LESSON 4
INVESTIGATE MAJOR IDEAS OF IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS AND COMPARE AND CONTRAST THEM WITH THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
The last assignment you worked on was identifying different types of government. The cartoon above shows two different types of government, a MONARCHY and DEMOCRACY. The Greeks are credited with being the 'Founders of Democracy' because they're the first civilization that had a form of democracy. Though their democracy wasn't perfect, Athens did have a working democratic system.
For this lesson you're going to compare and contrast different documents that talk about government. The first one you'll read about is the United States Constitution.
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The United States Constitution is a document that talks about how our government works. For example Article I of the Constitution establishes a branch of government whose job is to write and pass laws. This branch is called the Legislative Branch. So each article has different rules for how the government works. One talks about what the Executive Branch is allowed to do. Another talks about the Judicial Branch and the rules for how that branch works.
To find out the IDEALS behind the Constitution one of the best places to look is the PREAMBLE. The preamble is the first paragraph 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.
So from reading the Preamble, you read about how the Constitution is written to ESTABLISH JUSTICE. That means that our nation was founded on the important principle of JUSTICE. There are a lot of other things you can gather about the purpose of the Constitution by reading the Preamble.
For this lesson you're going to compare and contrast different documents that talk about government. The first one you'll read about is the United States Constitution.
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The United States Constitution is a document that talks about how our government works. For example Article I of the Constitution establishes a branch of government whose job is to write and pass laws. This branch is called the Legislative Branch. So each article has different rules for how the government works. One talks about what the Executive Branch is allowed to do. Another talks about the Judicial Branch and the rules for how that branch works.
To find out the IDEALS behind the Constitution one of the best places to look is the PREAMBLE. The preamble is the first paragraph 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.
So from reading the Preamble, you read about how the Constitution is written to ESTABLISH JUSTICE. That means that our nation was founded on the important principle of JUSTICE. There are a lot of other things you can gather about the purpose of the Constitution by reading the Preamble.
Magna Carta
Now that you know a little about the Constitution you're going to compare it to these other documents you're going to learn about. The picture above is of a document called the MAGNA CARTA. It was written by the King of England in 1215. One reason that the MAGNA CARTA is so important, is because in the year 1215 Kings didn't compromise with anyone. The Magna Carta is a compromise between the King and some of the English barons. The king was forced to sign it, but it gave some rights to the free people of England.
Interesting fact, the King who signed the Magna Carta was King John, the same 'Prince' John who is written about in Robbin Hood trying to steal the throne from his brother King Richard the Lion-Heart.
So the MAGNA CARTA proved that people who are unhappy with government can make a difference... even if they're ruled by a King....
Interesting fact, the King who signed the Magna Carta was King John, the same 'Prince' John who is written about in Robbin Hood trying to steal the throne from his brother King Richard the Lion-Heart.
So the MAGNA CARTA proved that people who are unhappy with government can make a difference... even if they're ruled by a King....
The next document you're going to look at is the MAYFLOWER COMPACT. This is important because it's the first written form of government in what is now the United States. People coming over on the Mayflower decided they needed a list of rules and regulations to follow in the new world. So the men onboard the Mayflower came up with a document promising that they would establish and follow 'just' laws.
Remember the 'Social Contract Theory' from lesson 3? Where government came about because everyone agreed that they needed a government. The Mayflower Compact is a really great example of how the Social Contract Theory works.
Remember the 'Social Contract Theory' from lesson 3? Where government came about because everyone agreed that they needed a government. The Mayflower Compact is a really great example of how the Social Contract Theory works.
The Declaration of Independence is another important document that you need to know about. It did just what it sounds like.... it declared independence. Why is this an important document to learn about for a government class? Well this document is an official statement to the King of England informing him that we (the United States) are not going to be his colonies anymore. It's like a letter of withdrawal and it's important because it defines America. Our country was founded on the principle that 'if people don't like the government, they have the right to fix it'.
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. -Declaration of Independence
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. -Declaration of Independence
The Bill of Rights is technically part of the Constitution, but it wasn't added until a few years later. If you remember from Lesson 1 when you learned about all those political philosophers, they talked a lot about human rights. When the Constitution was written, it just laid out the laws and rules for how the government would work. Some Anti-Federalists said that it should say something about rights that people had. They argued that if it didn't list the rights of the people, the government might take away people's rights... like 'freedom of speech'. So a Bill of Rights was added at the end of the Constitution. The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
The last two documents you need to learn about are the Articles of Confederation and the Iroquois Great Law of Peace. The Articles of Confederation, if you remember from Lesson 2, was the form of government before the Constitution, you need to know that it gave most of the government power to each of the states, the federal or national government had very little power. The reason the government was set-up this way, is because the colonists were afraid of a national government getting too much power. They had just freed their-selves from that when they separated from the King. It is important because it didn't work. The states couldn't agree on anything and there was no unity as a nation.
The Iroquois Great Law of Peace was a code of laws that the Native Americans followed. If you remember I said that the Mayflower Compact was the 'first written Constitution'... that's true, because the Iroquois Law of Peace was an oral law. Read about it here: http://upliftconnect.com/great-law-of-peace/
The Iroquois Great Law of Peace was a code of laws that the Native Americans followed. If you remember I said that the Mayflower Compact was the 'first written Constitution'... that's true, because the Iroquois Law of Peace was an oral law. Read about it here: http://upliftconnect.com/great-law-of-peace/
ASSIGNMENT 4
answer the questions using complete sentences and then upload and submit your assignment below;
1. Why is the United States Constitution important?
2. Why is the Magna Carta an important document?
3. What does the Mayflower Compact say, and why did the Pilgrims sign it?
4. How did the Articles of Confederation help bring about the Constitution?
5. How does the Declaration of Independence define America?
6. What are the Bill of Rights?
7. What is the Iroquois Great Law of Peace ?
8. How is the Great Law of Peace similar to the Constitution? How is it different?
1. Why is the United States Constitution important?
2. Why is the Magna Carta an important document?
3. What does the Mayflower Compact say, and why did the Pilgrims sign it?
4. How did the Articles of Confederation help bring about the Constitution?
5. How does the Declaration of Independence define America?
6. What are the Bill of Rights?
7. What is the Iroquois Great Law of Peace ?
8. How is the Great Law of Peace similar to the Constitution? How is it different?