Declaration of Independence

Read the Preamble (the first two paragraphs) and the last paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. DO NOT read the list of grievances.

1. Think of at least two important ideas in the preamble that you can state IN YOUR OWN WORDS.

2. Thomas Jefferson, the writer the of the Declaration of Independence, states that “All men are created equal.” Do you think he believed this? What makes you think he might not have believed it completely?

3. Jefferson says: “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

Who is referred to why “them” and “their”?

4. What do you think he meant by “pursuit of happiness?”

5. What does he mean by “Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes?”

6. In your own words, what is the main idea of the final paragraph?