Unit 3 - Breaking With Britain

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• Common Sense was a 47 page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine and argued that the colonies should declare their independence from Great Britain​

• Common Sense was sent out in January of 1776

• 500,000 copies were sold in all 13 colonies

• Paine used powerful words and phrases to influence people's opinions and convinced many colonists to change the way they viewed their king

• Paine wanted the colonies to defend themselves against the British and become independent economically

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​Paine's Common Sense

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• The 2nd Continental Congress created a committee to write a document that would declare the colonies independent

• Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman​,and Robert Livingston were picked to write this document

• These men were inspired by John Locke and the English Bill of Rights and wanted people to have Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

• Jefferson wrote the bulk of the declaration and said King George III violated their economic and social rights and the colonies had the right to break free from this oppression ​Many families were divided including Ben Franklin's son who was a Loyalist unlike his Patriot father

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​Independence is Declared

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• The Declaration of Independence says "all men are created equal" and fails to give rights to women, African Americans, and Native Americans.

• Abigail Adams, the wife of John Adams, said "Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors."

• Slavery was debated in the Second Continental Congress and they concluded that the Southern Colonies would not vote in favor of Independence if slavery was outlawed.

• Colonists continued to settle on Native American lands even after the Proclamation of 1763 and would continue to take their lands for another 100 years afterwards​.

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​Unfinished Business

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