Natural+Rights+and+the+Declaration+of+Independence


 * Natural Rights and the Declaration of Independence**


 * Power Points: (please check the links on the slides and make sure you can access them, let me know if you cannot).**



In this section we cover the concept of a "natural right," how it evolved over time, and how it became interwoven into the American system in the opening paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence. If you understand the following, you should do well on the quiz:


 * The factors leading to the Magna Carta, and the significance of the document after its signature.
 * The arguments for and against patriarchy, or, the Divine Right of Kings.
 * Who were the Stuart Monachs and why do they matter?
 * Why was Charles the First executed?
 * What arguments did Thomas Hobbes and John Locke make regarding the purpose of government? How were they similar, how were they different?
 * Why is the idea that people are rational creatures central to the concept of natural rights?
 * What was the Declaration of Rights and how did it reduce the power of the British Monarchy?
 * How did the Declaration of Independence use Locke's arguments regarding government?
 * What specific grievances did the colonists make against the King of England?


 * Here is a timeline for the events described below:**

1100: [|Charter of Liberties]. 1150 - 1228: [|Stephen Langdon], [|Archbishop of Canterbury] and driving force behind Magna Carta lives. 1215: [|Magna Carta] signed. 1588 - 1679: [|Thomas Hobbes] lives, writes The Leviathan. 1598: The future James I publishes [|The True Law of Free Monarchies]. 1603: [|James 1], becomes the first of the [|Stuart Monarchs]. 1603: James I publishes the [|True Law of Free Monarchies], which supports the doctrine of the [|Divine Right of the King]. 1607: [|The Jamestown Settlement]. 1609: James I describes the [|Divine Right of Kings]. 1607-1700: Colonial Timeline: [|Beginnings til 1700]. 1620: [|Plymouth Colony] established. 1620: [|The Mayflower Compact] signed. 1625 - 1649: [|Charles I] is King of England. 1632 - 1704: [|John Locke] lives, writes The Two Treatises on government which contains the argument later included in the Declaration of Independence. 1639: The [|Fundamental Orders of 1639] signed. (Plymouth Colony). 1641 - 1651: [|English Civil War]. 1649: [|Execution of Charles the First], by the British Parliament. 1650s (?): [|The Age of Enlightenment] begins. 1651: [|The Leviathan]published. 1688 - 1689: [|The Glorious Revolution]. 1689: [|English Bill of Rights] (or Declaration of Rights) signed by [|William and Mary]. 1689: [|Two Treatises of Government published], the first attacks the argument for the divine rule, the second establishes the concept or rule by consent. 1700 - 1763: Colonial Timeline: [|1700 - 1763]. 1754 - 1763: [|The French and Indians Wars] fought and began a series of events which would lead to Britain's attempt to strengthen its control of the colonies. 1763 - 1775: Colonial Timeline: [|1763 - 1775]. 1765: [|The Stamp Act Congress] meets. (see [|this link for a more thorough list] of the events leading to the American Independence) 1775: [|Second Continental Congress] convenes. 1775 - 1776: Colonial Timeline: [|1775 - 1776]. 1776: [|Declaration of Independence]written, signed and distributed. 1821: [|Grant given to Moses Austin]by the Mexican government to found a colony in Texas. 1836: [|Texas Declaration of Independence] written signed and distributed. 1836: [|Allen Brothers found Houston].

- [|American Revolution]. - [|The Popular Basis of Political Authority]. - [|Federalist 1]. - [|The Second Continental Congress]. - [|An Overview of Natural Law Theory].


 * Past Written Assignments:**

1. I want you to become familiar with the Magna Carta and the British Declaration of Rights. These two documents established limits on the power of government that would provide a basis for the American Constitution. I want you to become familiar with exactly how they did so. Read through both documents and list the items that still seem applicable today. 2. One of the more noteworthy events in British history was the execution of Charles the First. In a sense, we can think of this execution as being a step in the process where the powers of the executive were limited and those of the legislature expanded. I want you to find out what the precise complaints that Parliament had against King Charles that led to his execution, as well as the arguments that the king used to claim that what Parliament was doing was illegitimate. 3. In your own words, paraphrase the two opening paragraphs in the Declaration of Independence. 4. The colonists argued that the grievances (the list of complaints that follow the phrase "let facts be submitted to a candid world") listed in the Declaration of Independence proved that King George III was creating a tyranny. Critically evaluate the claim. Was this true? Why or why not?