Declaration of Independence & NW Ordinance

What was one idea that the leaders of the American Revolution shared with Enlightenment thinkers?

• Colonies exist to provide raw materials & markets for mother countries

• People have the right to overthrow their government if it abuses its power

• Governments may restrict freedom of speech & of the press during times of crisis

• Factories & businesses should be owned by government, rather than individuals

During the Enlightenment, a number of writers explored the relationship between governments and the people they governed. For example, Rousseau wrote The Social Contract, in which he examined ideas about majority will and the common good. How did these ideas influence the American Revolutions?

• They encouraged loyalty to established governments.

• They supported movements for social and political change.

• They encouraged the formation of American and French constitutional monarchies.

• They supported the efforts of governments to maintain control over their subjects.

Which excerpt from the Declaration of Independence describes the Enlightenment idea of natural rights?

• “…all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with…Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

• “He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions of the rights of the people.”

• “We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations…”

• “…whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…”

Which 2 Enlightenment Ideas are MOST connected to the American Revolution? (Choose 2)

• Natural Rights

• Critically Thinking about Scientific Issues

• Social Contract

• People are Naturally Cruel

Grievances against King George II’s actions, as listed in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, are shown below. Two of these grievances clearly demonstrate a violation of the Enlightenment principle of consent of the governed. Consent of the governed is the idea that the government gets it authority from the people that it governs. Place a check next to the two grievances that describe violations of the consent of the governed.

• He has dissolved Representative House repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people;

• Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us [and] for cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world;

• Depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury [and] for transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences;

• For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments;

• He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

An excerpt from the Declaration of Independence is shown: "He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. How does this grievance support the American colonists’ case for independence?

• It describes how the colonists were encouraged by the king to send their elected representatives to London.

• It describes how the British government was holding public meetings in locations favorable to colonies loyal to Britain.

• It describes how the British government made it hard for the American colonists to have a voice in their own governance.

• It describes how the colonists were not given adequate access to public records necessary for day-to-day government activities.

How does the statement you selected in question 6 show a violation of an Enlightenment principle by the British?

• The British did not adhere to the principle of separation of powers.

• The British abused the principle or religious toleration.

• The British violated the principle of social contract.

• The British ignored the principle of mercantilism.

All of the following were incentives given by the Northwest Ordinance that provided precedence for forming and governing new states EXCEPT:

• The government provided 120 acres to any person who settled the land for 5 years.

• Territories could form their own governments with same rights and privileges of all

• Religious freedom was guaranteed in all new states

• Each state could write their own state constitutions

“…Article 6. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted: Provided, always, That any person escaping into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or service as aforesaid…” – Northwest Ordinance, 1787 Based on this excerpt from the NW Ordinance, which statement is a valid conclusion?

• The issue of slavery was largely ignored before the Civil War.

• Abolitionists had gained control of the Constitutional Convention.

• Slavery was legally banned in the Northwest Territory

• Enslaved persons had constitutionally protected civil rights

Which precedent was set by the Northwest Ordinance and later included in the U.S. Constitution?

• the guarantee of a right to trial by jury

• the creation of a federal system of government

• the establishment of full voting rights for women

• the denial of property rights to American Indians