Passage 1
The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, after America won its freedom from British rule. The document was drafted by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin among others.
excerpt from The Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable1 Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish2 it, and to institute new Government. . .
1. impossible to take away or give up
2. put an end to
Passage 2
The Gettysburg Address
by Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal."
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate1—we can not hallow2, this ground—The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.
It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us —that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish3 from the earth.
1. declare to be sacred
2. to respect greatly
3. disappear
9
What does the Declaration of Independence say about people's relationship with their government?
A.
People have the right to elect a government with members of their choice and preference.
B.
People have the right to replace any government that does not protect their interests.
C.
The government should be changed and improved periodically.
D.
The government has absolute power over people at all times.
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