We therefore the Representatives of the united States of America inGeneral Congress Assembled appealing to the Supreme Judge of theworld for the rectitude of our intentions do in the Name and by Author-ity of the good People of these Colonies solemnly publish and declareThat these United Colonies are and of Right ought to be Free and Inde-pendent States that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the BritishCrown and that all political connection between them and the State ofGreat Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved and that as Free andIndependent States they have full Power to levy War conclude Peace contract Alliances establish Commerce and to do all other Acts andThings which Independent States may of right do
And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the Pro-tection of Divine Providence we mutually pledge to each other our Livesour Fortunes and our sacred Honor
VirginiaGeorge WytheRichard Henry LeeThomas JeffersonBenjamin HarrisonThomas Nelson JrFrancis Lightfoot LeeCarter Braxton
PennsylvaniaRobert MorrisBenjamin RushBenjamin FranklinJohn MortonGeorge ClymerJames SmithGeorge TaylorJames WilsonGeorge Ross
New JerseyRichard StocktonJohn WitherspoonFrancis HopkinsonJohn HartAbraham Clark
The final section declares thatthe colonies are ldquoFree andIndependent Statesrdquo with thefull power to make war to formalliances and to trade withother countries
What It MeansSigners of the Declaration Thesigners as representatives of theAmerican people declared thecolonies independent from GreatBritain Most members signedthe document on August 2 1776
Reviewing Key TermsWrite five true and four false statements using the termsbelow Use only one term in each statement Indicatewhich statements are true and which are false Below eachfalse statement explain why it is false1 revenue 4 propaganda 7 Patriot2 boycott 5 militia 8 preamble3 repeal 6 minutemen 9 unalienable
rights
Reviewing Key Facts10 What did the British do to keep colonists from moving
westward11 How did the British government use the colonies to
raise revenue Why did this anger the colonists12 What incident caused the British Parliament to pass
the Coercive Acts13 What was the purpose of the First Continental Congress14 How did the events of 1776 move the colonists closer to
self-government15 According to the Declaration of Independence if a gov-
ernment does not protect the basic rights of the peopleit governs what do people have the right to do
16 Identify the four sections of the Declaration of Independence
Critical Thinking17 Drawing Conclusions Why did the colonists think
that the Stamp Act ignored the colonial tradition ofself-government
18 Organizing Information Re-create the diagram belowand show ways the colonists by working in groupsresisted the British during the revolutionary period
19 Analyzing Primary Sources What did Patrick Henrymean when he said ldquoI am not a Virginian but anAmericanrdquo
20 Analyzing Information According to the Declarationof Independence what are the three basic freedomsto which every person is entitled
Group action
by colonists
Road to IndependenceFollow the arrows to review the causes and the effectsthat led to the colonies declaring independence
Cause French and Indian War leaves Great Britain indebt
Effect Britain taxes colonies Parliament passes SugarAct and Stamp Act Becomes Cause
Effect Colonists boycott British goods BecomesCause
Effect British send troops to Boston resulting in theBoston Massacre Becomes Cause
Effect British repeal import taxes Becomes Cause
Effect Colonists respond with Boston Tea Party Becomes Cause
Effect Parliament passes the Coercive Acts Becomes Cause
Effect First Continental Congress drafts a statement ofgrievances Becomes Cause
Effect British troops fight colonists at battles of Lexing-ton and Concord British defeat colonial forces at BunkerHill
Congress signs Declaration of Independence
158
Self-Check QuizVisit and click on Chapter 5mdash
Self-Check Quizzes to prepare for the chapter testtarvol1glencoecom
HISTORY
Directions Choose the bestanswer to the following question
Standardized Test Practice
Economics Activity31 How did laws passed by the British after 1763 affect
American trade and industry Write your answer in aone-page paper
Alternative Assessment32 Persuasive Writing What do you think a good citizen is
Is it someone who follows the law Or might it be some-one who breaks the law in order to stand up for an idealDo you think that people like the Sons of Liberty acted as good citizens Write a persuasive paper explainingyour views
Read the following passage and choose the bestanswer to the question that follows
An English philosopher named John Locke wroteabout his belief that people had natural rightsThese included the right to life liberty and prop-erty In Two Treatises of Government Locke wrotethat people created government to protect naturalrights If a government failed in its basic duty of pro-tecting natural rights people had the right to over-throw the governmentLockersquos ideas contributed to the
A Proclamation of 1763B Intolerable ActsC Declaration of IndependenceD Articles of Confederation
Test-Taking Tip
Look for clues in the passage to support your answerFor example the passage refers to life liberty and property It also states that people had the right to
overthrow the government Which answer does this information best support
Practicing Skills Distinguishing Fact From Opinion Read the following state-ments Tell whether each is a fact or an opinion21 Great Britain should not have tried to stop the colonists
from settling west of the Appalachians22 The Stamp Act placed a tax on almost all printed material
in the colonies23 The Daughters of Liberty urged Americans to wear home-
made fabrics24 Thomas Jefferson was a better writer than John Adams
Geography and History ActivityStudy the map on page 133 then answer the following questions25 What bodies of water did the Proclamation of 1763 pre-
vent colonists from reaching26 What nation claimed the land west of the Mississippi River27 The land west of the Appalachian Mountains became part
of what province28 What natural feature was cited in the Proclamation of
1763 as an approximate boundary
Citizenship Cooperative Activity29 Work with a group of classmates to create your own
ldquoDeclaration of Independencerdquo Use the original Declara-tion of Independence on pages 154ndash157 as a guide tocreate your document Outline the basic freedoms thatyou expect to have as a citizen and describe why thesefreedoms are important to you Then write at least threeresponsibilities andor sacrifices that citizens should bewilling to make to enjoy the freedoms you listed Afteryour group has completed its Declaration of Indepen-dence have the groups come together as a class Shareall the groupsrsquo documents and compare the ideasexpressed in each
Technology Activity30 Using the Internet On the Internet locate the computer
address for the National Archives or the Library of Con-gress in Washington DC Search each site for documentsconcerning the drafting of the Declaration of Indepen-dence andor photos of pamphlets produced by thecolonies in the 1700s Print a copy of what you find orsketch a likeness to share with the class
CHAPTER 5 Road to Independence 159
Standardized Test Practice