Foundations of American Government

UNIT II

FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

Lesson 1

What basic ideas and principles did the founders of this country have about government? What philosophies and earlier documents influenced them? What did they consider to be the purpose of government?

SS.7.C.1.1 Recognize how Enlightenment ideas including Montesquieu's view of separation of power and John Locke's theories related to natural law and how Locke's social contract influenced the Founding Fathers

SS.7.C.1.2 Trace the impact that the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Mayflower Compact, and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" had on colonists' views of government

Source

Adapted from lesson by the National Constitution Center at: http://constitutioncenter.org/ncc_edu_The_Founders_Library_Thinking_as_a_Founding_Father.aspx

Overview
The Founders' Library refers to the prior knowledge the Founding Fathers brought to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. Students will examine these ideas and use them to analyze the Constitution and Bill of Rights. At the same time, students will be considering ideas and information that relate to their own lives.

Objectives

· Students will compile a list of books, movies, articles and music that have influenced them and the decisions they make.

· Students will examine the writings that influenced the Founding Fathers

· Students will compare the writings to the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

· Students will identify the influence of specific thinking on the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

· Students will analyze personal writings and ideas, and identify the influence of specific thinkers.

Time

· Two 50 minute class periods

Passport Vocabulary

· Abolish

o To formally put an end to

· Sovereign

o A person or group having the highest authority or power in a country or state

· Banish

o To require by authority to leave a country

· Tyranny

o A government in which a single ruler possesses and abuses absolute power

Strategies

· Cooperative learning

· Compare and contrast

Materials

· Dictionaries, 1 per group of three or four students

· Copies of the Constitution, 1 per group of three or four students

· A copy of “Founders’ Library Books Source Cards,” 1 per class (see below)

· Copies of “Influences on the Constitution” worksheet, 1 per group of three or four students (see below)

Activities

1. As a warm-up, ask students to compile a list of their favorite books, movies, music, and television shows. Students should write down a couple of choices for each category. The teacher should encourage students to think about items they feel have had an influence on them and not just choose the first item that comes to mind. The list should be compiled on a separate piece of paper and set aside for use later in the lesson.

2. Introduce the Constitutional Convention to the class:

· The Convention was called in 1787 to address the problems of the Articles of Confederation.

· State governments appointed delegates to attend the convention. Twelve states sent delegations. (Rhode Island did not participate).

· Delegates were civic leaders, members of Congress, leaders of state governments, and Revolutionary War veterans.

· The Convention was held in Philadelphia, the largest city in the United States at that time.

· The Library Company, one of the nation’s first libraries, provided books and reference material for the Convention delegates.

3. Brainstorm with students the definition of prior knowledge. Record responses in the front of the classroom.

4. Divide students into groups of 3-4 and assign each group one card from the “Founders’ Library Books Source Cards.” Additionally, provide one copy of the “Influences on the Constitution” worksheet to each group, and provide a copy of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Provide the groups with the following instructions:

Read the assigned passage on their card as a group.

Reading through the Constitution and Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10), identify key sections that hold similar ideas as those presented in the assigned passage.

Note on the document, using a highlighter or pen, the sections that correlate with the assigned section.

Give each group about 7 minutes per card (they may need longer) and then redistribute cards so that each group gets a different card.

Repeat the same process as many times as the class period allows, leaving time for the steps outlined below.

5. Once all of the groups have completed their work, bring the class back together as a whole. In the front of the classroom, project or copy the text of “Influences on the Constitution” worksheet. Call on students to come up and fill in portions of the handout that they completed in their groups, creating a master compilation that all the students can see.

6. Use the following questions to guide discussion about the completed worksheet:

Did one thinker or book have more influence on the Constitution?

Some have called the Constitution one of most revolutionary documents ever produced. If all of these works had been written before the Constitution was ever conceived, how can it be revolutionary?

What other documents, ideas, or events do you think should have been included?

Name: ______Date: ______Period: ______

Directions: In your group, read the card that your teacher gave you and try to paraphrase the quote on it (get the general idea of it). Then, looking at a copy of the Constitution, determine the article or amendment that the quote would have had an influence on. Last, fill in the name of the thinker or book next to the appropriate article or amendment.

Article I
Article II
Article III
Article IV
Article V
Article VI
Article VII
Amendment 1
Amendment 2
Amendment 3
Amendment 4
Amendment 5
Amendment 6
Amendment 7
Amendment 8
Amendment 9
Amendment 10

TEACHER CONTENT KNOWLEDGE RESOURCE

UNIT II

FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

Lesson 1

SS.7.C.1.2 Trace the impact that the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Mayflower Compact, and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" had on colonists' views of government

Passport Vocabulary

· Abolish

o To formally put an end to

· Sovereign

o A person or group having the highest authority or power in a country or state

· Banish

o To require by authority to leave a country

· Tyranny

o A government in which a single ruler possesses and abuses absolute power

· Despotic

o Acting with absolute power and authority; typically of a ruler in a tyranny

This document addresses the following issues:

1. Enlightenment philosophy

2. Core documents that impacted the colonists’ views of government

3. Mayflower Compact (text)

4. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” (graphic)

5. English Bill of Rights (graphic)

1. Enlightenment philosophy

“Enlightenment” is the term used to describe a Western philosophy that emphasizes reason as its primary basis. Enlightenment emerged from Europe in the 18th century, and represents a departure from the legitimacy of government comes from a religious authority such as a theocracy or the divine right of kings. Core enlightenment values include an emphasis on liberty, individual rights and reason. Governments that reflect these values grant more freedom for the common people based on self-governance, natural rights, and natural law. Historians of America’s founding argue that Enlightenment philosophy was read by those who signed key governing documents in the United States including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Key Enlightenment philosophers whose writings impacted the founding documents of the United States included Baron de Montesquieu and John Locke. Montesquieu is best known for advocating separation of powers and checks and balances for an effective government (reflected in the U.S. Constitution) while John Locke’s views are best reflected in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, particularly regarding those components focusing on the law of nature and social compact.

2. Core documents that impacted the colonists’ views of government

Several core documents impacting the colonists’ views of government reflect enlightenment values. These documents include the English Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact and “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine.

Document Name / Date / Document Country of Origin / Purpose of Document / Core Themes and Influences
Magna Carta (The Great Charter of Freedoms) / 1215 / England / Required King John of England to protect certain rights
Limited King’s powers
Protected subjects’ privileges
(Note: While these goals were not achieved, the document became an important symbol for those who wished to show that the king was bound by law) / Writ of habeas corpus
Rule of constitutional law
Development of common law
Bill of Rights (An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown) / 1689 / England / Restate in statutory form the Declaration of Rights presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary inviting them to become joint sovereigns of England / Lists rights for citizens and permanent residents of a constitutional monarchy
Included the right to petition the monarch
Included the right to bear arms in defense
Emphasizes the importance of the consent of the people
Influenced the U.S. Bill of Rights (1791)
Mayflower Compact / 1620 / American colonies / Set up a government and write first written laws for the new settlers arriving at Plymouth Rock (now Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod, Massachusetts) / Fair and equal laws for the general good of the settlement
Will of the majority
Social contract where the settlers consented to follow the Compact’s rules for the sake of the survival of the new colony
John Adams and others have referred to it as the foundation of the U.S. Constitution
“Common Sense” by Thomas Paine (published anonymously) / 1776 / American colonies / Placed the blame for the British colonists on King George III
Challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy
Published anonymously, the document advocated that the colonists declare their independence from the British crown / Advocated a movement for sovereignty of the people, a written constitution, and effective governmental checks and balances

3. Mayflower Compact text (spelling and capitalization in the original)

In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony in the Northern Parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini 1620.

4. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” (graphic)

5. English Bill of Rights (graphic)

REFERENCES

Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967.

Goldwin, Robert A. and William A. Schambra, eds. How Democratic is the Constitution? Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 1980.

Wood, Gordon, S. The Creation of the American Republic. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1969.