Chapter 6 - Essay

Karime Balderas-Ortega

November 15th, 2013

Core 4

Chapter 6 Essay

Declaration Of Independence

The Patriots took their lives in their hands by signing the Declaration of Independence. Would you have signed it? Why or why not? Establish your opinion then support it with three reasons in essay form.

Patriots, also known as Delegates, took their life into their own hands in July 4th, 1776. They had the courage to sign the Declaration of Independence, the most risky document of the time. What the document did and said was very important. It basically told Britain to leave them alone, that the US colonies would become Independent. Very little did the colonies know that the Declaration actually would start a war. But it also made the colonies Tax Free, have Freedom, and Independence.

One thing that the Colonists hated the most about Britain is the taxes they were forced to pay. Taxes on every thing was a little bit over board so with the Declaration it ended any control of Britain over the colonies.  In the 1763's the taxes were harsh but in 1775 they weren't as bad, they were controlled. Who wouldn't want to the horrible taxes to end completely?

Independence was another thing that was on everyone's mind. The colonists no longer wanted someone to keep ruling over them, they had enough of that with King George III. The freedom part of the Declaration of Independence was specifically put in by Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration. Benjamin Franklin and John Adam's both agreed with Thomas.

The meaning of freedom is "the power to determine action without restraint. " Well with the Declaration slaves would also be free and this was a concerning issue. Without the slave trade the colonies would have to do work for themselves and lose money. The delegates didn't like this much and it actually got taken out of the Declaration. In Thomas's writing it blamed King George for the start of slavery and most thought it was unfair.  

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence he had in mind the riot it would cause. He didn't know how big it would be but he knew something would happen. Benjamin Franklin and John Adam's knew that they were getting into the same thing when they edited the important document. But did they know the threating war it would bring?

As the Delegates signed it they also knew that there would be trouble. If I myself was a delegate at the time I wouldn't have a doubt in my mind. Not for the fame, but because it changed the colonies for the better. They did have to go through a lot to get to the point where they wanted to become independent but it would've came sooner or later.