The Declaration of Independence (1776) (SparkNotes History Note)

By SparkNotes

The Declaration of Independence (1776) (SparkNotes History Note)
Making the reading experience fun!

SparkNotes History Guides help students strengthen their grasp of history by focusing on individual eras or episodes in U.S. or world history. Breaking history up into digestible lessons, the History Guides make it easier for students to see how events, figures, movements, and trends interrelate. SparkNotes History Guides are perfect for high school and college history classes, for students studying for History AP Test or SAT Subject Tests, and simply as general reference tools. Each note contains a general overview of historical context, a concise summary of events, lists of key people and terms, in-depth summary and analysis with timelines, study questions and suggested essay topics, and a 50-question review quiz.

• Language: English
• Publisher: SparkNotes
• Release date: Aug 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781411472655

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Cover of SparkNotes Guide to The Declaration of Independence (1776) by SparkNotes Editors

The Declaration of Independence (1776)

Thomas Jefferson

© 2003, 2007 by Spark Publishing

This Spark Publishing edition 2014 by SparkNotes LLC, an Affiliate of Barnes & Noble

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ISBN-13: 978-1-4114-7265-5

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Contents

Context

Key Historical Figures

Summary

Preamble

List of Abuses and Usurpations

Past Actions of Colonists

Conclusion and Definition of a New Government

Study Questions

Review & Resources

Context

The The Declaration of Independence, completed and signed in July of 1776, marked the official separation between the 13 colonies and Great Britain. An armed struggle between the colonies and Britain had begun just over a year before, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The formal declaration of independence established the new American revolutionary government and officially declared war against Great Britain. The primary purpose of the declaration was to assist the Second Continental Congress in obtaining aid from foreign countries. The document also clearly outlines the history of abuses the colonists had suffered under British rule since the end of the French and Indian war in 1763.

Prior to the French and Indian war, the colonists had enjoyed over a hundred years of salutary neglect. In other words, although laws were in place to maintain the subordinate status of the colonies to Great Britain, they were