Tonight's Homework (and other important info)

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    Monday, November 2, 2009

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    Unit 2 Study Guide

    If you know the following information, you will get an Advanced on Friday's test!
    1. What are the roles of the three branches of government?
    2. What is federalism?
    3. What does it mean to amend the Constitution?
    4. What is an ordinance?
    5. What is a Confederation?
    6. What is a compromise?
    7. What is a veto?
    8. What is checks and balances?
    9. What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
    10. What is was only strength of the Articles of Confederation?
    11. Compare and contrast the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan.
    12. What does ratify mean?
    13. Compare and contrast federalists and antifederalists.
    14. What was the 3/5 Compromise?
    15. What does Congress look like (how many houses, what are they called, etc.)
    16. What is the Bill of Rights?
    17. Why is the First Amendment so important?
    18. What were the Federalist Papers? Who wrote them?
    19. Who wrote the Constitution?
    20. Compare and contrast powers given to the national government (enumerated powers) and the state governments (reserved powers)
    21. Where is the Northwest Territory?

    The Constitution (pg. 39)

    4. The Constitution
    a. set up three branches of government
    i. legislative branch – Congress (makes laws)
    ii. executive branch – president (enforces laws)
    iii. judicial branch – courts (decides how laws are understood)
    b. Congress proposes a Bill (law) that gets voted on
    – if accepted it goes to the president to be signed into law or vetoed
    c. checks and balances allows the branches to make sure that none of the branches gets too powerful
    d. Bill of Rights – first ten amendments that protect the individual rights of citizens

    Influences on the Constitution Notes (pg. 39)

    3. Influences on the Constitution
    a. Magna Carta – rule with agreement of the people
    b. English Bill of Rights – lists rights of citizens
    c. Mayflower Compact – agreement of self-rule
    d. Iroquois Confederation – different tribes agree to live together under collective rules

    Monday, October 19, 2009

    Constitution Foldable


















    The Constitutional Convention Notes (page 37)

    2. The Constitutional Convention
    a. how to count votes
    i. Virginia Plan – give more votes to states with more people
    ii. New Jersey Plan – give all states equal votes
    iii. Great Compromise – made Congress with two parts (House of Representatives based on population and Senate with two from each)
    b. slavery
    i. South wanted slaves and North didn’t
    ii. three fifths compromise allowed every five slaves to be counted as three people for votes in Congress
    c. federalism – states shared power with national government
    d. ratification – debate about accepting the Constitution
    i. antifederalists – argued against a powerful government
    ii. federalists – wanted a strong government

    Articles of Confederation Notes (page 33)

    1. Articles of Confederation (the first government)
    a. only success - Northwest Ordinance – law
    about western land
    b. each state wanted its own freedom and was
    afraid of another strong central government
    c. Continental Congress made the Articles as
    rules for government
    d. Articles were made weak (could not raise
    taxes, settle arguments between states, had
    no power, no president to enforce laws)
    e. the Shays Rebellion (in Massachusetts)
    showed that Articles were too weak to govern
    f. after the Shays Rebellion, representatives
    met in Philadelphia to revise (update and
    strengthen) the Articles

    Wednesday, September 30, 2009

    Study Items for Unit 1 Test

    Know the following terms:
    Colony
    Boycott
    Charter
    Repeal

    The Great Awakening

    What was it?
    How did it influence peoples politics?

    Politics in Colonial America

    Who could vote?
    What English traditions did the colonists have?

    Events leading up to Revolution

    What was the result of the French and Indian War?
    Why did the king keep making taxes?
    Why did the colonists not want to pay taxes?
    What was the Proclamation of 1763?
    What happened when the king taxed tea?
    What did the king do after the Boston Tea Party?
    What was “Common Sense”?
    What did it say?

    Declaration of Independence

    Who wrote it?
    Why was it written?
    Who was included in it?
    Who was excluded?
    What are the three parts of the Declaration?
    What is meant by “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”?

    The Revolutionary War

    Who were the Patriots?
    Who were the Loyalists?

    Wednesday, September 23, 2009

    Monday, September 21, 2009

    Unit 1 Notes

    1. Events Leading to the American Revolution
    a. The Proclamation of 1763: King George III angers the colonists when he forbids them moving west of the Appalachian Mountains
    b. Sugar Act of 1764: England tries to tax colonists
    c. Stamp Act of 1765: after repealing the Sugar Act, England starts a tax on printed materials.
    d. The Quartering Act of 1766: Britain says colonists must house and supply British soldiers
    e. The Townshend Act of 1767: new taxes on tea, glass, lead, paint, and paper.
    f. Boston Massacre of 1770: English soldiers kill five colonial protesters.
    g. Committees of Correspondence: colonists start exchanging news among colonies.
    h. Boston Tea Party of 1773: colonists throw tea into Boston Harbor.
    i. The Intolerable Acts of 1774: laws to punish people of Boston and force them into obedience.
    j. First Continental Congress: representatives of the 13 colonies meet to protest the Intolerable Acts (they still wanted peace with Britain).
    k. Lexington and Concord (1775): British and colonists fight and start war.
    l. Declaration of Independence (1776): colonies say they will rule themselves.

    2. The Great Awakening
    a. religious movement that went through the colonies in the 1730's.
    b. encouraged people to question authority.

    3. The Declaration of Independence
    a. written by Thomas Jefferson.
    b. inspired by Enlightenment ideas and Thomas Paine's Common Sense
    c. had three main parts
    i. First Part: describes natural rights of people.
    ii. Second Part: outlines the wrongs done by the king.
    iii. Third Part: declares the independence of the colonies.
    d. led to all 13 colonies declaring independence.

    4. Inspiration for other Nations
    a. Britain surrenders at Yorktown.
    b. leads to other people (like French and Haitians) wanting change

    Tuesday, September 15, 2009

    Unit 1 Standards

    8.1 Students understand the events that led to the start of the American Revolution and why these were important.
    1. Explain the importance of the Great Awakening.
    2. Analyze what the Declaration of Independence said about government and the rights of individuals.
    3. Explain how the American Revolution influenced other countries.
    4. Describe the ideas that influenced the Declaration of Independence.

    These should all be recorded on page 10 of our Interactive Notebooks. Standards in red are "focus standards" and will be heavily tested.

    Monday, September 14, 2009

    PERSIG Notes

    Political how a country is ruled

    • make laws and make sure they are obeyed
    • different countries are ruled differently (democracy, monarchy, military force, etc.)


    Economic how the people find the means to eat

    • has to do with money or resources
    • commerce (trade or business)
    • jobs (trades and professions)
    • agriculture (farming) and manufacturing


    Religious how the people find the meaning to life

    • belief systems of people
    • explains how beliefs in God (or no God)
    • influence the way people behave


    Social how the people get along and interact with each other

    • authoritarian society (strict rules)
    • deference society (ranking of people)
    • egalitarian society (people equal under the law)


    Intellectual how people in a society learn

    • inventions a society makes that change life and society (printing, electricity, factories, automobile, etc.)
    • big ideas (equality, freedom, etc.)


    Geography how the land affects a nation’s history and people (e.g. living close the resources)

    • how people change the land

    Thursday, September 10, 2009

    Great 1st Day!

    Thanks for a great first day today! Don't worry, that is the most you will have to hear me talk for the whole year!

    Remember that you do not have to bring your large textbooks to school (if you were assigned one). If you have a Reading Essentials book, you need to bring that with you to school. The Graphic Novels will stay at home, until I tell you to bring them.

    Please get your supplies as soon as possible. The less distractions you have, the better you will perform!

    Thanks again! Let's have a great year!