Transcript Unit 1: Foundations of American Government

The Colonies formed a Continental
Congress that urged each colony to
form its own, independent,
Government.
 Congress also appointed a committee to
prepare a formal declaration explaining
their actions.
 Thomas Jefferson was selected to
express the committee’s points.


Thomas Jefferson used concepts and ideas from
the Social Contract Theory, especially the ideas
English philosopher John Locke while writing the
Declaration of Independence.
 people have “natural rights” to life, liberty and
property
▪ Jefferson changed property to “pursuit of
happiness”
 government gets its power from the people’s
consent, so they can “alter or abolish” any
government that does not respect their rights.
The Declaration of Independence listed
the several ways that the King had
violated the natural rights of the
colonists.
 If the King had violated these “natural
rights”, then they believed they should
be able to separate and declare their
independence.


Jefferson also wrote that “all men are
created equal”, meaning all free citizens
shared equal political rights.
 Jefferson did not necessarily mean to
apply this to women, Native Americans
or African-Americans, though these
groups did use this statement to fight for
equal rights later on.

The Declaration of Independence was
officially adopted on July 4, 1776 (though
not officially signed by most delegates
until August 2).

The declaration opens with a preamble
describing the document's necessity in
explaining why the colonies have
overthrown their ruler and chosen to
take their place as a separate nation in
the world.
The Key points in the D. o. I. are:
all men are created equal and
there are certain unalienable rights that
governments should never violate.
(life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness).
 It is the duty of the people to establish a
government that is designed to protect those
rights.
 In this case, a long history of abuses led the
colonists to overthrow a tyrannical government.



The King of Great Britain, George III, was
guilty of 27 specific abuses.
 Let’s listen to the list the colonists
created in the D. o. I.

The colonial governments tried to reach
a peaceful reconciliation with Britain.
 After many peaceful attempts, the
colonists had no choice but to declare
independence.

The new nation will be called the United
States of America and will have no
further connections with Great Britain.
 The new government will create rights
and establish a new rule of law.


1.
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3.
4.
Compare the “Social Contract Theory” and the
“Declaration of Independence”
What is a contract?
What did the Declaration say the people should
be able to expect from the government?
What is the government’s responsibility in this
new contract?
What did the Declaration say the people should
do if the government failed to live up to their
contract?