Founding Documents

Founding Documents

The United States of America is a republic. Our founding fathers wrote three very important documents that created the framework for our government back in the 1700s. We still use that framwork today. Look at the photograph. Those are our founding fathers from left to right: John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton.

Declaring Independence

During the 1700s the United States did not exist. Instead, we were thirteen colonies being ruled by King George III of England. He made all the laws and collected taxes from the people here and had the money sent back to England. This angered the colonists very much. They held a secret meeting with members of each of the thirteen colonies and decided to declare their independence from the king.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following men is NOT a founding father.

• Thomas Jefferson

• George Washington

• Abraham Lincoln

• Benjamin Franklin

Declaration of Independence

In 1775 a war broke out between the colonists and Great Britain. It is called the Revoluntary War. One of our founding fathers Thomas Jefferson began to write an very important document called, The Declaration of Independence. The document is split into five parts and declares the 13 colonies independent from the king and Great Britain.

Open Ended

How do you think King George felt when he heard about the colonies declaring their independence from him and his country?

The Constitution

The Constitution was written in 1787, after we won our independence from the king and Great Britain. This document outlines how our government was formed and how it works. The first ten amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. This tells us what our rights are as a U.S. citizen.

The Bill of Rights

• The Bill of Rights was written AFTER the constitution in 1791.

• It outlines 10 rights that every U.S. citizen has.

• Some of the rights are outdated and some are still current or up to date.

• Some of the rights are: the right to a fair trial, right to bear arms and state's rights.

Multiple Choice

TRUE OR FALSE. The Bill of Rights was written BEFORE the Constitution.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Poll

Which do you think is the MOST important document?

• The Declaration of Independence

• The Constitution

• Bill of Rights