Sunset Park High School

United States History & Government

Mr. Torres, Inst.

Unit 1: Foundations of American Democracy

Name:______Class:______Date:______

FQ: How did the colonial period help to shape America’s five founding ideals?

LO:

  • Analyze secondary sources to understand the development of America’s founding ideals during the colonial period
  • Use evidence to support claims

Getting Started: What’s in a picture?…

Directions: Please analyze the painting on the Smart Board and answer the questions below.

  1. What four words would you use to describe the people in the painting?

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  1. These people are on a ship. Where might they be going? Why are they going there?

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  1. The men are signing a document called the Mayflower Compact. What do you think the document might be about?

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  1. Which of the five founding ideals seem to be represented in the painting ? What evidence from the picture makes you believe this?

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  1. What details in the painting seem to contradict the founding ideals? Explain.

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Content & Social Studies Terms: As you read and learn more define/identify these terms in your own words.

Content Terms
/
  • Mayflower Compact:
  • Magna Carta:
  • English Bill of Rights:
  • House of Burgesses:
  • Albany Plan of Union:
  • Act of Religious Toleration:
  • Zenger Trial:
  • Great Awakening:

Social Studies Terms
/
  • Proprietor:
  • Indentured Servant:
  • Plantation:
  • Racism:
  • Due Process of Law:
  • Legislature:
  • Parliament:
  • Confederation:

Activity 1: Revise Your Thinking…

Directions: Please read the passage below. Then answer the questions that follow(which ask you to compare/contrast what you observed in the images with what you read in the passage).

The year was 1620. A group of 102 passengers were gathered on the Mayflower, a small ship anchored off the coast of Massachusetts. They had traveled from England to join the colony already established in Virginia. However, storms had blown their ship off course, caring them hundreds of miles north to Cape Cod. Worn out by their journey, they decided to settle in Massachusetts.
About one third of the passengers were English Protestant Separatists who had come seeking religious freedom. These Separatists had broken away from the Church of England. Fearing persecution because they had formed their own church, they had fled to Holland. Later they received permission to settle in Virginia. These Separatists would later be known as pilgrims—people on a religious journey.
Other Mayflower Passengers were simply seeking the opportunity to own land in America. According to Separatist leader William Bradford, some of these “strangers” became rebellious as the ship neared Cape Cod. They said no one “had the power to command them” as they were no longer bound by Virginia laws.
Fearing that a revolt could destroy the colony before it began, the Separatist leaders drew up an agreement known as the Mayflower Compact. The Separatists and the other passengers agreed to live in a “Civil Body Politic.” They further agreed to obey “just and equal laws” enacted by representatives of their choosing “for the general good of the colony.” This was the first written framework for self-government in what is now the United States. They Mayflower passengers established Plymouth Colony, the second English foothold in North America, After Jamestown.
  1. How accurate does the artist’s version of the signing of the Mayflower Compact seem to be in light of the what you just read? Explain your response.

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  1. How could the painting be made more historically accurate?

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Activity 2: Coming to America…

Directions: Please read and annotate section 4.2 Limited Liberty, Opportunity, and Equlity. Afterwards, complete the diagram below.

Activity 3: The Origins…

Directions: Please read and annotate section 4.3 Colonial Rights and the Growth of Self Government. Afterwards, complete the chart below.

EVENT / DATE / Effect on American Rights and Government / My Image (create an image that represents this event)
Magna Carta
English Bill of Rights
House of Burgesses
Albany Plan of Union
Act of Religious Toleration
Zenger Trial
Great Awakening

Activity 4: The Founding Ideals in the Colonies…

Directions: Next to each founding ideal, list at least two examples of colonial events and explain how each event affected that ideal. Draw at least one illustration to represent the colonial roots of each ideal.

***Please turn the page and go on to Activity 5***

Activity 5: Reflection/Checking for Understanding…

Directions: Use at least two pieces of evidence from the readings to support your answer to each of the questions below:

  1. Which of America’s founding ideals was most strongly nurtured during the colonial period?

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  1. Based on the colonial period, which of America’s founding ideals seems to hold the most potential for future conflict (with Native Americans, Africans, the English Crown, etc.)?

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  1. Which event from the colonial period has had the greatest effect on life in America today? Which founding ideal did this event help to shape?

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  1. How did the Zenger trial and the Great Awakening affect freedom of thought and expression in the colonies?

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