Origins and Foundations of
American Government
Session 1: Political Theory through the Ages

Materials

• Political Theory through the Ages (Attachment A) (one copy per student)
• Internet access

Instructional Activities

NOTE: The following Web sites may be helpful in the study of philosophies underlying the U.S. Constitution:
•    Magna Carta with accompanying definitions: The Avalon Project at Yale Law School, <http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/magna.htm>
•    English Petition of Rights and English Bill of Rights: The Founders’ Constitution,                           <http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/>

1. On the board, create a flowchart to help the students visualize the theoretical history that the Founding Fathers were able to draw from. The flowchart provides students with a base of knowledge needed to see the connections between each of the following assignments.
   
   •     The scope of this exercise may be expanded greatly by using the flowchart and the information in Attachment A to examine the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, searching for passages from both documents that exhibit the philosophies expressed in the handout. This would be a great group and long-term assignment, requiring students to work through each of the documents to determine the origin of the underlying thinking.
   
   
2. Divide the class into equal groups, and give each student a copy of the Magna Carta and the definitions. Divide the 63 sections of the Magna Carta among the groups. Have groups develop a chart identifying the content of each section of the document and to whom the section applies. This may take a good deal of time, 45 minutes to an hour.
   
   •    This activity may be expanded by having students compare the Magna Carta to the U.S. Bill of Rights. Have students determine where similarities exist between the two documents. These relevant passages may be displayed in a chart. The activity could be further expanded to include comparisons among the Magna Carta, the English Petition of Rights, the English Bill of Rights, and the U.S. Bill of Rights.