Facilitator Prep Sheet: Declaration and Resolves...

P.D. “Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, October 14, 1774”

--Who is writing?
Elected deputies of the several colonies are writing (Continental Congress).

--Who is the audience?
Parliament is the intended audience, and secondary audience is the King and Great Britain.

--Who do the writers represent?
Because the deputies were individually elected as representatives of each colony, the writers symbolize the colony as a whole.

--What is being said, argued and/or requested?
It is being declared that acts of parliament, such as imposing taxes, be repealed on behalf of the inherent rights of the English colonists. It declares that the colonists are English, that they therefore share the same rights as those English who live in Great Britain, and that the acts of parliament contradict these inherent rights.

--How is it being said, argued and/or requested?
It is not being argued or requested, but declared. This is a declaration and list of resolves. Therefore, the character of the text is very authoritative and assertive. It asserts that the acts of parliament are infringements and violations of the colonists’ rights, and the repeal of them is necessary in order to maintain peace between America and Great Britain. In reality, this is stating that if Great Britain doesn’t lower itself from its authoritative and possessive position, then they will go to war with each other.

--What proof and/or justification is being used to legitimize the request?
The text reestablishes the fact that the colonists are English, and it includes a list of “resolves” against acts of parliament. Included as one of the resolves, it states, “That our ancestors, who first settled these colonies, were at the time of their emigration from the mother country, entitled to all the rights, liberties, and immunities of free and natural- born subjects, within the realm of England.” Basically, this is emphasizing that they are, as English colonists, entitled to the same rights as the inhabitants of Great Britain. Again, it states, “That the inhabitants of the English colonies in North-America, by the immutable laws of nature, the principles of the English constitution, and the several charters or compacts, have the following RIGHTS.” I reiterate, by the immutable laws of nature, meaning that there are insuppressible laws of nature that proclaim human rights. What gives this text inherent strength is that it states that the deputies were elected from their individual colonies, thus making it evident that their consensus as a whole represents the consensus of a country.