The Declaration of Independence: its parts, its ideas and its complaints
Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Source A
The Declaration of Independence, approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. A Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as the main drafter, wrote it for King George III, Parliament, the colonists and "mankind". Capitals and punctuation are modernized; an ellipsis marks a cut. Excerpt 1, the opening: "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another … a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." Excerpt 2, the ideas: "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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Excerpt 3, a complaint: "He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislatures."
Ari reads excerpt 2. According to the writers, where does a government get its just powers?
- From the king, who passes them down to each government
- From the agreement of the people it governs
- From its duty to protect life, liberty and happiness
- From a pledge of loyalty that colonists swear to the crown
Excerpt 3 says armies were kept 'in times of peace.' Bo asks why those words strengthen the complaint.
- They show the armies had already gone home when peace came
- They suggest the king was planning to attack the colonies
- They show the colonists were asking for more soldiers to guard them
- With no war, the soldiers could not be defended as protection
The opening mentions 'a decent respect to the opinions of mankind.' What does that suggest about the audience, Jun asks?
- People in other countries were meant to judge the reasons
- King George III alone was meant to read the explanation
- The writers already knew other countries would take their side
- Congress was asking other countries for soldiers and money
Use this
Source B: a timeline of 1775 to 1776, built from the National Archives account of how independence came about. April 1775: fighting breaks out at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. August 23, 1775: King George III declares the colonists to be in open rebellion. January 1776: Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense is printed and argues for independence. June 7, 1776: Richard Henry Lee asks Congress to declare the colonies free and independent states. June 11, 1776: Congress names a Committee of Five; Jefferson writes the first draft. July 2, 1776: Congress votes for independence. July 4, 1776: Congress approves the text of the Declaration. On the night of July 4: the printer John Dunlap prints about 200 copies to send out. Source B was written long after 1776, by archivists who were not there.
A classmate tells Kira that the Declaration started the war. Which fact on the timeline best answers that?
- Fighting began in April 1775, over a year before the Declaration
- Lee's June 1776 request shows the colonists as a whole wanted independence
- The printer John Dunlap made about 200 copies on the night of July 4
- Congress voted on July 2, two days before approving the text
Congress voted on July 2 but approved the text on July 4. What does that order show about the Declaration, Luz asks?
Use the picture in question 4.
- The decision came first and the text then explained it
- Independence did not count as decided until the text was approved
- The text approved on July 4 is what made the July 2 vote possible
- July 2 and July 4 are two names for the same vote in Congress
Common Sense came out in January 1776, after the fighting began. What does that order suggest, Milo asks?
Use the picture in question 4.
- Arguments for independence spread after the war had begun
- Paine's pamphlet caused the fighting at Lexington and Concord
- Most colonists already wanted independence back in April 1775
- Paine was answering the king's proclamation, which came afterward
Source B was written long after 1776 by archivists. How should Noah use it as evidence of what colonists felt in 1775?
Use the picture in question 4.
- As proof of what the colonists as a group felt then
- For dates and events, not for the colonists' own feelings
- Not usefully, because the archivists were not there themselves
- Its dates are probably wrong because it was written later
Source A
The Declaration of Independence, approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. A Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as the main drafter, wrote it for King George III, Parliament, the colonists and "mankind". Capitals and punctuation are modernized; an ellipsis marks a cut. Excerpt 1, the opening: "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another … a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." Excerpt 2, the ideas: "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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Excerpt 3, a complaint: "He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislatures."
Excerpt 2 calls rights 'unalienable.' What does that mean in this sentence, Ren asks?
- People cannot be separated from these rights
- These rights were first listed in the Bill of Rights
- People receive these rights after they have earned them
- Just people who live far from home hold these rights
Why does the Declaration state its ideas (excerpt 2) before its complaint (excerpt 3), Tala asks?
- The writers had not yet decided which complaints to include
- Complaints are just opinions, so they must come last in a text
- The complaints had to come first to establish that the ideas are true
- The ideas set a standard for judging each complaint
Using all three excerpts, which sentence best states the Declaration's purpose, Zee asks?
- To explain to the world why the colonies were leaving
- To report who had won the first battles of the long war
- To ask the king to cancel his taxes and withdraw armies
- To list the laws that the new nation would then follow