Journal For this activity, This activity will consist of 10 separate journal entries Each separate entry should: contain a minimum of 120 words. consist of a summary, paraphrase, and synthesis of material. Discuss the subject matter that you are studying - do not simply agree/disagree. Your study involves, first and foremost, learning the nation's past; doing so requires a review of previously published studies, so you are encouraged to conduct research using outside resources, but be sure to draft your journal entries in your own words. Direct quotations should not be used; citations are not necessary. Title the entries as Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3, etc. Each separate journal entry should be a minimum of 120 words in length. Each entry should pertain to United States History prior to 1877.

Entry 1 What was the Declaration of Independence all about? It was written by Thomas Jefferson but was probably not signed on July 4th, 1776. It was written after hostilities had broken out. Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill had taken place a year earlier. Why so late? The reason might be that the colonies were not yet united in their response to Britain. Many did not want to leave the empire only a few years earlier they had boasted about. Also, taking on the powerful British empire with trained troops seemed almost impossible. Several of the condemnations in the declaration were not true, and they were addressed to King George III rather than Parliament, which had the real power. It is quite possible that the colonial leadership did not want to attack a representative institution even though it was hardly representative of the people of Britain. Still, the declaration won widespread approval and helped to unite the colonists.