The Founding Fathers risked their lives and the lives of their families to make a statement to
the empire of Great Britain and the rest of the world. The document they created would have
been viewed as treason by the British government, and had they failed in their great plight
for independence they would likely have lost everything, including their lives.
Your task is to write your own Declaration of Independence. You must follow the guidelines
below to create this document, which should mirror the real Declaration of Independence.
1) Preamble: Discuss the reasons for why you are writing this Declaration. (From,
“When in the Course of human Events” to “declare the Causes which impel them to
the Separation.”) What reasons do you believe you should declare your
independence?
2) Declaration of Student Rights: Explain what you believe, the philosophy and ideals
behind your document. (From, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident….”) What
beliefs about your independence do you have
3) List of Complaints/Grievances: List the person/persons to whom you are addressing
your complaints, and what you specifically are complaining about. (From, “To prove
this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World….”) An example might be “Our
Teachers have assigned an enormous amount of homework that we were forced to
complete at times inconvenient.” (Caveat: You may not list any individuals by name,
and all complaints must be intelligently worded and appropriate for school!)
4) Statements of prior attempts to redress grievances: List the ways in which you
have already tried to address your complaints. (From “Nor have We been wanting in
attentions to our British brethren…”) In what ways have you already tried to address
your complaints?
5) Declaration of Independence: Describe how you want things to change as a result of
this Declaration. (From “We, therefore…”) How would you want things to change if
you became independent?