A
What is the "Creed of the USA?"
What is a document that explains the political and social ideas that are the basis of our comunity?
What was arguably the most important document of American history?
What is the declaration of independence?
What did the last line state?
"We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortune, and our sacred Honor."
What did the last line mean?
it meant if the whole independence thing didn't work out they knew they were going to be hanged.
What was mentioned in the Declaration 4 times?
What is God?
What was in the original draft of the Declaration but later removed because it did not match everyone's liking?
The idea of Slavery being evil. This caused intense debate and was later removed due to southern colonies' pressure.
What were some of the ideas John Locke promoted that were later used in the Deceleration of Independence?
He promoted the ideas of equality. He also promoted the idea that people were allowed to overthrow the government if they were being wronged by them
What were the two famous John Locke quotes?
-"[people are] endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and personal property".
-"That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new Government".
How was this an IOU?
everyone wasn’t treated with equal opportunities for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness: African-Americans, black slaves, women, Indigenous Persons, certain religions/religious denominations, ethnic groups
Frederick Douglass (1860s abolitionist & former slave) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said the Declaration was good BUT the U.S. wasn’t living up to it yet
it was like a promissory note / IOU until, truly, all humans were given those equal rights
What is the Declaration of Independence?
What is a document stating that the English colonies were free and independant from great Britan. Also the creed of the united states of america?
Who was Thomas Jefferson?
-Founding father who drafted the Declaration of independence.
-Master of English prose.
-scholar/scientist of all subject areas
-European Liberal expert.
*NOTE LIBERAL HAS A CAPITAL L*
at the time, the U.S.A. was the only nation founded on a creed (statement of beliefs)
“...endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” = GOD gives humans rights before anyone else does—not government
all humans have natural rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness), and they generally don’t have to be taught those (natural law)
there is no appeal to traditions or customs: this rejected social hierarchies a person gets born into just because of her or his last name
there is no mention of having to have a monarch, oligarchy, hierarchical system, caste system, etc.—it’s THE PEOPLE who choose government to protect the rights of THE PEOPLE
everywhere else in the world there was some type of dictatorship (even shared power with a Parliament)—the U.S. said no to that—GOD (mentioned 4 times) and THE LAW are king