Before we start we MUST remember the important documents that are crucial to understanding the time period after the Civil War.
Declaration of Independence:
Context: * During the beginning of the American Revolution
* Slavery existed throughout Colonial America.
Famous Parts of Jefferson's Declaration:
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...
Big Points - 1. "The People" have Rights
2. "The People" are equal
3. Governments are supposed to protect the rights of "The People"
The Revolution is won by the Colonists. At that point (Battle of Yorktown) America is Born!
America's first government, the Articles of Confederation, did NOT work and in 1787 our founding fathers devised a new Constitution. The Constitution is the framework of our government.
The Preamble (kinda an introduction) gives us the PURPOSE of the new Constitution.
The most important words in the Preamble may be the famous THREE words:
We the People!
The Constitution has SEVEN ARTICLES that are the blueprint to our government. They set up the THREE BRANCHES of GOVERNMENT. They also include the process of CHANGING the Constitution when needed. Changes to the Constitution are called AMENDMENTS. The first 10 AMENDMENTS are called the BILL OF RIGHTS and mostly protect INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS of the CITIZENS of the COUNTRY. Since then 17 AMENDMENTS have been added to our CONSTITUTION. 27 TOTAL.
From 1783 to 1865 America develops, moves westward, acquires land, welcomes immigrants, and grows. During this time slavery is in the South but not in the North. As America grows it divides more and more. This division leads to a bloody, costly war - The Civil War.
The Civil War goes on and on. In the second half of the war, having tried to free the slaves, Lincoln delivers one of the most famous speeches in American History.
Most Important Parts of Speech:
* a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
* for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us
* that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom
* Slavery is over (13th Amendment)
That leads us to our first task:
1. In the envelope are 17 of the 27 amendments to our Constitution. There is a description of the Amendment and the # and Title of the amendment. First, with a partner and loosely on the table in front of you try and match the two for all 17.
2. You and your partner compare and check for accuracy with the partners closest to you.
3. Once you have them accurately matched, paste them to a large sheet in the proper order, 1-2-3...
4. As a class let's quickly discuss the meaning of each of the 17 amendments. In the space next to the amendments please jot down the meaning of each amendment in YOUR OWN WORDS.
5. Leave the big sheet here - this is where we will start tomorrow.
Homework - Make sure you have read all of chapter 17 "Reconstruction" in the SS8 textbook. AND read 20 minutes in your IR books for ELA.
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