Ms. Nicoll History Unit 1 

 
Name: Malia Langer 

Date: September 7, 2017 

Class: 8th Grade - US History 

 
Slides and Notes
 
Topic Student Notes

The Declaration of Independence 

Title 
Unit 1: Lesson 2 

Analyze the philosophy of government expressed in the 

Main Idea  Declaration of Independence​, with an emphasis on 
government as a means of securing individual rights.  

- In 1774, Americans were very upset because they 

had gotten a bunch of terrible acts.  
- Coercive Acts - a series of measures imposed by 
Background  the British government on the colonies in 
Information  response to their resistance to the new taxes 
- Before the constitution was created, there was the 
continental congress  
 

- In 1775, the second Continental Congress formed 

- Convened after the Revolutionary War had 
The Second already started 
Continental - A committee of people (John Adams, Benjamin 
Congress Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson (he was the main 
author)) wrote the document declaring the 
colonies’ independence 

- About 5 years later, they realized the continental 

congress was not enough to run a government  
- They wrote the Articles of Confederation 
Then what? 
- First attempt of the branches of 
government 
- The Constitution replaced it all in 1789  

What is important  - The Declaration of Independence formally 

to remember?  announced the colonies’ break from Great Britain 

 
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Ms. Nicoll History Unit 1 

- On July 4, 1776, the 2nd continental congress 

signed and approved the Declaration of 
Independence  

Important words from the Declaration of Independence: 

Declaration of
Equal, Unalienable, Happiness, Government, Life, 
Independence
Liberty, Men, Consent, Destructive, Abolish, New, Safety 

- Governments are based on  

- the consent of the people, protect people’s 
Philosophy of 
natural rights to life, liberty, and property 
Government 
- should be changed or replaced if they 
become unfair 

- His philosophy is that man is evil 

- He wanted to protect people from other people so 
Wait! What about 
he created the social contract 
Thomas Hobbes 
- Montesquieu 
- Rousseau 

- Unalienable rights 
Key Points of the 
- Life 
Declaration of
- Liberty 
Independence
- Pursuit of Happiness  

Key Points of the 

Declaration of - The job of government is to protect others 
Independence 

Jefferson argued  He argued for the right to live, to have freedom, and 
for...  happiness 

- King George III had violated the colonists rights 

violations 
- Jefferson charged the king for passing unfair laws 
Jefferson also 
and taxing colonists without consent 
argued that…  
- The presence of a large British army in the 
colonies was seen as another violation of 
colonists’ rights 

- Social Contract 
- The colonies have a right to break away from 
And, finally, 
Great Britain 
Jefferson argued 
- Rulers had to protect their citizens and England 
for... 
wasn’t  
- It was an obligation of the colonists to break from 

 
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Ms. Nicoll History Unit 1 

King George because he broke the contract  

 

 
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