Declaration of Independence

Today is more than July 4th for those of us in the United States of America. Happy Independence Day!

But what exactly does that mean? Well, as history would dictate Independence Day is about when our nation’s founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence officially proclaiming the thirteen colonies separation from Great Britain and making the following words from the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence famous to generations of oppressed people across the world:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Read a transcript of the full Declaration of Independence at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html See addtional resources in the Teaching Tools section below.

Question for this week:

• Two-hundred and thirty-five years later, what does the Declaration of Independence mean to you?
• Do you know what is written on the back of the Declaration of Independence?

TEACHING TOOLS . . .

Our National Treasure
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/treasure/index.html
The National Archives web site about the Declaration of Independence.

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters_downloads.html
The National Archives provides high-quality JPG images of famous historical documents including the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

The Founding Fathers
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_founding_fathers.html
Biographies of the Founding Fathers.

May your freedom be abundant and your holiday both happy and safe!