Analyze the structure and argument of the Declaration of Independence -- preamble, natural rights, grievances, and resolution -- as a primary source.
The Declaration of Independence, adopted July 4, 1776, is not just a breakup letter to King George III -- it is a carefully built argument. A Committee of Five, including Thomas Jefferson (who wrote most of the draft), Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, shaped it into four parts: a preamble explaining why they are writing, a statement of natural-rights philosophy, a long list of specific grievances against the king, and a final resolution declaring independence.
The philosophy comes from Enlightenment thinker John Locke: Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal and are endowed with unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- and that governments exist to protect those rights, getting their power only from the consent of the governed. If a government fails at that job, Jefferson argued, the people have the right to change it. Then comes the list -- 27 specific grievances against George III, from imposing taxes without consent to keeping standing armies in the colonies without approval -- proving, point by point, that the king had broken that agreement.
Mastery looks like: They can name the Declaration's four structural parts and explain how the grievances function as evidence for the natural-rights argument.
Common stumbles: Treating the Declaration as only an emotional statement of freedom instead of noticing its structured, evidence-based argument.