Ellis American Sphinx

“But whether they knew it or not – and there was no earthly way
they could have known – the members of the Constitutional
Congress had placed the ideal instrument in the perfect position at
precisely the right moment. Throughout the remainder of his long
career Jefferson never again experienced a challenge better suited
to call forth his best creative energies. The work had to be done
alone, isolated from the public debates. It needed to possess an
elevated quality that linked American independence to grand and
great forces that transcended the immediate political crisis and
swept the imagination upward toward a purer and more principled
world. Finally it needed to paint the scene in bright, contrasting
colors of truth and falsehood, right and wrong, “ought” and “is”
without any of the intermediate hues or lingering doubts. It is
difficult to imagine anyone in America better equipped, by
disposition and experience, to perform the task as well.”
Four Parts
Part 1

Lays out the Theoretical Base for Independence;
Enlightenment Ideas of John Locke (and Rousseau)
– Natural Laws / Rights of all men….life, liberty, property (pursuit of
happiness)
– Government by Contract and Consent only
– Right to rebel against an unjust ruler who broke the Social
Contract
Part 2

Contains general criticism of King George III…He is
accused of “absolute Despotism” and “absolute
Tyranny.”

Then many specific charges – “abuses” or “repeated
injuries and usurpations”.. Again directed against the
King – someone concrete, tangible, rather than an
institution / Parliament

Are these charges valid, accurate? To what extent are
they exaggerated, propaganda?
 Charges contain…. Some truth, some exaggeration,
fabrication, repetition….written for Propaganda
purpose
 About this section Jefferson said that he was not
striving “for originality of principle or sentiment” but
was seeking only to provide an “expression of the
American mind” – he was trying to sum up the past
eight years of colonial opposition to British policy in
language designed to make the king responsible for all
the trouble.
Read the complaints / charges
Create a chart:
Paraphrase
Each Charge
Relate each
one to the
11 Acts /
Oppressive
Measures
Say if each
charge is
accurate,
exaggerated,
or
fabricated.
Explain
Why?

Part 3
A reminder that they have respectfully asked for an
end to the oppressive policies through Petitions –
they tried the peaceful path - but the King / Tyrant has
answered with repeated injuries (more oppression)

Appeals have been made and warnings give also to
the British People but they too have ignored the
Colonists….and thus are their enemies too

….they are left with no other option but to rebel /
separate

Part 4
The actual official eloquent declaration of
Independence:
“ ...these United Colonies are, and of Right out 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…...”
Which clauses were left out
and why?
1.
Condemnation of the monarchy for being
responsible for slavery and the slave trade
(see handout)
- it was considered inaccurate / exaggerated
- the king had not started or forced slavery on the
colonies
- he had not prohibited the colonies from ending the
slave trade / slavery
Which clauses were left out
and why?
- and might be offensive to the Southern Colonies and
therefore divisive (South Carolina and Georgia strongly
objected) – implication was that slavery was evil
Which clauses were left out
and why?
2.
A more serious denunciation of the British
people (see handout)
- it might give offense to the Whigs who supported
American Independence (Whigs), and many other
British people opposed who opposed Gov. policy
Which clauses were left out
and why?
3.
His theory of expatriation
- One of his favorite theories, in which he claimed that
the first settlers came over at their own expense and
initiative, “unassisted by the wealth or strength of
Great Britain.” He claimed there had never been any
colonial recognition of royal or parliamentary
authority. Congress found that the argument was
excessive.
Impact
 1. Gave the Revolution an ideology, sense of idealism,
a purpose – served as greater motivation: articulated,
the ideology needed for a Revolution to succeed
(Paine also),
Revolutions, to succeed, need
– Agitators – to stir popular passions: Sam Adams
– Military Leaders - Washington
– Political Leaders – John Adams, Ben Franklin..
– Ideologues / Writers – Jefferson, Paine (Sam Adams also)

2. Gave Revolution Legitimacy; it was in tune with
Enlightenment Ideas, universal meaning, the ideas of one of
the world’s greatest political thinkers/philosophers – John
Locke: (the Colonists were way ahead of the Enlightenment,
of their time – they had practiced the ideas of the
Enlightenment since 1619: what they had been practicing was
now becoming popular / legitimate)

3. Stirred up negative emotions / emotional intensity, anger,
towards the King by portraying him as totally corrupt,
presenting a completely “black” picture, with no merits:
Increased enthusiasm, passion, for the revolution
Impact contd…

4. Polarization of opinions: Loyalists split from Patriots…became
a Civil War

5. Convinced the Spanish, and more importantly the French to
send help (supplies only at first): showed how wrong the King
was, how the Colonists were the reasonable party – they were
seriously wronged, but had acted moderately and reasonably
and tried negotiation and petition, and had turned to Revolution
as a last resort.

6. Long Term: global impact; influence on French Rev: in more
recent times – China, South Africa…..
Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation
by Merill Peterson

Yet the Declaration bore the unmistakable stamp of the
author’s genius. It possessed that “peculiar felicity of
expression” for which he was already noted. It was simple,
clear, and direct: crisp and angry when this was the tone
required, as in the arraignment of the King: gracious and
elevated in the soft passages enunciating the rights of man:
solemn and stately in the concluding pledge of “our lives, our
fortunes, and our sacred honor.” It’s rhetoric was faintly

aristocratic, shrinking from the boldness, the enthusiasm, the
popularity of Paine’s writing, for example….Even so, he may
have learned something from Common Sense, for the
Declaration, far beyond any of Jefferson’s earlier writings,
suppressed recondite legalisms to fundamental human
values and capsuled large ideas in electrifying phrases. In a
document of less than 1,500 words, most of it a bill or
particulars against the reigning sovereign, ideas could not be
developed, nor indeed even stated: they could only be
conjured up by magical words and phrases in trim array.
Jefferson managed to compress a cosmology, a political
philosophy, a national creed in the second paragraph of the
Declaration. This was a triumph. It raised the American
cause above parochialism, above History, and united it with
the cause of mankind. A philosophy of human rights

attained timeless symbolization in works that inspired action:
action became thought and thought became action. It was, as
Hannah Arendt, has said, “one of the rare moments in history
when the power of action is great enough to erect its own
monument.” (p.91)

The Declaration of Independence endowed the American
Revolution with high moral purpose united to a theory of free
government. Without this, the independence of thirteen
colonies, three million people strung along the western Atlantic
seaboard, would have been a significant but scarcely an
epochal event in the history of mankind. As it was, it opened
an age of revolution in old and new nations that is not yet
spent.” (p.95)
Essay Question – Political Causes:
importance of Enlightenment Ideas
Ideas of Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau
 Transmitted through Paine, Jefferson, Adams, newspapers,
pamphlets, books – Am Soc was exceptionally literate
 Discussed in taverns, town committees, Committees of
Correspondence
 Americans were very advanced in terms of their awareness of
political ideology
 Spoke the language of the Enlightenment…govt. by consent,
taxation through representation, Natural Rights / Rights as
Englishmen…before Declaration of Independence…
