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Willow Petero

Mrs. Perry

US History Honors

8/31/21

Declaration of Independence Webquest

1. Who was the main author of the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson

2. What other important jobs did Thomas Jefferson have in his lifetime?

Architect, Inventor, Scientist, and a Collector of books & artifacts

3. How do we know that Thomas Jefferson wrote more than one draft of the Declaration of

Independence?

He has heavily edited his first draft before he prepared a clean, copy that became the basis

of the original rough draft

4. Why did the other members of the Continental Congress choose Thomas Jefferson to write the

Declaration of Independence?

They all had agreed that he was the best writer.

5. What are the best-known words of the Declaration of Independence?

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are

endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,

Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness ... "

6. Why was the Declaration of Independence written?

The Declaration explains why the 13 colonies wanted independence from Britain.
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7. What does the Declaration of Independence explain?

The Constitution, which wasn't written until 1787, outlines the form of government and

explains what kinds of laws that can be made. The Declaration is more about the ideals of

the country.

8. What two big ideas did Thomas Jefferson believe in?

That each generation has the chance to remake the country's laws and constitutions was

truly visionary and believed in the blessings of self-government and an ever-changing

society in which the people through their elected representatives continue to make new

laws.

9. Which three documents did Benjamin Franklin sign?

Declaration of Independence, the peace treaty with Britain that ended the Revolutionary

War, and the Constitution.

10. Why are these three documents so important?

These documents enabled independence to be made or rules/laws to be placed.

11. What were two of John Adams's important government jobs?

Second president of the United States and leader of the Continental Congress

12. What committee was John Adams on while he was in the Continental Congress? What was

this committee's job?

Important diplomatic figure, before becoming America's first vice president.

13. What did Thomas Jefferson and John Adams have in common?

Political rivals and the only two men that were elected.
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14. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were the only two men who and were elected

15. Why is the Declaration of Independence important?

The Declaration of Independence allowed the colonies ruled by Great Britain to express

themselves in demanding their independence and self rule instead of by Britain themselves.

16. How were Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams similar?

They were all presidents of The United States and all signed the Declaration of

Independence.

17. How were Jefferson, Franklin and Adams different?

They all had been famous for different reasons and came from very different lives,

Franklin worked for soap once in his life and Jefferson was a rich elegant lad who had

brains and wrote great, and Adams provided a nice navy for the US.