Democratic Ideals
I.
II.
The Founding Documents
A. Declaration of Independence
1. Is a list of grievances from the colonist to the British King George III.
2. Thomas Jefferson wrote the document in 1776 at the Continental Congress meeting.
3. “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is a famous quote from this document.
B. Articles of Confederation
1. This was the first attempt at organizing the newly independent 13 colonies following
the Revolutionary War.
2. Under the Articles of Confederation there was no central power. The 13 colonies
operated independently.
3. Due to the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation, a convention was called
to fix these problems and produce a better functioning organization of the 13
colonies.
4. At this convention the members decided to throw out the Articles of Confederation
and create a new governing organization.
5. The Articles of Confederation is replaced with the Constitution.
C. The United States Constitution
1. This document has a preamble and seven articles that organize the US Federal
government.
a. “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…” is
a famous quote from this document.
2. This document was written in 1787, adopted in 1789. Most of the credit is given to
James Madison.
3. The US government has three branches. The Executive branch headed by the
President. The Legislative branch headed by the Congress (Senate and House of
Representatives. The Judicial branch headed by the Supreme Court.
4. The Constitution can be changed via the passing of Amendments.
5. The first 10 Amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights.
D. The Bill of Rights
1. This document lays out individual rights, the Federal courts, and the relationship of
the Federal government to the 13 states.
2. “The right of the people to keep and bear arms” is a famous quote from this
document and it is the 2nd Amendment.
Constitutional Amendments
A. The Constitution has been amended 27 times. Some of these amendments reflect the
historical change that the US was experiencing at the time. The amendments
continually expand individual rights and liberties. A few examples are listed below.
1. The 13th Amendment (1865): Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude except for
punishment of a crime. This Amendment was a result of the eminent Union victory
in the Civil War.
2. The 17th Amendment (1912): Establishes the direct election of U.S. Senators by
popular vote. This Amendment was the result of Progressive reformers successful
attempt to expand democracy.
3. The 18th Amendment (1920): Prohibit the manufacture of sale of alcohol in the US;
this amendment was also a victory for the Temperance movement which aligned
itself with Progressives.
III.
IV.
B. The Constitution is also effected by Supreme Court rulings. The Judges typically fall into
two categories when interpreting the constitution.
1. Strict Construction: does not allow for personal opinions to influence interpretation
of the constitution, each word of the constitution is taken literally just as the
authors wrote it.
2. Judicial Interpretation/Activism: allows the judges to interpret the words of the
constitution based on the judge’s opinion of what the words mean today
Founding Fathers
A. Every man that signed the Declaration of Independence (total of 56) is considered to be
a “Founding Father.” A few are listed below with their contribution.
B. Benjamin Rush: A physician that served as the Surgeon General to the Continental Army
C. John Hancock: One of the wealthiest colonists. He served as President of the
Continental Congress and later as the first Governor of Massachusetts
D. John Jay: Favored a strong central government (Federalist), was president of the
Continental Congress, and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
E. John Witherspoon: A Presbyterian Minister and President of Princeton University
F. John Peter Muhlenberg: Lutheran Minister whom George Washington asked to raise
and command a militia from Virginia.
G. Charles Carroll: The only Catholic to sign the DOI, the last surviving signor that died at
the age of 95.
H. Jonathan Trumball Sr.: the only Royal Governor to side with the Colonist.
Citizenship
A. French writer, Alex de Tocqueville, believed there were five values that are crucial to the
US having a successful constitutional republic.
1. Liberty: Freedom of the individual.
2. Egalitarianism: Equality of the all citizens.
3. Individualism: Each person was responsible for themselves.
4. Populism: The citizens were involved in the government
5. Laissez-faire: The government is not involved in the economy.
B. “American Exceptionalism” is the idea that the US is different from all other nations on
Earth, because of the existence of de Tocqueville’s five values.
C. All US citizens share the belief that all people are created equal and have rights that
cannot be taken away.
D. Participation in the democratic process helps individuals develop the national ethos,
patriotism, and civic responsibility.
1. The national ethos is “The American dream”.
2. Patriotism is the devotion to ones country
3. Civic responsibility is being involved in the democratic process. The citizen’s
participation in governance.
E. The process for building “a more perfect union” will be constant and ongoing. It will
never be a completed process.
V.
F. “E Pluribus Unam”: Latin: Out of many, one. It appears on “The Seal of the United
States”. This seal is stamped on all official U.S. government documents. The seal was
adopted by Congress in 1782.
G. “In God We Trust”: In 1956 the Congress made this phrase the official motto of the US.
History Skills
A. Primary source document: Direct quotes from an eye witness of an event. Diaries,
journals, speeches, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts and other papers in which
individuals describe events in which they were participants or observers.
B. Secondary sources involve generalization, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or
evaluation of the original information by an author who was not a witness or involved in
the actual event.