Declaring Independence

Front 1

What was the book Common Sense about? Who wrote it? How did it affect the colonies?

Back 1

• The book Common Sense was a 47-page pamphlet, published in January 1776 that urged separation from Great Britain. It argued that citizens should make the laws, not the king a queens.
• Thomas Paine wrote this pamphlet, but it was published anonymously
• This pamphlet changed the way the colonists viewed their king. It made a strong case for the right to military self-defense, and economic freedom

Front 2

Who were the committee members that met to write the document that declared the colonies’ independence?

Back 2

John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman

Front 3

What were the three main ideas of the Declaration of Independence?

Back 3

1)Argued that all men possess unalienable rights. Life, liberty, and the pursuit if happiness.
(2) King George III violated the colonists’ rights by passing unfair laws and interfering with government. He taxed the colonists without their consent and the large British army was violating their rights.
(3) The colonies had the right to break away from Britain. Britain and the colonies had a social contract which states that government rulers must protect the rights of citizens. In exchanged the people would agree to be governed. But King George III had broken that contract; therefore the colonies shouldn’t have to obey him.

Front 4

What were Patriots, and what were Loyalists? How did they affect the colonies?

Back 4

• Patriots were colonists who chose to fight for independence. Loyalists (sometimes known as Tories) were colonists who remained loyal to Britain.
They affected the colonies because the loyalists and the patriots became opponents and the wars tore apart families.

Front 5

Because the colonies valued liberty, what did people do about enslaved African Americans?

Back 5

• In July 1776 slavery was legal in all of the colonies, but in the 1780s New England colonies took steps to end slavery.