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Source set · 9 sources ✓ Lesson ready

How did former colonies make the case for independence?

Declarations and speeches from Vietnam, India, Kenya, Bandung, the UN, Africa, and South Africa.

Timeline of key events →

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✓ Lesson ready

A ready-to-run lesson for this set: Gallery Walk: The Case for Independence, and the Colonial Response. Slides include a hook, one slide per source, directions, a take-a-stand vote, an exit ticket, and a teacher script in the speaker notes.

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1. Hook: a striking quote 3-5 min

All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights
Ho Chi Minh, Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945)

Ask: These words sound familiar. Why would a Vietnamese leader declaring independence from France begin by quoting the American Declaration of Independence?

2. Main activity: Gallery Walk: The Case for Independence, and the Colonial Response

Grouping: Pairs walk the room; 9 stations posted on the walls

Materials (printables are in the Lesson Plan Doc)
  • Nine gallery posters (print the evidence cards in the Lesson Plan Doc on full pages)
  • Sticky notes
  • Gallery recording sheet
  1. Set up 3 min
    Post the nine sources in date order. Point out that one, the 1946 British Cabinet Mission statement, comes from the colonial power itself. Explain the five kinds of argument on the recording sheet.
  2. Walk 20 min
    Pairs spend about 2 minutes per poster and label the kind of argument on a sticky note.
  3. Sort 8 min
    Group the sticky notes by kind of argument. Which kind was used most?
  4. Discuss 7 min
    Ask: Why did some leaders appeal to Western ideals, while others stressed unity among colonized peoples? Who was each trying to persuade? How did the British government describe its own role in 1946, and how does that compare with Nehru’s account a year later?
  5. Exit ticket 5 min
    Students answer on a slip before leaving.

Take a stand: What was the most persuasive case for independence?

  • Appeals to universal rights: Ho Chi Minh, the UN Declaration, and Mandela argued that self-rule and equal rights belong to all peoples, using ideals the colonial powers themselves had proclaimed.
  • Appeals to unity and self-reliance: Sukarno at Bandung, the OAU Charter, and Kenyatta stressed that colonized peoples must act together and govern themselves.

3. Pacing options

15-minute bell-ringer

  • 3 min Hook: Ho Chi Minh
  • 8 min Compare the 1946 British statement and Nehru (1947): how does each describe the end of British rule in India?
  • 4 min Exit ticket question 1

Full 50-minute lesson

  • 4 min Hook: Ho Chi Minh
  • 3 min Set up
  • 20 min Gallery walk
  • 8 min Sort
  • 7 min Vote and discuss
  • 5 min Exit ticket
  • 3 min Buffer

4. Exit ticket

  1. Which leader made the strongest case for independence? Quote him.
  2. Why might a leader quote the colonial power’s own ideals back to it? How did the 1946 British statement present those same ideals?

5. Differentiation

Support

  • This set has no Adapted Docs yet; read key passages aloud or chunk them for struggling readers.
  • Give pairs a map showing where each speaker was from.
  • Start pairs at the shorter quotes (Nehru, Sukarno, Mandela 1990).

Extension

  • Research what happened in one of these countries in the ten years after independence.
  • Find a statement by a French, Dutch, or Portuguese official from the same years. Did it describe empire the way the 1946 British statement did?
  • Mandela’s Rivonia speech also explains why his movement turned to sabotage. Read that section and explain his reasoning in his words.

Suggested sequence

  1. Ho Chi Minh: Vietnamese Declaration of Independence (1945)
    Document · Fordham University · Cold War (1945-1991) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 10 min
    Ho Chi Minh's declaration, which opens by quoting the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
    Ask: Why did Ho Chi Minh quote Thomas Jefferson?
    Open with this source to frame the question.
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  2. British Cabinet Mission: Statement on Policy in India (1946)
    Government document · Fordham University · Cold War (1945-1991) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 15 min
    Statement by the British Cabinet Mission and the Viceroy (May 16, 1946) setting out Britain's proposal for transferring power in India and its view on a separate Pakistan.
    Ask: How did the British government describe its role as India moved toward independence?
    Original ↗Copy DocSourcing, Contextualization, Corroboration
  3. Nehru: Tryst with Destiny (1947)
    Speech · Fordham University · Cold War (1945-1991) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 10 min
    Nehru's midnight speech as India became independent.
    Ask: What hopes and fears did independence bring?
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  4. Kenyatta: The Kenya Africa Union Is Not the Mau Mau (1952)
    Speech · Fordham University · World: 20th Century (1900-present) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 10 min
    Jomo Kenyatta's 1952 speech distancing the Kenya African Union from Mau Mau violence.
    Ask: How did African leaders pursue independence under colonial rule?
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  5. Sukarno: Speech at the Opening of the Bandung Conference (1955)
    Speech · Fordham University · Cold War (1945-1991) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 20 min
    Indonesia's president welcoming Asian and African nations to Bandung.
    Ask: Why did newly independent nations refuse to pick a Cold War side?
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  6. UN Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonial Countries (1960)
    Document · Fordham University · World: 20th Century (1900-present) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 5 min
    UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 declaring colonialism must end.
    Ask: Why did colonialism collapse so quickly after WWII?
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  7. Charter of the Organisation of African Unity (1963)
    Document · Fordham University · World: 20th Century (1900-present) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 15 min
    The founding charter of the Organisation of African Unity.
    Ask: What did newly independent African states hope unity would bring?
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  8. Nelson Mandela Rivonia Trial Speech
    Speech · United Nations · World: 20th Century (1900-present) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 20 min
    Mandela's 1964 "I am prepared to die" statement.
    Ask: What was Mandela prepared to die for?
    Original ↗SOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP
  9. Mandela: Speech on Release from Prison (1990)
    Speech · Fordham University · Modern America (1970-present) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 15 min
    Nelson Mandela's speech in Cape Town on the day of his release after 27 years in prison.
    Ask: How had Mandela's message changed, or not, after 27 years?
    Close with this source before writing.
    Original ↗Copy DocSOAPSToneHIPP / HAPP

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Culminating writing prompt

Using evidence from at least three sources in this set, write an argument that answers the question: “How did former colonies make the case for independence?” Cite each source by title, explain how its author, audience, and purpose affect its reliability, and respond to at least one counterargument.

Printable writing sheet (make a copy)

Students can plan with the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning organizer.