1.9

=Examine fundamental documents in the American political tradition to identify key ideas regarding limited government and individual rights. = = = === Documents on the Page   ===
 * Magna Carta (1215) **
 * Mayflower Compact (1620) **
 * Massachusetts Body of Liberties (1641) **
 * English Bill of Rights (1689) **
 * Locke’s Treatises of Civil Government (1690) **
 * Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges (1701) **
 * Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) **
 * Declaration of Independence (1776) **
 * United States Constitution (1787) **
 * Bill of Rights (1791) **
 * Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 **

The Committee in the picture on the right side of the page: Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Livingston, and Sherman. 1776. Copy of engraving after Alonzo Chappel

[|Expanding Civil Rights: Landmark Cases]from PBS


 * Records of Rights** from the National Archives documents Americans ongoing struggle to "define, attain and protect their rights."


 * **Document** || **Date** || **Author**

|| **Significance** ||
 * Magna Carta (Great Charter of Freedoms) || 1215 ||  || The Magna Carta secured the rights of the people, assuring them that the King would held accountable to law. ||
 * [|Petition of Right] || 1628 || Sir Edward Coke || English constitutional document sets forth liberties that the King cannot violate including non-Parliamentary taxation, forced billeting of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, and the use of martial law ||
 * Mayflower Compact || Nov. 11, 1620 || Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony || Regarded as a foundation for the Constitution of the United States; Social contract for sake of survival; Established government loyal to the king.

|| Protested the Intolerable Acts/Coercive Acts of Great Britain (Suffolk Courts, MA / Boston); Urged citizens to cease paying taxes, trading with Britain and approved the assembly of a militia against the government. || Sam Adams, James Bowdoin || Model for the United States Constitution with four parts: a preamble, a declaration of rights, a description of the framework of government, and articles of amendment ||
 * [|English Bill of Rights] || 1689 || Parliament || Limits the power of the king; free elections; freedom of speech in Parliament; prohibits cruel and unusual punishment ||
 * Massachusetts Body of Liberties || 1641 || Nathaniel Ward || First legal code established by European colonists in New England; Precursor to MA general laws and constitution; "Ahead of its time" = justice, right to appeal, counsel and jury; Abolished double jeopardy and cruel punishment; Gave some rights to women, children, servants and outlawed slavery. ||
 * [|Treatise on Civil Government] || 1690 || John Locke || Provided foundation for modern forms of democracy and was a major influence on the Constitution. ||
 * [|Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges] || 1701 || William Penn || Envisioned a colony that permitted religious freedom, the consent of the people for government and protection of property rights.Freedom of worship was absolute ||
 * Virginia Declaration of Rights || 1776 || George Mason || Proclaimed the inherent natural rights of man and the right of people to rebel against an inadequate government; serves as a model for the Declaration of Independence ||
 * [|Suffolk Reserves] || 1774 || Joseph Warren || === ===
 * Massachusetts Constitution || 1780 || John Adams
 * [|Northwest Ordinance] || July 13, 1787 || Nathan Dane, Rufus King || Precedence for federal government sovereignty with regard to admission of new states. Prohibits slavery north of the Ohio River. ||
 * Federalist 10 || Nov. 22, 1787 || James Madison || Argued for Constitution and large republic in order to protect against insurrections; Large republics are better equipped to do so. ||
 * [|Washington's Farewell Address] || 1796 || George Washington || Warns against party system; Stresses importance of religion and morality; Warns against foreign alliances and an over-powerful military establishment.

Hear the Broadway play //Hamilton's// One Last Time, including part of the actual text of Washington's Farewell Address ||
 * Jefferson's First Inaugural Address || 1801

|| Thomas Jefferson || Asserted freedom of speech and religion; Mix of federal and Republican values for a wise government. ||
 * [|Declaration of Sentiments] || 1848 || Elizabeth Cady Stanton || Women's version of the Declaration of Independence; Endorsed women's rights/controversial (endorsed women's suffrage). ||
 * [|Frederick Douglass Independence Day Speech] || 1852 || Frederick Douglass || In a speech entitled, "The Meaning of July 4 for the Negro," Douglass condemns American attitudes toward slavery.

Click here to see [|Morgan Freeman read selections from the speech] ||
 * [|Lincoln's House Divided Speech] || 1858 || Abraham Lincoln || Famous speech delivered by Lincoln at the beginning of his unsuccessful Senate campaign against Stephen A. Douglas in which he declared that the country cannot remain with some states allowing slavery and other states free ||
 * [|Gettysburg Address] || Nov. 19, 1863 || Abraham Lincoln || Lincoln used the speech to focus attention on the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and the concept of equality, shifting the focus from the Constitution. See Gary Wills, [|The Words That Remade America] ||
 * [|Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address] || March 4, 1865 || Abraham Lincoln || Sought to avoid harsh treatment of South in wake of Civil War ||

“Photograph of a painting by Edward Percy Moran (1862-1935), showing Myles Standish, William Bradford, William Brewster and John Carver signing the Mayflower Compact in a cabin aboard the Mayflower while other Pilgrims look on.” ca.1900. The original hangs at the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, MA.

[[image:lesson_plan_icon.jpg width="80" height="61"]]**LESSON PLANS**

 * [|Magna Carta: Cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution]from EdSitement, National Endowment for the Humanities
 * [|Connections: the 1780 Massachusetts State Constitution’s Bill of Rights and the Federal Constitution’s Bill of Rights]: from Falmouth High School
 * Understanding the Federalist 10 from Middle Tennessee State University
 * George Washington Lesson Plans from Gilder Lehrman
 * Northwest Ordinance
 * [|The Gettysburg Address]: from EdSitement, National Endowment for the Humanities
 * [|Cultural Change: The Women's Movement & Declaration of Sentiments] from EdSitement, National Endowment for the Humanities
 * [|The Mayflower Compact: Would You Sign?] from education.com

Women's Suffrage from Teaching Tolerance