Read the following excerpt from the Declaration of Independence:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes
necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands
which have connected them with another ... a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the
separation....
That whenever any Form of Government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to
alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its
powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to
effect their Safety and Happiness. ... The history of the
present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated
injuries and usurpations ... To prove this, let Facts be
submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome
and necessary for the public good.
How do the authors of the Declaration best use deductive reasoning to
support the idea that the colonists have a right to form a new government?
O
A. They first establish the widely accepted belief that governments
derive their power from the people.
O
O
B. They list the colonists' grievances against the British monarchy,
starting with the king's refusal to "Assent to Laws."
O
C. They first establish the idea that declaring one's intentions is a
decent and expected measure.
O
D. They follow his initial statement by pointing out that the colonists
do not take these measures lightly.