All posts in Civics and Reading B

The United States won the Revolutionary war in 1783. After that, the new United States needed new laws. George Washington and other leaders did not want to copy the laws of Great Britain.

In 1787, representatives from the 13 new United States came together for a special meeting. They came together to write a new constitution for the new country.

How can you remember this year? For example, can you remember something that happened in 1987?

They called this meeting the constitutional convention. In 1787, the constitution was written.

When was the Constitution written? –> 1787

George Washington was the leader of the Constitutional Convention in Pennsylvania. Representatives from the 13 states worked for almost 4 months to write the constitution.

They talked, wrote, argued, and voted. Small states wanted a Senate with 2 senators from every state. Large states wanted a House of Representatives based on the population.

Some leaders wanted to continue slavery. Some wanted to make it illegal. Unfortunately, the constitution made slavery a legal part of the United States.

In September 1787, the representatives made the final changes. In the end, the Constitution was written at the Constitutional Convention.

What happened at the Constitutional Convention? –>The founding fathers wrote the constitution / The Constitution was written.

After the constitution was written, every state voted to agree or disagree with it. Every state’s congress had a vote. But, many people didn’t want a new constitution.

Some leaders from the Constitutional Convention wrote to support the new constitution. This writing was called The Federalist Papers. They explained why the US needed this constitution.

John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton wrote the Federalist Papers. They also used the name Publius. Alexander Hamilton wrote most of the papers: 51 out of 85.

There is only one question about the Federalist Papers. When you hear “Federalist Papers,” you can think about this song:

The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers. –> Alexander Hamilton / John Jay / James Madison

Why did the United States need a new constitution? Before the Constitution, the US didn’t have a clear system. States did not agree about important things like money, the military, or elections.

Also, many people wanted to protect Americans’ basic rights. For example, people wanted the right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

The Constitution was a plan to set up the government. It explains the system of government. It also protects the basic rights of Americans.

What does the Constitution do? –> It sets up the government / It protects the basic rights of Americans.

The Constitution has the idea of self-government in the first three words: We the people. Self-government means a government by the people, of the people, and for the people.

It means we have a democracy, and we elect representatives. After the Constitutional Convention, the 13 states all agreed to use the new Constitution. It became the supreme law of the land.

In the laws of 1789, only men with property could vote. Washington became the first president in 1789, and the United States has continued to use the constitution since then.

The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words? –> We the people

1. When was the Constitution written?
2. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
3. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
4. What does the Constitution do?
5. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?

Civics Review

1. What did the Declaration of Independence do?
2. What does the Constitution do?
3. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
4. When was the Constitution written?
5. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
6. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
7. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
8. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?

Reading and Civics

The Revolutionary War between the new United States and Great Britain ended in 1783. The leaders of the new country came together and wrote the constitution in 1787.

George Washington was elected president twice, for 8 years. After him, John Adams became president. They both worked hard to help the new country stay together.

In 1800, Thomas Jefferson ran for president. Before that, he was a representative from Virginia, and helped write the Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson was also the governor of Virginia and the first Secretary of State. He won the election of 1800 and became president in 1801.

One thing he wanted to do was to make the United States a bigger country. At this time, the United States had 16 states, but the Mississippi River was the western border.

The western side of the Mississippi river was called the Louisiana Territory. It was claimed by France. The name Louisiana comes from Louis (Luis), the name of the king of France.

This huge amount of land now includes Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and parts of New Mexico and Texas.

Thomas Jefferson made an offer to buy the rights to the Louisiana Territory from France. The United States bought the rights to the Louisiana territory from France in 1803 for $15 million.

The Louisiana Territory doubled the size of the new United States. But, this did not include any deal with the Native Americans who lived in the territory.

What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803? –> Louisiana

Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and believed that all people have the right to life and liberty. He believed that slavery was wrong, but he did not work to stop it.

And, he owned 600 slaves in his lifetime. One of his slaves, Sally Hemings, had several of his children. However, more and more people in the United States wanted to end slavery.

The United States stopped new slaves from coming into the country in 1821, but there were still millions of people without freedom. Some Americans wanted to free all the slaves.

• 

• 

Susan B. Anthony was one American who worked to end slavery. She organized meetings, spoke, wrote, and created a newspaper. She wanted all people to be free and have the same civil rights.

Unfortunately, women did not have the same rights as men in the 1800s. Women did not have the right to vote.

Susan B. Anthony fought for women’s rights, too, and she even voted illegally in 1872. She was arrested and ordered to pay $100, but she never paid the fine.

What did Susan B. Anthony do? –> Fought for women’s rights.

In 1812, there was more war with England. One man saw a terrible fight all night long. But in the morning, the US flag was still there.

He wrote a poem called The Star Spangled Banner. The Star Spangled Banner means “the flag with a lot of stars.”

The Star Spangled Banner became a very popular song. It became the national anthem for the United States. You can hear it before important events and sports games.

What is the name of the national anthem? –> The Star Spangled Banner

---

But what about the millions of slaves in the US in the 1800s? The evil problem of slavery was like a bomb waiting. And in 1861, the bomb went off.

We call this time The Civil War.

Questions

• What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
• What did Susan B. Anthony do?
• What is the name of the national anthem?

Every country has a special day to celebrate that country. Sometimes it is the country’s birthday. Sometimes it is for a revolution.

In the United States, we celebrate Independence Day on July 4th. We remember this day as the beginning of the United States.

When do we celebrate Independence Day?* –> July 4th (July fourth)

But why do we celebrate Independence Day? What does it mean to people in the United States?

We can find the answers in the history of the British colonies from 300 years ago. Colonists came to America for freedom. But, the colonies were still part of the British Government.

The British Government and the King of England chose the leaders of the colonies. Many colonists wanted to choose their own leaders.

The British Government and the King of England made taxes higher and higher. More and more colonists were unhappy with the government.

More and more American colonists made a new government. Each colony had representatives in this congress. Soon, they made an army.

They started a revolution to make changes in North America. They fought the British because of high taxes and because they wanted to choose their own leaders.

Why did the colonists fight the British? –> High taxes

The British did not want to make changes to the 13 colonies. The British military and government fought back.

More and more colonists wanted to make a new country. They wanted to be free from Great Britain and the king of England.

So, they wrote the Declaration of Independence. It said that the United States is free.

What did the Declaration of Independence do? –> It said the United States is free

The Declaration of Independence is a break-up letter with the British government and King of England. It has a list of all the problems with the British government.

It says that all people have the rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The American colonists said that the British did not give them life or liberty.

What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence? –> Life and Liberty

Many American colonists talked about the ideas in the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson was one of the founding fathers of America. This means he was one of the men who helped start the United States. Later, Jefferson became the third president of the United States.

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? –> Thomas Jefferson

The new American congress had a vote to agree with the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4th, 1776.

Be careful: was adopted = in the past, in history, in 1776.

When was the Declaration of Independence adopted? –> July 4th, 1776

Civics Review

1. Why did the colonists fight the British?
2. When do we celebrate Independence Day?*
3. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
4. What did the Declaration of Independence do?
5. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
6. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?

From Tuesday:

1. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
2. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
3. What is one reason colonists came to America?
4. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
5. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
6. There were 13 original states. Name three.