2008 civics test · Question 8 · Principles of American Democracy
What did the Declaration of Independence do?
Any one of these answers is accepted
- announced our independence (from Great Britain)
- declared our independence (from Great Britain)
- said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)
What this means
The Declaration of Independence announced that the American colonies were free from Great Britain. It was the formal break with British rule.
It also did something larger. It stated that all people are created equal and that they have rights no government can take away: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Those ideas became the foundation of American government, even though the country took generations to extend them to everyone.
Note that the Declaration did not create the government. It announced independence in 1776; the Constitution set up the system of government eleven years later, in 1787.
Any one accepted answer is enough. For example, “it announced our independence from Great Britain.”
Why this is on the test
The Declaration is where the ideas of equality and inherent rights enter American government, and several other test questions build on it.
How this question is asked
On the 2008 civics test, the officer asks up to 10 of the 100 questions out loud and you pass by answering 6 correctly. You answer in your own words. There is no multiple choice and nothing to write down for the civics portion.
Related questions
More from Principles of American Democracy.
- 1 What is the supreme law of the land?
- 2 What does the Constitution do?
- 3 The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
- 4 What is an amendment?
- 5 What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
- 6 What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment? ★ 65/20 question