CH 22-4
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
22.4-The American Revolution.pdf
Group Discussions
In what ways did the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights reflect Enlightenment ideas? In your answer, be sure to discuss the system of checks and balances and the federal system.
Standard:
I-C.3 Explain and analyze revolutions (e.g., democratic, scientific, technological, social) as they evolved throughout the enlightenment and their enduring effects on political, economic and cultural institutions.
Objective:
Describe America's colonies in the late 1700’s.
List the events that led to the American Revolution.
Explain the Enlightenment influence on American government.
WICOR: Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization and Reading
EQ: In what ways did the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights reflect Enlightenment ideas? In your answer, be sure to discuss the system of checks and balances and the federal system.
Britain and its American colonies
When is Thanksgiving?
What was the Tea Act of 1773?
American History: The New World
In this painting by C. Y. Turner, Molly Pitcher, an imaginary heroine of the American revolution, is shown at the 1778 battle of Monmouth loading a cannon. Many historians regard Molly Pitcher as folklore, as a composite image inspired by the actions of a number of real women. The name itself may have originated as a nickname given to women who carried water to men on the battlefield.
Washington Crossing the Delaware is an 1851 oil-on-canvas painting by German American artist Emanuel Leutze. It commemorates Washington’s crossing of the Delaware on 25 December 1776, during the American revolutionary war. A copy of this painting hangs in the West Wing reception area of the White House.
Americans win independence
Growing hostility leads to war
The influence of enlightenment
Success for the colonists
America the story of US: Declaration of Independence
Americans create a republic
A weak national government
A new constitution
The federal system
The Bill of Rights
The fight to ratify the constitution
Separation of Powers and checks and balances
Why is the US constitution so hard to amend?
The Bill of Rights
Vocabulary
Declaration of Independence
Document declaring America's independence from Britain
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of Independence
Checks and Balances
System in which each branch of government checks, or limits, the power of the other two branches
Federal system
System of government in which power is divided between the national and state governments
Bill of Rights
First ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution's; protections of basic rights for individuals
Critical Thinking:
1a Why might Parliament want to restrict American American colonial trade?
1b How did geography affect the colonists sense of Independence?
2a Why would taxation without representation seem unfair to Enlightenment thinkers?
2b Was the Declaration of Independence justified or was it treason? Explain.
3a Why would the states want to avoid a strong national government?
3b The delegates argued for 4 months to create the US Constitution. What united and motivated them for so long?
