Students examine the American Revolution by considering the causes, the growing resistance and the war for independence and the effects upon society. Students collaborate to complete the skeleton of a mind-map.
After completing the mind map, the class discussed the major points with a specific consideration of how revolutionary the "American Revolution" was. Special attention was given to reflecting on the lack of social change that occurred. |
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While little social change was seen with the American Revolution, new political horizons were opened with the Declaration of Independence that would inspire continuing changes.
Students will examine the Declaration of Independence to understand its meaning and significance. |
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Declaration of Independence
The Preamble was examined as an introduction to the beliefs and grievances of the colonists. The beliefs of the colonists heavily relied on the philosophy of Locke ("all men are created equal" and the natural rights of humans) and Rousseau (social contract). The grievances that students examined were what the colonists considered abuse of power--disregard of their voice, the use of the military, and the criminal justice system.
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Constitution
The Constitution became the form of government after the colonists successfully gained independence from Britain. The new form of government followed in the British political tradition, but also was significantly impacted by the writings of Montesquieu.
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Bill of Rights
Once a centralized government was formed giving representative power to the colonists, they were still concerned about abuse of power. The Bill of Rights attempted to provide restraint on the government to prevent the kinds of abuse that led to the Declaration of Independence. Voltaire provided an influential voice in the First Amendment regarding free speech. The Second and Third dealt with issues regarding the military. The Fourth through Eighth were concerned about criminal justice, which were influenced by the works of Beccaria.
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