Home > History Group > Question and Answer

History Group

Question:


blazedale

Why was the Declaration of Independence written?

Please cite your sources.

Rate question:

Posted by blazedale on Friday August 28, 2009 at 11:44 AM and tagged with declaration of independence, history, us history.

Answers:

  1. tisha06
    tisha06 Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    The Declaration of Independence was written to explain why the colonists had a right to revolt against and become independent from England. The colonists largest complaint was that rules were being passed in England that affected their life in the colonies, but the colonists had no representation in England to voice their opinions of the colonists when the laws were being passed.

    The declaration states that the people have the right to overthrow a government that is not protecting their liberties, that governments and kings are not held in place by God, but by the people who serve them, the colonists specific grievences against King George of England, and that the British people failed their fellow citizens in America.

    Sources:
    http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_his...

    Rate answer:

    Posted by tisha06 on Friday August 28, 2009 at 9:57 PM


  2. dbello Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The Declaration of Independence was written in order to clarify and justify the actions of The Second Continental Congress, which was to assume the powers of an offical government. The colonists' saw themselves as Englishmen, with all the rights of Englishmen. However, after numerous usurptions the colonists contested the violations of the Parliament based upon English liberty. The Declaration of Independence combined purpose with principle. In June 1776 the Congress of the united colonies appointed five delegates to produce a formal written declaration of independence, after several weeks Thomas Jefferson completed the draft.It was written to King George III and the world to read. Think about it, a public statement affirming the tyranny of the English King and a testament to the hypocrisy of the English Parliament.

    It had three purposes;

    1. a theory of government

    2. a list of complaints

    3. a declaration of war

     

    Jefferson also included principles of 'Enlightment' thought

    1. 'all men are created equal'

    2. born with inalienable rights from the God, not the king among them 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' (Jefferson clearly bases this statement on John Locke's, Life, Liberty, Property theory)

    3. Governments are instituted among men, not the other way around, thus the notion of the 'consent of the governed'

    4. If a government did not act on behalf of the people, the people had a right to abolish or alter the government to their just needs

     

    Sources:
    http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_digests/
    http://www.enotes.com/ushistory/constitution
    http://www.libraryofcongress.org

    Rate answer:

    Posted by dbello on Wednesday September 2, 2009 at 9:00 PM


  3. alohaspirit Teacher
    Middle School

    eNotes Editor

    It was created as a response to Great Britain overtaxing the colonists, so the founding fathers decided to send a declaration to King George declaring that America would be free, and that was the cause of the American Revolution.  It was a document that expressed the ideals of the colonists and the desire to have their own government built on democratic ideals.  This document would also be the basis for the U.S. Constitution, which is still the law of the land today.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/salem-history/declaration-independence

    Rate answer:

    Posted by alohaspirit on Saturday September 5, 2009 at 2:45 PM


  4. xxbibixx Student
    High School - 11th Grade

    During the mid-to-late 1700s, the British Parliament passed a number of laws that severely limited the freedoms of English colonists in America. As a result, in 1774, delegates from the colonies formed the First Continental Congress to send a list of complaints to King George III. The King ignored the colonists. In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and decided it was time to create a document that declared America's independence from Great Britain. Because the King kept ignoring the colonists' complaints, the only choice left was to rebel.

    Rate answer:

    Posted by xxbibixx on Tuesday October 6, 2009 at 1:52 PM