Declaration+of+Independance

1. My topic is on the Declaration of Independance.


 * 2.** **What I already know**

Who- People who discussed, wrote, and created the Declaration. What- A document that was sent to Britain from the colonies declaring independance. Where- Independance Hall in Philadelphia, PA When- 1776 Why- Americans wanted to seperate from Britain and become their own country How- I believe that delegates from each of the colonies met and discussed the situation


 * 3. What I want to know (research questions)**

Who- Who's decision was it to even write a document? Who all signed the document? What- What did they all discuss the most of the time? What did they disagree on a lot? Where- Did they discuss the issue at Independance hall the whole time? When- For how long did the meetings take place? Why- Why couldn't everyone agree on one topic without a compromise? How- How did everyone end up agreeing on all of the issues?


 * 4. My research strategy**

Who- I'll ask Ms. Horn and Ms. Brem for help on finding information, I could also ask Mrs. Brolan and the public librarian. What- Expert websites on the Declaration, my textbook, books, databases, and encyclopedias. When- During class and outside of school when needed Where- The CTMS and public library, and my computer for resources online. How- I'll use my thesis statement and research questions to find information on my wiki.

declaration of independance, thomas jefferson, revolutionary war, history of the declaration of independance, independance hall, and other versions of these.
 * Key words for searching:**


 * DRAFT**

The Declaration of Inde pendance influenced the Revolutionary war by changing the fate of the American Colonies and Britain. It was a significant document that exclaimed the freedom that the colonists wanted. This document had a huge impact on American history, and what it stands for is a story in itself.

There was definatley a lot of background history that led up to this important document. For example, the different laws and acts Britain passed over the Colonies. When The colonies and Britain started fighting in 1775, not that many people wanted to be a free country, but just to have more freedom within Britain's control. General Washington wanted to bring peace back to both sides of the war, and Thomas Jefferson was for reconciliation as well. Even though the war was known as the "revolution", it started out as a civil war between itself. (Declaration of Independance) This explained the beginings of the actual fighting part of the war, and that it explained that the Colonies weren't fighting for their independance yet. In the beginning of 1776, Thomas Paine wrote a short pamphlet called "Common Sense". It stated that every man that lived on American soil should and ought to be free. It also stated the idea of how you could show loyalty to Britain but yet keep fighting with them. After this, a lot of people stood up and decided that completley separating from Britain was the way to go. (Declaration of Independance). This was important because Paine's pamphlet influenced many Americans on fighting for their freedom. Britain had worked up a lot of debt after the French and Indian war, so they started to tax the colonies to recieve more income. When they passed the Stamp Act, the colonies didn't have any goverment officials in Parilament, so they stated "no taxation without representation". Britain said that they had the right to pass any law apon the colonies to get the money they needed. Britain also started stoping the colonies from moving west because of commitments with the indians. The colonists started to rebel, so one day the British killed a few innocent people, starting the Boston Massacre. This lead to more and more arguments, and the colonists were ready to defend their rights now. (Malone) This was important because this is one example of how Britain ticked off the colonies, and how they were tired of being treated wrong. The Boston Tea Party was one of the main reasons that war struck between the two sides. In late 1773, some colonists disguised as indians went on 3 ships in the Boston harbor and threw many crates of tea overboard that belonged to an english company. These colonists were tired of paying the taxes on these goods. Britain was furious when they found out about this, and they passed the Intolerable Acts. This law practically closed down the Boston harbor, not letting ships leave or come in. They tried to prevent town meetings, and the right to handle personal affairs. This eventually led to the first battles of the war, Lexington and Concord. (Malone) This was pretty much the "straw that broke the camels back" for the Colonists. This event made them angry and ready to fight.

In September of 1774, the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to discuss possibly use treaties and negotiations to end the bickering with Britain. They origianally called for an embargo on English trade, and even drafted a Declaration called the "Declaration of the Causes and Nessesity of Taking of Arms," which stated the ideas of the rights of colonists. Britain denied the Declaration, and they sent troops to Lexington and Concord, and the war began from there. (Hacht, Hayes) This is important because is says what the colonies tried to do before writing the Declaration. In the months following the begining of the war, the Continental Congress was preparing all of the colonies for war against Great Britain. After rejecting King George III from settling their diffrences, Richard Henry Lee of Vriginia proposed a plan for independance. He stated that the colonies were meant to be free, and that ties between Britain should be cut completley. This plan meant that the states were to team up and get some advice overseas to help them against British rule. (Hacht, Hayes) This was important because this plan really set up a basis on how the colonies were to become free and out of British hands. In June 1776, The Second Continental Congress formed a comittee to design a declaration for America's independance. They wanted to make sure to the public that they wanted to seperate from Great Britain, and why it was needed. The commitee was made up of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. The group decided that Jefferson would write the declaration because he had a background in literature. (Armentrout) This was important to American history because this decided who was going to design and write the Declaration of Independance.

On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress had claimed that the 13 colonies were to cut ties with Britain and become independant. Two days later, they spoke this matter out to the world with the Declaration of Independance. (Declaration of Independance) This pretty much was the "official" event that made it clear to everyone that America wanted their freedom. There are two main parts of the Declaration of Independance. The first part is stating the rights of everyone. The second part is exclaiming how Britain had done wrong against American rights. Most of these were against King George III. He was not completely responsible for all of the problems, but Jefferson did not want to bring Parliament into this. They had already ruled that they didn't have any power or control over them. They blamed King George because they were so used to being free, but he just kept trying to grasp control over the Colonists. The charges against the King have brought intrest to researchers, but a lot of people have forgotten them. (Malone)

The ideas that the Declaration claimed were not made from scratch on the spot. Jefferson got his ideas from the old english philosipher John Locke in his book "On Civil Goverment". The Declaration is calaborated from 3 main ideas from this book. 1) God made all men equal and gave everyone the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 2) The main idea of a goverment is to protect these rights. 3) If a government decides to take away these rights, the people are free to rebel and set up a new goverment. (Declaration of Independance) This idea was important because it shows what the declaration was based off of.
 * || This is important because it says the two main parts of the Declaration, and why they blamed the King. ||

Many causes and effects of many different important events in American history have been caused by the Declaration. It's crazy how one piece of paper with 56 names on it can change a nation forever. These 56 men, young and old, risked their lives so that the common people could be free forever.

code code Works Cited code Armentrout, David, and Patricia Armentrout. //The Declaration of Independance//. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke, code code 2005. Print. code code "Declaration of Independance." //encyclopedia britannica//. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. code code . code code "Declaration of Independance." //World Almanac for Kids//. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. code code . code code Hacht, Anne, and Dwayne Hayes. "The Declaration of Independance." //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. code code N.p., 2008. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. . code code Malone, Dumas. "Declaration of Independence." //Scholastic//. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. code code . code