SOAPS

Name/Period#: Sean Oulashin (Period 3 APUSH)

Title of Document: Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms

Thoroughly discuss the SUBJECT of this document.

The document was written to give an explanation as to why the colonies of America had decided
to take up arms against Great Britain. The American colonies were unhappy with the way they were being
treated from Great Britain, and decided they needed to do something about it. The document, in the
middle of the first paragraph, states: “The legislature of Great-Britain, however, stimulated by an
inordinate passion for a power not only unjustifiable, but which they know to be peculiarly reprobated by
the very constitution of that kingdom, and desparate of success in any mode of contest…”

What is the OCCASION for the document?

Feelings toward the Mother Country and their governing power over the American colonies was
very negative. This can be viewed as a very rough sketch of an idea of a Declaration of Independence, to
be written only a year later. The beginning of the first paragraph starts with a very cynical sentence:“If it
was possible for men, who exercise their reason to believe, that the divine Author of our existence
intended a part of the human race to hold an absolute property in, and an unbounded power over
others...the inhabitants of these colonies might at least require from the parliament of Great-Britain some
evidence, thatthis dreadful authority over them, has been granted to that body.”

Who is the AUDIENCE for this document?

“...we esteem ourselves bound by obligations of respect to the rest of the world, to make known
the justice of our cause.” The document was written to inform the world of what they were doing. To be
more specific, the document was written for Britain, letting them know that the American people were not
going to put up with any more of their tyranny.

What is the document’s PURPOSE?

To inform Britain that the American people were unhappy with policies that Britain was
imposing, and would like some sort of freedom. The document states how for ten years, America has sent
notices of grievances to Britain, only to have them ignored : “...our petition, tho' we were told it was a
decent one, and that his majesty had been pleased to receive it graciously, and to promise laying it before
his parliament, was huddled into both houses among a bundle of American papers, and there neglected.”
This was just one of the many issues the document addresses.

Who is the SPEAKER?

The document was written by Thomas Jefferson and John Dickinson, but like most important
documents, they are speaking on behalf of a bigger group of people; in this case, the people of the
colonies.

How does this document relate to your Big Picture Question? (Use back if you need more room)
(BPQ: How did the diversity of peoples, economics, geography, and ideology present in the 17th Century
British North American Colonies coalesce into an independent nation state by the end of the 18th
Century?)
 As discovered last year in Government, the key to having a successful society in which
inhabitants can reach their full potential was freedom. Looking at documents like this only gives a deeper
understanding of what the colonies were going through. The whole idea of coming to a new land and
creating a new and better society is being ruined by Britain still wanting control, even when the colonies
Britain is trying to control are on a different continent. The Olive Branch Petition and this document are
all leading up to the Declaration of Independence.