A New Government
Chapter 15:
Government by and
for the People
A question to
consider….
• What comes to mind when you
think of the 4th of July holiday?
• What do you do on the 4th? How
does your family celebrate?
• Why do we have the 4th of July
holiday?
• What are we celebrating? What
is the significance behind these
traditions?
The 2nd of July?
• John Adams wrote his wife
Abigail:
“The second day of July, 1776, will
be the most memorable epoch in
the history of America. I am apt to
believe that it will be celebrated
by succeeding generations as the
great anniversary festival. It ought
to be commemorated as the day of
deliverance, by solemn acts of
devotion to God Almighty. It ought
to be solemnized with pomp and
parade, with shows, games,
sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and
illuminations, from one end of this
continent to the other, from this
time forward forever more.”
No gum in class. Throw it in the
garbage before class begins!
Bell
Activity
Your words are “treason” &
“republic”
Find the word on your blue study guide
and complete the following information
for the word.
Find the definition using a glossary.
Use your own knowledge and experience
to complete the rest of the definition.
Where should your backpack be?
Does your work look
something like this?
Word:
treason
Definition:
Draw a picture of it:
Sentence:
Synonym/
Example:
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Antonym/NonExample:
Does your work look
something like this?
Word:
treason
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Definition: the offense of attempting to Draw a picture of it:
overthrow one’s government
Sentence: The Declaration of
Independence was considered treason
by the government of Great Britain.
Synonym/
Antonym/NonExample:
Example: loyalty,
disloyalty, sedition allegiance
Does your work look
something like this?
Word:
republic
Definition:
Draw a picture of it:
Sentence:
Synonym/
Example:
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Antonym/NonExample:
Does your work look
something like this?
Word:
republic
Definition: a state in which supreme
power rests in the hands of the people
(who elect representatives to serve on
their behalf).
Sentence: Like ancient Rome, the
U.S.A. is a republic.
Synonym/
Antonym/NonExample: state, Example: monarchy;
democracy;Rome pre-Rev Great Britain
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Draw a picture of it:
No gum in class. Throw it in the
garbage before class begins!
Bell
Activity
Your words are “preamble” &
“amendment”
Find the word on your blue study guide
and complete the following information
for the word.
Find the definition using a glossary.
Use your own knowledge and experience
to complete the rest of the definition.
Where should your backpack be?
Does your work look
something like this?
Word:
preamble
Definition:
Draw a picture of it:
Sentence:
Synonym/
Example:
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Antonym/NonExample:
Does your work look
something like this?
Word:
preamble
Definition:
Sentence: The Preamble of the U.S.
Constitution describes the purpose for
the document, like an objective.
Synonym/
Antonym/NonExample: forward; Example: articles,
objective
amendments
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Draw a picture of it:
Does your work look
something like this?
Word:
amendment
Definition:
Draw a picture of it:
Sentence:
Synonym/
Example:
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Antonym/NonExample:
Does your work look
something like this?
Word:
amendment
Definition:
Draw a picture of it:
Sentence:
Synonym/
Example:
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Antonym/NonExample:
Does your work look
something like this?
Word:
amendment
Definition:
Sentence: The first ten amendments of
the U.S. Constitution are called the
Bill of Rights because they list our
inalienable rights as citizens.
Synonym/
Antonym/NonExample: change Example: unchanged,
addition, revision unamended, original
My Understanding: 4 3 2 1
Draw a picture of it:
Today we will learn…
• History Objective – •
We will describe the
origins of our
government and some
basic facts about the
Constitution.
Language
Objective – We
will listen to the
video, read the
selection, and
discuss what the
topic with our
groups.
• Behavior Objective – Work Ethic: Stay on
task and complete your work.
A New Government
• While Dominquez and
Escalante were exploring
the land that would become
Utah, thirteen colonies
were declaring their
independence from their
ruling country.
• Representatives from the
colonies had gathered in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
• Although they had originally tried to repair the
relationship with Great Britain, they eventually
decided to take a more drastic move.
An Act of Courage
• As colonies, the people of
America had no say in their
government. They could not
even send a representative
to Parliament.
• Signing the Declaration of
Independence took courage.
They were all committing
high treason and setting their
home colonies on a course
towards war, but they felt
that this would lead to the
best outcome for themselves
and their descendents….if
they could defeat the British.
THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE
THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• 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.
A New Government
• In 1789, thirteen years after the declaration,
and six years after the Treaty of Paris ended
the American Revolutionary War, fifty-five
men were called to Philadelphia again
to draft a new form or government.
• The government that had been created at the end of the
Revolution, called the Articles of Confederation, were
not working and the members of the Constitutional
Convention were supposed to fix the document.
Instead they created a whole new system of
government for the United States.
• Some members of this group had been at the
Continental Congress in 1776 and others were
newcomers to the national political arena.
• More than half were lawyers, and the rest were doctors,
merchants, bankers, or farmers.
The Constitution Quiz
• We are going to watch a video
that will summarize the history
of the Constitution and highlight
some of its most important
clauses.
• Take notes during the quiz and
then answer the video
questions.
What is the
United States
Constitution?
• Preamble
• Articles
• Amendments
Preamble - The Objective
of the Constitution
We the People of the United States, in
Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic
Tranquility, provide for the common
defense, 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.
The U.S. Constitution
• The men agreed that our
country needed a strong
central government with
the power to tax, raise an
army, and regulate
commerce. But they did
not want a monarchy or a
government with
unlimited power.
• After much debate and
compromise, they
designed a republic in
which the citizens ruled
themselves through
elected leaders from
each state.
Division of Power
• Power was divided between the
national and state governments.
• The articles of the Constitution
set up the national government’s
power into three branches:
• Executive (the president and
many agencies)
• Legislative (Congress)
• Judicial (federal courts)
• After it was completed, the constitution still had to be
ratified by two-thirds of the states. Some did not think it
protected the rights of the people enough.
• In spite of the controversy, it became the ruling document
of our new country in 1788.
Bill of
Rights,
1791
• Three years after the
Constitution was
ratified, ten important
amendments were
added to the document.
• Congress wanted to
make sure that the
government could
never take away rights
such as freedom of
religion, speech, and
the press.
Our Task
• Where did they get their ideas for this
new form of government?
• One member, James Madison from
Virginia, became known as the Father
of the Constitution. He had studied
ancient governments and designed
most of the plan for the new
government.
• For the rest of the hour, we are going to trace the major
influences on and predecessors of the Constitution of the
United States.
• Read the document provided with your group, which
explains some of these important ancestors of the
Constitution.
• Then create a list of the seven major
documents/governments/people described by the reading
that influenced the creation of the Constitution. Also
include the Constitution itself and the Bill of Rights in
your list.