Discussion Questions
Support your answers with evidence from the text.
1. Rather than think about Serihowane's statement and the Declaration of
Independence in isolation, think of them together. In the two documents,
what was the relationship between the authors and the people addressed?
What does the language that is used tell you about those relationships?
2. Why do you think parties to agreements (contracts, treaties-we could even
call government a kind of agreement between the governor and the
governed) go public with complaints about violations?
3. The Declaration of Independence is often presented as the key to
understanding the American Revolution. But it says nothing about the
challenges the British government faced when it tried to clamp down on
settler expansion. Why?
4. Why do you think the authors of the declaration depicted the king as a
friend of the "merciless Indians"? Why did the Americans view the Indians as
"merciless"?