ACTING AS AN AMATEUR HISTORIAN
The most important part of the Declaration of Independence is presented below:
“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands
which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to
which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these
rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,
and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to
them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and
transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses
and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their
right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security, -- Such has been
the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems
of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all
having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to
a candid world.”
 Briefly summarize what each paragraph says in your own words.
 What justification do these paragraphs give for the American Revolution?
You may write your answers on the back of this page, and place it in your interactive notebook.
Founding Father
George
Washington
Jonathan
Trumbull, Sr.
John Peter
Muhlenberg
Thomas Jefferson
Profession
Accomplishments
Founding Father
John Hancock
Benjamin Rush
Charles Carroll of
Carrollton
John Witherspoon
John Jay
Profession
Accomplishments
ACTING AS AN AMATEUR HISTORIAN: The 5th Amendment and Eminent Domain
Courts have usually upheld the government’s right to use its power of eminent domain to take ownership of
private property against an owner’s objections. However, what happens if the government takes private property
and then hands it over to other private individuals or developers for the purpose of economic development? Is this
still taking private property for “public use”? In 2005, this very situation occurred in Connecticut.
The city of New London exercised its right of eminent domain against a group of homeowners in an area where
the city wanted private developers to build a conference center, hotel, offices and condominiums. The
homeowners, led by Susette Kelo, argued that eminent domain should not be exercised when the primary recipient
of income would be private developers, not the city or its citizens. When the case was heard before the U.S.
Supreme Court, the ruling reaffirmed the state’s right to take private property for use in private development.
In Kelo v. New London, the Court held that the words in the Fifth Amendment “nor shall private property be
taken for public use without just compensation” – can mean private use so long as the government expects this
private use to provide some public benefit. The decision has led to a firestorm of controversy, public outrage, and
media denouncements.
Explanation of “Eminent Domain”: It refers to the power of a government over property in its territory. Sometimes
the government needs to take over private property for public use. For example, the government may need to build
a highway or construct a school where private home are located. The government has the right to do so under the
power of eminent domain. According to the Fifth Amendment, “private property [shall not] be taken for public use
without just compensation.” In other words, before the government can exercise its power of eminent domain, it
must provide the owner with “just compensation” (payment).
Imagine you a writing a newspaper editorial commenting on the decision in Kelo v. New London. Explain your
view on whether the Supreme Court correctly interpreted the Fifth Amendment provision on eminent domain.
You may explain your view on the back of this page and place it in your Interactive Notebook.
IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
Republicanism:
Popular Sovereignty:
Limited Government:
Federalism:
Separation of Powers:
Amendments:
Separation of Powers:
Complete the chart by explaining each principle in the box. Place the completed chart in your interactive notebook.
ACTING AS AN AMATEUR HISTORIAN
One of the first attempts to describe the new American culture was by a French immigrant, Hector
St. John de Crevecoeur (1735-1813). He moved to New France in North America in 1755, then to
New York in 1759. He tried to define what it meant to be an American in 1782 (the mixing of
different nationalities, rich resources, absence of social hierarchy, and willingness to work hard for
one’s own self-interest). In his Letters to an American Farmer, he wrote about how this mixture of
different peoples was being transformed by the American environment to create a new American
society and culture:
“What then is the American, this new man? He is either a European, or the descendant of an
European, hence that strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country. He is an
American, who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones
from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he
holds…. Here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labors and
posterity will one day cause great changes in the world…. Here the rewards of his industry follow
with equal steps the progress of his labor; his labor is founded on the basis of nature, selfinterest; can it want a stronger allurement? Wives and children gladly help their father to clear
those abundant fields where crops grow to feed and clothe them all; without any part being
claimed, either by a despotic prince, a rich abbot, or a might lord.”
 According to Crevecoeur, what were the chief differences between Europeans and
Americans?
 What do you think surprised him most about American?
Answer the two questions on the back of this page, then place it in your interactive notebook.
ACTING AS AN AMATEUR HISTORIAN
In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville was sent to America by the French government to study its prisons in
order to help the French government reform its own prison system. Like de Crevecoeur, he noticed that
America was quite different from Europe. He wondered why America had been able to find political
stability, while France was unable to even after a series of revolutions and restorations. He looked for
answers in the social and cultural roots of Americans, as well as in its political institutions. One of the
things that he immediately observed was the absence of a hereditary nobility and the overriding concern
of Americans with money. He also noted that closely related to the concept of social equality was that
of popular sovereignty (common people exercising political power):
“Many important observations suggest themselves upon the social condition of the AngloAmericans; but there is one that takes precedence of all the rest. The social condition of the Americans
is democratic; this was its character at the foundation of the colonies, and it is still strongly marked…
[G]reat equality existed among the immigrants who settled on the shores of New England. Even the
germs of aristocracy were never planted in that part of the Union…”
“I know of no other country where love of money has such a grip on men’s hearts or where
stronger scorn is expressed for the theory of permanent equality of property.”
“I have observed that the universal suffrage has been adopted in all the states of the Union; it
consequently exists in communities that occupy very different positions in the social scale. I have had
opportunities of observing its effects in different localities and among races of men who are strangers
to each other in their language, their religion, and their modes of life; in Louisiana as well as in New
England.”
Summarize the main points that Tocqueville makes above in your own words on the back of this
page, then place it in your interactive notebook.
Writing assignment: In the box below, explain how participation in the democratic process reflects our national
ethos (character and guiding beliefs), patriotism, and civic responsibility as well as build a “more perfect union”.