To Sign or Not to Sign

After reviewing the document in this DocsTeach activity Links to an external site., answer the following questions:

1. Imagine that you are a member of the committee tasked with writing the Declaration of Independence. What is going through your mind as you draft this document?

2. Eventually 56 delegates from 15 states signed the Declaration, in geographic order starting from the bottom right. But a few of the delegates who had voted for independence decided not to sign it. What objections do you think they might have had?

3. If you were a member of the Second Continental Congress, would you have signed? Why or why not? Remember to consider the risks and benefits!

Remember that you will not be able to see the responses of anyone else until you have first shared your thoughts. Once you have posted, read through a few of your peer's responses. In what ways are your responses similar? In what ways are they different?