The Young United States

Civics Review: The Declaration and Constitution

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

George Washington was president for 8 years, from 1789 to 1797. One hundred years later, his birthday became a national holiday: President’s Day.

After Washington, Adams was elected president. After Adams, Thomas Jefferson was elected president. The United States in the 1800s was a young, new country.

Thomas Jefferson wanted the United States to get bigger and bigger. He helped buy the Louisiana Territory.

The Louisiana Territory was 828,000 square miles of land. It was named after King Louis (Luis) of France.

In 1803, the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France for 15 million dollars. 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

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

African people were brought to the United States as slaves from 1619 to 1821. Even after 1821, slavery continued in the south United States.

There were 4 million slaves in the United States. More and more, people said: “This is wrong. All people have the rights of life and liberty.”

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More and more people wanted civil rights for all Americans. Civil rights means protecting the rights of all people.

One important civil rights leader was Susan B. Anthony. Susan B. Anthony fought for civil rights for all people, black and white.

Also, Susan B. Anthony fought for women’s rights. For example, in the 1700s and 1800s, women in the United States did not have the right to vote.

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

In 1920, Americans made a change to the constitution. The 19th (nineteenth) Amendment means that all women citizens of the United States get the right to vote.

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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?