Week of 13 September 2010

This week we are looking into the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the debates that created the United States Constitution. The Declaration of Independence is a remarkable document, it contains the most important ideas on government that we are still attempting to reach. It has also been a model for many other declarations of rights, such as France's "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen", the United Nations' "Universal Declaration of Rights" the "Declaration of the Rights of the Child." In my opinion, a clear understanding of the principles in the Declaration of Independence helps the student better understand civics and will better prepare them for the End of Course exam.

On the page for this Unit there are MANY links and videos. I highly suggest you take a look at them. They will be very helpful in understanding this document, its principles and historical context. Remember, what the founding fathers were doing was never heard of before - rebelling against Great Britain and setting out to establish a government based on the will of the people, not the will of the king and divine right. A monumental experiment!

We will also be looking at North Carolina's first constitution of 1776, specifically its "Declaration of Rights," keeping in mind that the US Constitution, which had yet to be created, would borrow the ideas embodied in the 13 state constitutions that had already existed.

It is not likely we will be tested on this information this week, but one can be expected early next week.