Jefferson's opus. An American treasure. A masterpiece. All phrases used to describe the DoI...but how important is it really. As we discussed in class last week, the DoI did not win the war. It was more a statement of solidarity amongst the colonists. Sort of a "Let's Do This!" type moment. It certainly did not win the war nor did it scare the British into submission.
Could you imagine if the Washington was forced to surrender at some important battle and he waved the DoI around yelling "You can't beat me! You can't beat us! We've declared our independence so haha! Look...we even signed our names in cursive at the bottom!" That would have been ridiculous.
Maybe it goes without saying, but what really won the war was victory in battles that caused the conflict to drag on and on for years. The British grew increasingly weary, frustrated and embarrassed the longer the war took. After the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, the war was basically over. The Treaty of Paris 1783 sealed the fate of the British and served as a bookend to this colonial conflict.
So which is more important: the Declaration of Independence or the Treaty of Paris 1783. Pick a side and give your best argument in the comments section.
The Declaration of Independence I guess you could say boosted the morale of the colonists. It gave them something to hope and wish for in the future. The Treaty of Paris 1783 actually sealed the deal and stated the colonies independent. I think that both of these documents are important. They both played a major role in American independence; each needed the other to make freedom official. Even though they are both huge, I have to go with the Treaty of Paris 1783 being the most significant. Like I said before, it actually “sealed the deal.” At the time the Declaration was written, independence was only a dream in the minds of the colonists. The Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War and permanently made America its own country free from the rule of Britain. The colonists no longer had to “hope” for freedom, they could just refer to the Treaty of Paris for assurance of freedom. I would have much rather had this than just a vision of independence, but that’s just my opinion:) {175}
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PS Hope u feel better Mr. H!
I believe that the Declaration of Independence is more important. I say this with good reasons. I am not saying The Treaty of Paris is unimportant, but without the Declaration, the colonists might not even have declared true war on England. England would have most likely crushed any rebellion and would have killed all of the rebel leaders. There would be no U.S.A. There would only be N.E. or New England. It would only be an extention of the British Empire. This would alter history drematically. This could have included WWII. Without the U.S. Hitler could have won devastating the world with his evil ways. This is my case. While The Treaty of Paris is important, without the Declaration, there would be no Treaty of Paris.(125)
ReplyDeleteI think the Treaty of Paris 1783 is much more important but I also believe after the war, if the declaration of independence wasn’t made, America would be in chaos because the colonists would have no boss or rules. Therefore both where needed in the process of the creation of the United States of America. The Treaty of Paris 1783 is more important because, although we could’ve had rights and stuff, we weren’t even a country yet so there was no point, in my mind so the Treaty of Paris 1783 was the document that made the settlements a country.
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DeleteBoth of these documents I believe are very important. The Declaration of Independence got the colonists fired up in helping out in the war, but like it says up top it didn't do anything permenent in the war.The Treaty of Paris 1783 is what made Ameirica a country. Without this treaty we wouldn't have been a free country. It wasn't necessary for Ameirica to have the Declaration of Independence. Even through it did help get colonists to fight it didn't finalize anything. Thats why I would have to say that the Treaty of Paris 1783 is a little more important then the Declaration of Independence.(106)
ReplyDeleteThese are two very important documents for America's history. The Declaration of Independence didn't do anything except set a spark off in the hearts of the colonist. The Treaty of Paris 1783 is what made America, America! The one I choose to be the most important though is the Declaration because what this did was give the colonist more reasons to fight(pursuit of happiness, freedom, etc.). Also I think between the Declaration and the remark John Hancock about his signature this was a punch in the mouth to King George III. this was telling him even though your population is larger, you have the best navy, and more supplies America's not going to take it anymore. (117)
ReplyDeleteWell, I think both documents are important to American history. The question is, what do the PEOPLE think is more important. We have a holiday for the Declaration of Independence, the Fourth of July, but you don't really hear much about the Treaty of Paris even though that's what really made us independent. Although, that being said I still have to say that the Treaty of Paris is more important. Our country was at war, and this treaty stopped the war. This is what actually established our independence and made our country a country. The only thing the Declaration did was list reasons why the colonists wanted their independence, not actually making their independence true. The Treaty of Paris is something to celebrate, our OFFICIAL establishment of becoming our own country. (131)
ReplyDeleteBoth of the documents are very important. The declaration is a statement of separation from Britain. The Treaty was to end the war. For me the Treaty of Paris was more important. I say this because it was the end of the war, and it stated, as we learned in the book, that the treaty stated that they were actually free from Britain. It also allowed them to fish on the Canadian border, and it got all the British troops off the American land. In return the British got to keep their merchants to collect the debts that needed to be made. This is why I think the Treaty of Paris is more important than the Declaration of Independence. (119)
ReplyDeleteI think both of these documents were essential for America. I don't think it would have been good to have one or the other. Both of these documents did what they were created for. The Deceleration of Independence was to declare that America had the right to be free and it also helped more people decide to join the war. The Treaty of Paris was to end the terrible war. Yes, it may seem like one is obviously the bigger help, but each document did its job one to send a message to the people of America and to Great Britain the other to end the war. Both these were essential to ending the war. In my opinion we needed both.(121)
ReplyDeleteBoth of these documents were vital in revolutionizing America. They both had thier own part to play so it is hard to decide which is more important. The Decloration of Independence gave colonists a reason to fight and made them feel independent. The Treaty of Paris ended the war and gave Americans the freedom they fought for. I feel that the Treaty of Paris is more important because you can't just write on a peice of paper and say you are free when you are in a war with your mother country trying to gain independence. It's almost like driving a car by yourself when you are still 15. It isn't right. But when you turn 16 and get your drivers license you can drive by yourself. The drivers license is like the Treaty of Paris giving you the right to do something. (143)
ReplyDeleteBoth documents are incredibly important in American History. The Treaty of Paris 1783 is the document that sealed American's independence. This treaty declared that America was their own country, which is what they wanted all along. However, the only reason this treaty was signed is because America won the war. America wouldn't have even started the war without the Declaration of Independence. The colonies were in no way organized enough to win a war, much less to start one. Personally, I think that the Declaration of Independence is more important because it gave the colonies hope. It gave them the morale to fight and united them. The Declaration of Independence turned the Thirteen Colonies into America.
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I am siding with the Treaty of Paris of 1783. That was the document that made it official that America was an independent country. If the colonists would have lost the war then the Declaration of Independence would have been a piece of trash and all the signers would have been hung for treason. Even though the Declaration of Independence kindled America’s fire for independence, it did nothing to win the war for America. The Treaty of Paris of 1783 is what caused England to make boundaries with America, and it also caused each side to release their prisoners of war. This made official that the war was over.(109)
ReplyDeleteOut of the two documents, in my opinion, the Treaty of Paris is more important. I think that because it ended a major war. The Declaration of Independence basically gave the American colonists a lot of courage, which they needed. The Treaty of Paris ended the war and at the same time showed the other countries that someone can stand up to the Britain Empire. If the Revolutionary War would have happened there may have been a different outcome. We might have lost and Britain won. What do you think that would have done to our society today? The Treaty of Paris is a super duper important document .(109)
ReplyDeleteWell both of the documents are very important in America’s history. This was a hard decision to make because these both play an important role in America. The Declaration of Independence was basically a piece of paper that the people signed to feel independent. It just listed reasons why the colonists wanted their freedom and independence but, not making it true. Now yes, the Declaration of Independence gave the colonists hope and courage to win the war, but that did not stop it. The side I chose to go on was the Treaty of Paris of 1783. I say that because the Treaty of Paris basically ended the war. This treaty made our country a country just like Abigail said. (121)
ReplyDeleteThe treaty of Paris is a million times more important than the declaration of independence. If we lost the war the declaration would have meant nothing. Technically it did not even give us our independence. The treaty of Paris did. The declaration was not even an official document. It was no more than a statement. Although the declaration was a moral boost but it meant absolutely nothing! The treaty of Paris was a stamen to the world that was ratified and approved. The treaty means way more to our history than the declaration does. So the treaty pf Paris is more important the declaration of independence. (106)
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence was basically what started the war. On July 4, 1776 the ‘DoI’ was signed and we declared our independence. Yes, we DECLARED our independence. DECLARED! We were not independent. So I see no point in this piece of paper. It means nothing; it meant nothing until after the war. On the other hand, the Treaty of Paris was signed after the war on September 3, 1783. What’s different about this document is the fact that we were actually INDEPENDENT when the Treaty of Paris was signed. We were a country. We were free. We were totally and utterly free. No more creepy King Gorge III controlling us. What I thought was most important about these documents was that we celebrate our freedom of this country on July 4 of every year. I don’t think that half the population knows that we weren’t actually free when the ‘DoI’ was signed. It makes no sense whatsoever. We were not free on that date yet that is when we celebrate our freedom at that time. Initially, I thought that the Declaration of Independence was more important mostly because if we hadn’t had it then war was sort of questionable, but overall, I decided the Treaty of Paris seemed to be much more significant.(214)
ReplyDeleteLOL very true about the Declaration of independence, I think! It was, indeed, just some words on paper that meant 0% importance to the British. It did not even persuade the British, in the slightest, that this wimpy little group of colonists that came from a background of pigs and cornbread could be of any threat to the Brits who were raised on pride and palaces. Honestly, I believe the American congress didn’t even care! It probably had values of “making a point” at first, but those values changed over time. They got it eventually: just because they had a document, all formal and such, doesn’t mean they’ve got the war sorted. I believe the Declaration soon became something symbolic. Ok, so maybe they had a rough start. Maybe they didn’t have the best army in the world. Maybe they were a couple of rag-tag farmers that had no idea how a gun even worked. It didn’t matter to them! They had something to fight for, and no matter the struggle, they were in for the fight. (177)
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