1. Do Now: Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Aim: Why was the Declaration of Independence a major political document?
Do Now: Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

2. The Declaration of Independence
July 4th, 1776
Written by Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson adopted ideas from Enlightenment thinkers.
Ex. Locke and Rousseau

3. What did the Declaration Declare?
1) “Unalienable Rights”: Life, Liberty, Happiness.
2) Popular Sovereignty: Vote for rulers and laws.
3) Government gets its power from the people.
4) Right to revolution if the government is corrupt.
5) A formal declaration of war.

4. Effects of the Declaration
Immediate: Revolution and the beginning of a new nation. Long-Lasting: Committed the new American Nation to the highest political ideals of the age. Long-Lasting: Throughout our history the Declaration’s importance remains as we continue to deal with inequality in all of its forms.

5. Key Questions
What philosophical movement did Thomas Jefferson get his ideas for the Declaration from?
Name two thinkers from that movement.
What are three issues the Declaration declared to King George III?
Why did the colonies issue the Declaration of Independence?
How did the Declaration of Independence impact future generations of Americans?