Call for Independence Essay

Hello my name is ..... and I will be giving you a tour of the Smithsonian today. Our first exhibit is the Declaration of Independence. Raise your hand if you know what the Declaration of Independence is? (Wait for Responses) Okay good! The Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 and is a document giving the colonies independence from England. Before the document was written the colonists were unhappy with their relationship with England. One colonist, Thomas Paine, wrote an article called Common Sense stating that there was no point in continuing their relationship with England when they were not getting anything out of it. This changed a lot of the colonists views and started a revolution. England and the colonists went to battle, the first one was at Lexington and Concord in 1775. All of this led up to the writing of the document. Ben Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson all contributed to the document. Jefferson wrote the first draft. The document had three main parts. An official statement declaring Independence, a statement that all men are created equal and the right to revolt against government. It also included a list of grievances against King George III. The king considered the colonists' traitors and the colonists had many complaints against the King and Parliament. The colonists were upset that Parliament passed unfair laws and the colonists weren't even represented in Parliament. The colonists weren't allowed to trade their good with other countries and England placed high taxes on imported goods. The colonists were also mad that Parliament expected them to pay for the French and Indian war. All of this contributed to the writing of the document. Now that you know some things about the Declaration lets continue to the next exhibit.