The Declaration of Independence is made up of three parts, 56 signatures, and 1,337 words. It is still the governing document that shapes the United States today. Use the facts below to help supplement your curriculum when teaching your children about this amazing document.
Power of the People
During the 1600s, people from England began settling into the new lands of North America. Although they were here, they were still controlled by the authority of the King in England. Of course, the time came when the people did not want to be ruled by a government that was so far away. They wanted to rule their own colonies.
Join or die, that was the motto of the first political cartoon drawn in 1754. The sections of the snake represented the eight colonies that were settled as of this drawing. It was believed that if certain pieces of a dead snake were joined together, the snake would come back to life. Of course, this was one of many superstitions people believed long ago when they could not explain why certain things happened.
Let's Have a Tea Party
It all happened on December 16, 1773. The members of the Sons of Liberty protested the British Tea Act, which lowered the price of tea, but levied high taxes to make up more than the difference. The Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Indians, got onboard the British ships, and dumped 340 chests of tea into the waters below. The tea actually turned the water brown, and weighed approximately 92,000 pounds in total. This led to some harsh times with the British government. The British closed the Boston Harbor and banned unapproved town meetings.
Colonists Stand Together
Outraged by the acts of the British government, 56 colonial leaders met in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress in 1774. They came up with a plan of action and Thomas Jefferson, 33 years of age, penned the Declaration of Independence. Some of the committee members made a few small changes, and thus America became a free nation on July 4, 1776. We now celebrate America's birthday on the Fourth of July every year.
Slavery was kept legal within the document, but there were already some problems brewing with some of northern colonists feeling it was wrong and most southern colonists supporting it. Colonists with large farms have come depend on slaves to help take care of their land, and they were not willing to give that up. But, that is another lesson altogether.
Vocabulary Find
Find the definition of the following terms used in the Declaration of Independence. Use the Internet or a dictionary for help.
- Abolish
- Alter
- Endowed
- Pursuit
- Self-evident
- Unalienable
Where is the Declaration of Independence Now?
If possible, take a trip to the see the actual Declaration of Independence, which is housed in the National Archives in our nation's capital, Washington, D.C. Great strides are taken to protect the document. Conservators work diligently to restore damage that is done to the document, clean it, and reattach flakes of loose ink.
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