🏛️ Foundations of Revolution
❓ This year marked the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
✅ What is 1776?
❓ This Roman orator, lawyer, and philosopher wrote about justice and natural law during a time of civil war.
✅ Who is Cicero?
❓ “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” This appeal relies on reason and evidence.
✅ What is logos?
❓ “He has refused his Assent to Laws…” begins a series of similarly structured grievances.
✅ What is parallelism?
❓ Martin Luther King Jr. was born in this city in 1929.
✅ What is Atlanta, Georgia?
❓ The Declaration of Independence was written primarily to justify this action already underway.
✅ What is the Revolutionary War?
❓ Cicero’s political career peaked when he became this high-ranking official in the Roman Republic.
✅ What is Consul?
❓ MLK Jr. describes the suffering of sanitation workers and the violence they faced, stirring compassion and anger.
✅ What is pathos?
❓ MLK Jr. asks, “Why should they ask me to speak at the convention?” to provoke reflection.
✅ What is a rhetorical question?
❓ Before becoming a minister, MLK Jr. was skeptical of this.
✅ What is religion?
❓ Colonists hoped this European country would support their cause against Britain.
✅ What is France?
❓ Cicero’s writings influenced this American Founder, who authored the Declaration of Independence.
✅ Who is Thomas Jefferson?
❓ Cicero argues that justice is a universal moral duty, appealing to reason and philosophical tradition. ✅
What is logos?
❓ Cicero contrasts just rulers with tyrants to highlight moral failure.
✅ What is antithesis?
❓ MLK Jr. led this organization during the civil rights movement.
✅ What is the Southern Christian Leadership Conference?
❓ The Declaration of Independence was aimed at three audiences: the colonists, King George III, and this broader group.
✅ What are other European countries outside of Britain?
❓ Cicero’s central goal was to preserve this form of government against ambitious military leaders.
✅ What is the Roman Republic?
❓ MLK Jr. says, “The time is always right to do what is right,” urging action in the moment.
✅ What is kairos?
❓ “He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns…” omits conjunctions for dramatic effect.
✅ What is asyndeton?
❓ MLK Jr. gave his final speech in this city, one day before his assassination.
✅ What is Memphis, Tennessee?
❓ This urgent need—both diplomatic and moral—prompted the colonists to write the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
✅ What is the need for foreign support and a moral reason to continue fighting?
❓ This philosophical idea, shared by Cicero and echoed in the Declaration, claims that legitimate government must be based on justice and the consent of the governed.
✅ What is natural law?
❓ “We hold these truths to be self-evident…” appeals to shared moral principles and credibility.
✅ What is ethos?
❓ The Declaration accuses the king of violating laws meant to protect liberty—despite his role as lawgiver.
✅ What is irony?
❓ MLK Jr. received this international honor in 1964 for his leadership and commitment to justice.
✅ What is the Nobel Peace Prize?