Student Lesson from SS2500
Spring 2009
History Research Method: Lesson on comparing and contrasting primary source materials.
1) Title- Similarities and differences between the Mayflower Compact and the Preamble of the constitution.
2) Focus paragraph- The focus of this lesson is to present to the students the Mayflower Compact, our country’s first written frame of government.They will see similarities and differences between the Compact and other government documents. In this case the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. During the lesson students will also discuss the influence the Compact had on the Preamble and other documents.
3) Vital themes- Government formation, government success/ideals.
4) Essential Question- Did the mayflower compact have a significant impact on future government documents and if so how?
5) Habits of mind- 1. Understand the significance of the past to their own lives, both private and public, and to their society. 4. (Of yours) learn to think chronologically, to help see relationships. Objectives- Skills- Develop critical thinking and observational skills. Compare and contrast government documents from different eras. Content- Students will learn about the Mayflower Compact and its influence on other government documents including the preamble.
6) Connection to state standards- Theme B from the state standards- particularly the part about an individual and society’s core values. Also theme E, particularly the investigation of belief systems in a society as well as the practice of values and traditions.
7) Activities- Students will read some info/excerpts on a worksheet then answer questions. Then we’ll go over the questions and discuss them.
8) Assessment Method- Students will have homework to go and find another government document (articles of confederation etc.) to compare and contrast with the Compact. They will write a short paper (1-2 pages) comparing and contrasting the documents.
9) Sources and Material’s- A worksheet with the questions and the documents on it.
Lesson Organizer
Directions: Read the documents and answer the corresponding questions.
The Original Document of the Mayflower Compact has been lost. All we have left of the written documentation are manuscripts that were part of William Bradford’s and Edward Winslow’s journals on Plymouth colonies. These are now accepted as accurate.
“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.”[5][3]
*Note- The word “dread” in this article has an older definition that means “awe”, “reverence”, or having a deep respect…
1) Why would the settlers of the Plymouth colony devise such a document? Mere survival? And how did this give them advantage over the earlier failed settlements?
2) Why would the pilgrims not want to sever ties completely with England? What are the benefits?
The Preamble of the United States Constitution is a statement written by our founding fathers that states the goals the American government hoped to achieve for our society following our gaining freedom from English rule.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,[1] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
3) What point were the founding fathers trying to make when writing the Preamble?
Compare/contrast questions…
4) How is the does the Preamble differ from the Compact? How has our need for independence changed over the 150 years that separates the two?
5) How are the two documents alike?