Lesson 8: What Basic Ideas about Government Are in the Declaration of Independence?
Loyalists Colonists who opposed American independence and remained loyal to Great Britain during the American Revolution.
natural law A higher, unchanging set of rules that govern human relations believed by the Founders to have come from "Nature and Nature's God" (from the Declaration of Independence).
Patriots Those Americans who supported the war for independence against Great Britain.
self-evident Easy for anyone to see; obvious.
unalienable rights Fundamental rights that every person has that cannot be taken away by government. This phrase was used in the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. Sometimes spelled unalienable rights.
