Lesson 1.03 Origins of American Democracy

• Introduction
• Learn
• Try It
• Task

Introduction

Enduring Knowledge: Our Founding Fathers created our government based on our nation's past experiences and the ideas of political philosophers.

"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..."

In which important document will you find the statement above? Where do you think the inspiration for the ideas behind these words came from? The ideas that all men are created equal, that they have certain unalienable rights, and that they have the power to give their consent to their government are crucial founding principles on which our nation's government and society rest. However, like most outstanding ideas, the Founding Fathers drew inspiration for their ideas from previous ideas and philosophies.

Click the marker 1, 2, 3 to learn more about the work of the Founding Fathers depicted in the painting.

Open the Founding Fathers in a new tab | Founding Fathers text version

This 1921 Jean-Leon Gerome Ferris painting depicts Benjamin Franklin reading a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams seated, and author Thomas Jefferson. (Library of Congress).

Lesson Objectives Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to: explain how the Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, the English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact, and the Virginia Declaration of Rights shaped American democracy. identify the ideas of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Charles de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau and explain their influence on American democracy. summarize the impact of the Great Awakening on American democracy. The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: Government objective(s): 1. This lesson incorporates the following Literacy Standards: R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, W1, W2, W4, W8, and W9.