Declaration of Independence Worksheet.docx



Declaration of Independence: Student Worksheet

• The context of the Declaration of Independence is important. It is drafted simultaneously with the Articles of Confederation and the early state constitutions. It complimented and justified the Articles and, later, the Constitution of 1787.

• The preamble, the first paragraph, explains the document's purpose, and identifies the signers.

• The first middle part, the second paragraph, sets forth principles in the form of rights. These rights also provide the justification for separation and the rationale for listing specific grievances.

• The second middle part contains the grievances, twenty eight in all. In his commentary on the Declaration of Independence in Roots of the Republic, Donald Lutz points out that the charges against the king are the reasons for separation; they are also "a list of American political commitments." (Note that charges are against the king, not the government or the people, in an attempt to isolate the king.) Grievances one through six address the legislative process. Number seven speaks to immigration and westward expansion. Eight and nine are on the judiciary. The executive is found in ten through twelve. Thirteen through twenty two involve areas of foreign rule. It is implied in the next five charges that the king by withdrawing his protection of lives and property, not the Americans, had broken ties.

• The last charge and the following paragraph provide the transition from the middle parts to the end. They reflect the statements made in the second paragraph of the document. The word "therefore" signals the beginning of the action part o f the Declaration. This is what the signers intend to do and why. The last sentence is our national compact in which God is called as a witness.

• The signers are listed by state in geographic order from north to south.

Part I: As Individuals

1. On the document highlight the following answers starting at the first word of the answer:

a. What is the purpose of the Declaration? (highlight in red, paragraph 1)

b. What three natural or unalienable rights do men have? (highlight in orange, paragraph 2)

c. Governments get their power from whom? (highlight in yellow, paragraph 2)

d. What must people do if government abuses its power? (highlight in green, paragraph 2)

2. On the Declaration, number the grievances found. (highlight in blue, Hint: there are twenty-eight.)

3. Underline the "action" part of the document. (What are the signers going to do?) (highlight in purple) last paragraph)

4. Place brackets around the part that shows the compact or pledge of the signers. (underline, last paragraph)

Part II: In a Group:

1. In your groups, discuss why the grievances are actually the causes of the Revolution.

2. List ten of the causes of the American Revolution.

3. Put a star next to the three causes your group feels were the most important. Justify your choices.

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