The document discusses the Declaration of Independence and its origins. It notes that Thomas Jefferson borrowed ideas for the Declaration from several sources, including natural law philosophy and the writings of John Locke emphasizing individual rights and consent of the governed. The document also outlines the series of acts by the British Parliament leading up to the Declaration that increased taxes on the colonies and restricted their rights, angering colonists and leading to the Continental Congresses.

1. BELLWORK #1
 Write the questions and answer.
 What types of services does the government supply
to us (6)? How would society be different without
government?

2. UNIT 1 – FOUNDATIONS OF
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

3. SECTION 1.1
Need for Government

4. TASK FOCUS #1 – DESCRIBE WHAT IS
HAPPENING IN THE VIDEO.

5.  Can you use one word to describe what was
happening in the video?
 Anarchy
 absence of government; a state of lawlessness or
political disorder due to a lack of governmental authority
 What can you say does not exist when there is
anarchy?

6.  What provides us with these rules and regulations
within the United States?
 Government
 the ruling authority for a community

7.  Read page 6 in your textbook and answer the
following questions….
1. What is civics? (definition and explanation)
2. What is a citizen? (definition and explanation)

8. Copy
the chart
into your
notes.
Functions of Government
Term Description
Keeping Order
and Providing
Security
Providing Public
Services
Guiding the
Community

9. Copy
the chart
into your
notes.
Functions of Government
Term Description
Keeping Order
and Providing
Security
• Enforcing laws
• Ticketing or arresting those who
break the law
• Courts decide if one is
innocent/guilty
• Defense against domestic and
foreign threats
Providing Public
Services
Guiding the
Community

10. Copy
the chart
into your
notes.
Functions of Government
Term Description
Keeping Order
and Providing
Security
• Enforcing laws
• Ticketing or arresting those who
break the law
• Courts decide if one is
innocent/guilty
• Defense against domestic and
foreign threats
Providing Public
Services
• Management of libraries, schools,
and hospitals
• Public Health – dangerous drugs or
spoiled food
• Affordable housing and healthcare
Guiding the
Community

11. Copy
the chart
into your
notes.
Functions of Government
Term Description
Keeping Order
and Providing
Security
• Enforcing laws
• Ticketing or arresting those who
break the law
• Courts decide if one is
innocent/guilty
• Defense against domestic and
foreign threats
Providing Public
Services
• Management of libraries, schools,
and hospitals
• Public Health – dangerous drugs or
spoiled food
• Affordable housing and healthcare
Guiding the
Community
• Public policy course of action to
reach community goals (Ex.
National Security)
• Budget – how to collect and spend
money
• Communicating with neighbors
(Foreign Relations)

12. ACTIVITY 1.1
 In 2089, the U.S. is falling into chaos. There is not
enough food for a majority of the population. Nearly
43% of the country is unemployed and it has been
this way for 3 years. People are gathering in the
streets.
 Refer to your definition of anarchy.
 In your groups, create 3 possible solutions that would
prevent the problems observed in the video.
 Riots may lead to anarchy. Your solutions should
address this possible problem.

13. LEARNING LOG #1
 Have students respond to the following questions in
their learning logs:
1. What are some reasons we need government?
2. What are the four basic functions of any government?
3. Describe a situation in which government must react?

14. SECTION 1.2
Comparing Governments

15. TASK FOCUS #2
 Describe the United
State government.
 What type of
government is in the
United States?

16.  Governments have been formed since the
beginning of civilization.
 Governments are needed in order to maintain order
and power of those in control of the government.
 Throughout history there has been several different
types of government. Different governments exist in
order to reflect the time period and the beliefs of
society.

17. COMPLETE THE WORD GRID
 Based on our definition of ANARCHY.
 Go through each of the characteristics and decide if
each is part of a possible anarchic government.
 Do the same thing for all of the different types of
governments on the word grid using the definitions
provided.
 Students should use the scale 0, 1, and 2 to fill in
the grid. The number 0 would indicate the
government does not possess the characteristic.
The number 1 would indicate the government has
some aspect of the characteristic. The number 2
would indicate the government possesses that
characteristic.

18. GROUP PROJECT – CREATE YOUR OWN
COUNTRY AND GOVERNMENT
Components Possible Points
Country Name 15
Country Flag 15
Type of
Government
20
Laws 10
Rights 10
Task Assignments 10
Overall
Appearance
10
Content,
Grammar,
Spelling
10
TOTAL: 100
 Group Grade
 Individual Grade
 Write a short
persuasive essay
(minimum 1 paragraph)
 Includes name and type
of government along
with why people should
move to your
government.

19. GROUP PROJECT GROUP ASSIGNMENT
 A
 Captain - This person is in charge of seeing to it that the group is
organized, gets started on projects quickly and everyone knows what to
do.
 B
 Monitor - This person keeps track of time to keep the group working
smoothly. This person also sees to it that the group has everything it
needs. The monitor is the only person who can pull the captain aside and
remind her/him that s/he is not doing her/his job if the captain is off task.
 C
 Recorder - This person sees to it that the group has all the information it
needs. This person sees to it that notes are taken or that information is
copied from a website and saved. This person has the added
responsibility to make sure that the team's work is original and not
plagiarized.
 D
 Reporter - This person is in charge of reporting the group's
accomplishments. When the group presents a final product, the reporter
is in charge of seeing that it gets done on time and well.

20. SECTION 1.3
Influences on American Government

21. TASK FOCUS #3
 We are going back in
history to before the
American Revolution.
 1600s and 1700s
 Who and what do you
think influenced the
American colonies the
most?

22. BEGINNING OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
 American democracy can be traced back to legal
and political traditions of England. England was
ruled by a monarch but they had a history of limited
and representative government.
 1215 – King John signed the Magna Carta (Great
Charter) that protected nobles privileges and their
authority eventually applying to all Englishman.
 Magna Carta limited the power of the monarch by
guaranteeing that no one was above the law, not
even the king.

23. BEGINNING OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
 1688 – The Glorious Revolution was when
Parliament, the legislature, removed King James II
from the throne. This peaceful transfer of power
demonstrated that Parliament was more powerful
than the monarch.
 1689 – The English Bill of Rights – Parliament
stated that monarch could not suspend
Parliament’s laws, make decisions without
consulting Parliament, fair trial for all, cruel and
unusual punishment was banned and that
Parliament members would be elected.
 What is the most important outcome from the
English Bill of Rights?

24. BEGINNING OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
 Common Law is when courts make decisions not
writing the laws, interpreting laws.

25. COPY THIS CHART INTO YOUR NOTES (SKIP
SEVERAL LINES)
Principles of American
Government
Definition/
Description
Picture
Rule of Law
Consent of the
governed
Limited government
Individual Rights
Republicanism
(Representative
Democracy)
Federalism
Popular Sovereignty
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances

26. PRINCIPLES OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
 Rule of Law – means no person can be above the law
regardless of their position in the government. In a democracy,
the people make rules either directly or through elected
representatives using majority rule (50 % plus one vote).
 Consent of the governed – is the concept that the people
are the source of all power (popular sovereignty) in a society.
The people give their consent to be governed in a binding
agreement known as a social contract (constitution).
 Limited Government – means to limit the power a
government has over its people usually by a constitution or
social contract. This contract protects the rights of the citizens
and prevents the government from interfering with those
rights.
 Individual Rights – is the idea that human beings possess
“… certain and unalienable rights.” Thomas Jefferson,
Declaration of Independence. These rights are protected by
the government.

27. PRINCIPLES OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
 Republicanism – is the ideal that people should elect
representatives to speak on their behalf and that citizens have
certain duties such as voting, being educated, serving in the defense
of the state, and obeying the laws of the nation
 Federalism – is the concept of sharing power between the national
government and state government. There is a built-in system of
checks and balances that limits the roles and powers of the state and
national governments.
 Popular Sovereignty – means the people have the right to rule and
to express their opinion by voting. In American government, the right
to vote is guaranteed in the Constitution.
 Separation of Powers – means no one branch of government
should be so powerful as to overrule the others. It divides the
functions of government (enforcing law, making laws, and
interpreting laws) into separate branches, each with their own
specific powers.
 Checks and Balances – is a system in which each branch of
government is able to check or restrain the powers of the other
branches of the government. This prevents any branch from
becoming more powerful than the other branches.

28. INFLUENTIAL DOCUMENTS JIGSAW
 Home Group – your normal group
 Expert Group – group of people assigned that article
 Each group member will be assigned a different primary
document in their home groups. They will split into their
expert groups with the other people assigned that same
document. Expert Groups will read the information about
that document and complete the Primary Source
Process Guide BLM. They will then go back to their
home group and teach their groups members about the
primary document they were assigned. Each member of
the home groups will complete the rest of the process
guides for the other documents.

29. INFLUENTIAL DOCUMENTS JIGSAW
 Groups Member Assignments
 A – Magna Carta
 B – English Bill of Rights
 C – Mayflower Compact
 D – Articles of Confederation

30. LEARNING LOG #2
 Reflect on how the principles discussed in class are
incorporated in the American government and
which of them most affects their lives

31. TASK FOCUS #4
 There are several definitions for the word
“compact”. Come up with at least three of them
and share them with your classmates.

32. BEGINNING OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
 The first representative democracy in America was
in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 the House of
Burgesses.
 1620, the Plymouth colony founded by the Pilgrims
formed a direct democracy with the Mayflower
Compact.
 The British King and Parliament were busy with
matters in Britain and the American colonies were
left to govern themselves.

33. MAYFLOWER COMPACT
 You will use a ready strategy called SOAPSTone to
read and respond to an article on the Mayflower
Compact.

34. SOAPSTONE: ANALYSIS OF TEXT
SOAPSTone Analysis Textual Support
Speaker: What does the
reader know about the
writer?
Occasion: What are the
circumstances
surrounding this text?
Audience: Who is the
target audience?
Purpose: Why did the
author write this text?
Subject: What is the
topic?
Tone: What is the author’s
tone or attitude?

35. SOAPSTone Guiding Info
Speaker Who is the voice that tells the story? The author and the speaker are NOT necessarily the
same. An author may choose to tell the story from any number of different points of view. Is
someone identified as the speaker? What assumptions can be made about the speaker?
What age, gender, class, emotional state, education, or…? In nonfiction, how does the
speaker’s background shape his/her point of view?
Occasion What is the time and place of the piece -- the (rhetorical) context that encouraged the writing
to happen? Is it a memory, a description, an observation, a valedictory, a diatribe, an elegy, a
declaration, a critique, a journal entry or…? Writing does not occur in a vacuum. There is the
larger occasion: an environment of ideas and emotions that swirl around a broad issue. Then
there is the immediate occasion: an event or situation that catches the writer’s attention and
triggers a response.
Audience Who is the audience – the (group) of readers to whom this piece is directed? The audience
may be one person, a small group, or a large group; it may be a certain person or a certain
people. Does the speaker identify an audience? What assumptions exist about the intended
audience?
Purpose Why was this text written? You should ask yourself, “What does the speaker want the
audience to think or do as a result of reading this text?” How is this message conveyed?
What is the message? How does the speaker try to spark a reaction in the audience? What
techniques are used to achieve a purpose? How does the text make the audience feel? What
is its intended effect? Consider the purpose of the text in order to examine the argument and
its logic.
Subject What are the general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text? You should be able to
state the subject in a few words or a phrase. How do you know this? How does the author
present the subject? Is it introduced immediately or delayed? Is the subject hidden? Is there
more than one subject?
Tone What is the attitude of the author? The spoken word can convey the speaker’s attitude, and,
thus, help to impart meaning, through tone of voice. With the written work, it is tone that
extends meaning beyond the literal. If the author were to read aloud the passage, describe
the likely tone of that voice. It is whatever clarifies the author’s attitude toward the subject.
What emotional sense pervades the piece? How does the diction point to tone? How do the
author’s diction, imagery, language, and sentence structure (syntax) convey his or her
feelings?

36. LEARNING LOG #3
 What do you think our government would be like if
documents like the Mayflower Compact did not
exist to instill our rights that the Pilgrims wanted to
make sure they had and colonists?

37. SECTION 1.4
The Nations First Government

38. TASK FOCUS #5
 Most students are
familiar with the
Declaration of
Independence. But have
they ever critically
examined the text or
questioned the motives of
its authors? In this
lesson plan, students
weigh contrasting
interpretations by
prominent historians to
answer the question:
Why did the Founders
write the Declaration of
Independence?

39. LEARNING LOG #4
 Do these grievances seem to be things that would
upset rich people or everyone?
 What information would you need to know to better
answer that question?
 Based on the grievances, which historian do you
think has a better argument (Bailyn or Zinn)? In
other words, was the Declaration of Independence
written for selfish or ideological reasons?
 Grievances 23, 24, 27 have a different tone. How
might that support Zinn’s argument?

40. TASK FOCUS #6 - WHO/WHAT DID THOMAS
JEFFERSON BORROW HIS IDEAS FROM FOR THE
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE?

41. LEADING TO THE DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE
1. 1760 – King George III takes the throne
2. After 1763, Britain fought French and Indian War and taxed
colonists to repay war debts
3. 1765 – Stamp Act on all paper goods
4. Declaratory Act of 1766 – Parliament state they could tax
the colonists and make decisions “in all cases.”
5. 1767 – Townshend Acts levied taxes on imported goods
6. 1773 – Boston Tea Party
7. 1773 – Coercive Acts/Intolerable Acts restricting colonists
rights: trial by jury, illegal search and seizure, and
quartering soldiers
8. September 1774 – 1st Continental Congress sent a
document to King George III to demand basic rights
9. April 1775, Battle of Lexington and Concord
10. May 1775, 2nd Continental Congress

42. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
 July 4, 1776 the Continental Congress approved
and accepted Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of
Independence with few changes.
 Jean-Jacques Rousseau– gave the idea that all
people are equal

43. ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
 Main purpose was to control the American Army during
the American Revolution
 Wanted to have a law making body called Congress.
 Weaknesses of the Articles
 Each state had 1 vote regardless of population
 9 colonies must approve an issue; 13 for an amendment
 No strong leadership (no President)
 Now power to collect taxes (no money to run the country)
 Couldn’t regulate foreign trade
 Couldn’t enforce laws (no governor or courts; states ignored
laws)
 States still considered themselves as a single nations

44. SHAY’S REBELLION
 Shay and many other American farmers fell into
debt because of heavy taxes. (Threatened to
take his farm away.)
Daniel Shay and 1200 other farmers rebelled
against the government in Massachusetts.
(governor sent federal troops to break it up;
fearing a riot)
This is what made it clear that the states
needed to set up a stronger government.

45. 1.4 ASSIGNMENT
 Turn to pages 44-47 and we will read
together the Preamble of the Declaration of
Independence.
1. What is the Preamble of the Declaration of
Independence saying?
2. In the 2nd paragraph what is being said?
3. What can people do when “Government
becomes destructive”?
4. Name at least 5 grievances that is listed in the
Declaration of Independence?
5. What statement is made in the final 2
paragraphs in the Declaration of
Independence?

46. SECTION 1.5
Philosophers

47. TASK FOCUS #7
 We talked about the health care bill trying to be
passed. Do you think that the president and other
involved in writing this bill used others ideas or
theories to create this bill? Do you think that was
done other times in History? Do you think it is good
to have others ideas and theories to look at?