1. FIVE BIG IDEAS from The American Revolutionary Era

2. Causes of the Revolutionary War
French and Indian War
beef over taxes (Stamp Act)
“no taxation w/o representation”
Protest
Boston Massacre
Boston Tea Party
Americans becoming unique from British
Geography sparks individuality
BIG IDEA LEADING TO THE BREAK
REPUBLICANISM

3. Declaration of Independence
Enlightenment and especially peeps like John Locke influence Thomas Jefferson
“unalienable” rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
“government by the consent of the governed”
“all men created equal”
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense expresses American’s growing rejection of rule by kings
BIG IDEAS FROM DECLARATION:
“LIBERTY” (INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS)
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY

4. The War George Washington’s leadership
underdogs persevere through adversity
motivated by ideologies like “liberty” and nationalism
BIG help from the French aids American success
win the war, but the revolution’s not over yet…

5. Preserving the Revolution – Making a government that works
Washington quits on top… for a while anyways
Articles of Confederation –too loose to run a country
Shay’s Rebellion 1786 – the last straw
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, summer of 1787

6. The Constitution
James Madison comes prepared to make a whole new government system
new model for government – 3 branches
a “Federal” system tries to unite the whole, while preserving some local control
BIG IDEAS
CHECKS AND BALANCES
FEDERALISM

7. A Bill of Rights
fight over ratification echoes one big beef – where’s our rights?
agreement to include a Bill of Rights into the document
1st Amendment: speech, press, petition, assembly, religion
2nd: bear arms
4th: due process / property
5th: due process / self defense
6th: due process / trial by jury
8th: no cruel punishment
9th and 10th – people / states reserve powers not given to national government

8. BIG IDEAS FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA
REPUBLICANISM
LIBERTY (INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS)
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
CHECKS AND BALANCES
FEDERALISM

9. Your Jobs
In your groups, you will be assigned one of the five BIG IDEAS just discussed
Your group will take a closer look at your assigned idea, discuss what it means, and create a “visual metaphor” (a.k.a. a picture) that illustrates the importance of that idea
You will report out to the rest of the class by describing your idea, and explaining how your picture symbolizes it