Contributions of Citizens Who
Defended American Principles

Standard(s) of Learning

Content

Understand that many people worked to defend the basic principles that formed the foundation of a republican form of government.

Identify the contributions of the following citizens who defended basic principles:

• George Washington: He was the first President of the new nation. He worked under the new republican form of government. He helped put the basic principles into practice for the new nation.
• Thomas Jefferson: He was born in Virginia. He was the third President of the United States. He wrote the Declaration of Independence, which states that people have certain rights. He was a leader who helped develop the country.
• Abraham Lincoln: He was the United States President when the country was divided over the issue of equality for all people. He helped free African American slaves.
• Rosa Parks: She is an African American woman who refused to give up her seat on a public bus as was required by law many years ago. She helped to bring about changes in laws and worked so that all people would have equal rights.
• Thurgood Marshall: He was a lawyer who defended people at a time when not all people had equal rights. He was the first African American justice of the United States Supreme Court. 
• Martin Luther King, Jr.: He was an African American minister who worked for equal rights for all people. He helped bring about changes in laws through peaceful means.

Know the reasons for the following holidays:

• Veterans Day: This is a day for the recognition of and respect for Americans who served in the military. It is observed in November.
• Memorial Day: This is a day for the recognition of and respect for Americans who died in wars while they were serving their country. It is observed in May.     

Sample Resources

Below is an annotated list of Internet resources for this organizing topic. Copyright restrictions may exist for the material on some Web sites. Please note and abide by any such restrictions.

Abraham Lincoln. <http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/lincoln/>. This Web site provides facts about Abraham Lincoln.

“Abraham Lincoln.” EnchantedLearning.com. <http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/history/us/pres/lincoln/index.shtml>. This Web page features timelines, activities, crafts, and coloring printouts about Abraham Lincoln. 

“Abraham Lincoln.” Famous Americans. Anne Pemberton. <http://www.educationalsynthesis.org/famamer/ALincoln.html>. This Web page features information about Abraham Lincoln.

Arlington National Cemetery. <http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/>. This Web site is devoted to America's most hallowed ground and to the heroes and the pathfinders who rest at peace there.

 “George Washington.” EnchantedLearning.com. <http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/history/us/pres/washington/index.shtml>. This Web page offers timelines, activities, crafts, and coloring printouts about George Washington. 

“George Washington.” Famous Americans. Anne Pemberton. This Web page features information about George Washington. <http://www.educationalsynthesis.org/famamer/GWashington.html>.

“Graphic Organizers.” Education Place. Houghton Mifflin. <http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/>. This Web page has a collection of graphic organizers. 

“Graphic Organizers.” SCORE. Schools of California Online Resources for Education. <http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm>. This Web page offers a variety of formats for graphic organizers.

“Interview with Rosa Parks.” Scholastic. <http://teacher.scholastic.com/rosa/interview.htm>. At this Web page, students learn how Mrs. Parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott by not giving up her bus seat to a white passenger. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. <http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson248.shtml>. This Web site provides theme Units about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Memorial Day. <http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyseneca/memorial.htm>. This Web site gives the history of Memorial Day.

Monticello: The Home of Thomas Jefferson. <http://www.monticello.org/>. This Web site provides information about Monticello and has a feature called “A Day in the Life of Thomas Jefferson.”

Nation Raises D-day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. Smokey’s Trail. <http://smokeys-trail.com/USA/bedford-2001.html>. This Web site is a newspaper article by Lance Gay (6/4/01) about the D-day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia.

“Thomas Jefferson.” America’s Story from America’s Library. <http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/jefferson>. This Web page provides information about Thomas Jefferson.

Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary. <http://www.thurgoodmarshall.com/>. This Web site provides a biography of Thurgood Marshall.

“Veterans Day Craft Projects and Printouts.” Enchanted Learning. <http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/crafts/veterans/index.shtml> This Web site has activities for Veterans Day. 

Veterans Day. Department of Veterans Affairs. <http://www.va.gov/kids/teachers/index.asp>. This Web site has information about Veterans Day and a Veterans Day Teachers Guide.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Page. <http://thewall-usa.com/>. This Web site is dedicated to honoring those who died in the Vietnam war.

Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments for the 2008 History and Social Science Standards of Learning. Grade Three History and Social Science Test Blueprint. Virginia Department of Education, 2009.
<http://www.doe.virginia.gov/...2008/blueprints_history3.pdf>. This site provides assessment information for Grade Three Introduction to History and Social Science.

The White House. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html>. The White House Web site provides a brief biography of George Washington.

Who is Rosa Parks? <http://teacherlink.org/content/social/elementary/rosaparks/home.htm>. This Web site provides information and lessons about Rosa Parks.