Law and Government

Origins of American Government Study Guide

Instructional Resources:

Text chapter 2

Primary Source Readings:

Magna Carta and the Founding of the United States

English Petition of Right

English Bill of Rights

The Wealth of Nations

Common Sense

Virginia Declaration of Rights

The Declaration of Independence

We The People Lessons 15, 16, 17

Towards a Constitution

Chapter 2, sections 1-3

Objectives:

  1. Identify the three basic concepts that influenced government in America.
  1. Analyze the significance of Early English efforts to expand rights on Colonial thought.
  1. Outline the growth of colonial self-government and actions that led to an independence movement.
  1. Analyze the Declaration of Independence
  1. Describe American government under the Articles of Confederation.
  1. Describe how/why the need for a stronger National Government led to the Constitutional Convention.

Terms

Charter

Bicameral

Unicameral

Creating the Constitution

Chapter 2, section 4.

Objectives:

  1. Identify the framers of the Constitution and discuss how the delegates organized the proceedings at the Philadelphia convention.
  1. Compare and contrast the Virginia plan and the New Jersey plan for a new constitution.
  1. Summarize the major compromises that the delegates agreed to make and the effects of those compromises.
  1. Identify some of the sources from which the framers of the Constitution drew inspiration.
  1. Describe the delegates’ reactions to the Constitution as they completed their work.

Terms:

Framers

Virginia Plan

New Jersey Plan

Connecticut Compromise

Three-Fifths Compromise

Commerce and slave trade compromise

Chapter 2, Section 5

Objectives:

  1. Identify the opposing sides in the fight for ratification
  1. Describe the process of ratification of the Constitution
  1. Describe the significance of New York and Virginia in the fight for ratification
  1. Describe the inauguration of the new government

Terms:

Federalists

Anti-Federalists

Ratification

Quorum

We The People, Lesson 15

Objectives:

  1. Analyze comments in support of the Constitution made by Madison and Franklin
  1. Explain the position of George Mason and analyze arguments opposed to and in support of his criticism

We The People, Lesson 16:

Objectives:

  1. Explain the arguments of the Anti-Federalists and how those ideas were based upon traditional ideas of republican government.
  1. Explain the responses of the Federalists to the criticisms of the Anti-Federalists.
  1. Explain how the debate between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists led to the development and adoption of the Bill Of Rights.

Terms:

Agrarian community

Diverse community

Anti-Federalists

Federalists

Bill of Rights

We The People, Lesson 17:

Objectives:

  1. Explain why the Federalists wanted the Constitution to be ratified in state conventions and the arguments they used to justify this procedure which is included in Article VII of the Constitution.
  1. Explain the arguments made by the Federalists in support of the Constitution, including how the Federalists’ arguments differed from classical arguments about republican government.

Terms;

Ratifying conventions

The Federalist Papers