Objective: To examine the importance of Common Sense, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Common Sense (1776) - Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that helped convince thousands of colonists to support independence from Great Britain. Thomas Paine

The Declaration of Independence – BrainPOP

Declaration of Independence - In June of 1776, the Continental Congress agreed that a Declaration of Independence needed to be written.

John Trumbull's "Declaration of Independence”, 1817 - On July 4, 1776, the delegates accepted the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson. John Trumbull's "Declaration of Independence”, 1817

Declaration of Independence – 3 Main Parts 1 – All people have equal rights. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 2 – Great Britain had treated the colonists wrongfully. 3 – The colonies were now an independent country known as the United States of America.

Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C. "Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free… …Nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government. Nature, habit, opinion has drawn indelible lines of distinction between them." - Thomas Jefferson

The Declaration of Independence – BrainPOP Quiz