EL Civics Objective #40 IH Lessons 3 and 4

The idea of the people making decisions, not a king is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?

"We the people..."

What did the Declaration of Independence do?

-It gave America freedom from England

What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?

-life -liberty -happiness

What is an Amendment?

A change in the Constitution.

What is one freedom from the First Amendment

Freedom of... -speech -religion -press -assembly

When was the Constitution written?

In 1787

When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

July 4, 1776

What is the name of the paper that lists the first ten amendments of the Constitution?

The Bill of Rights

The writers of the Constitution wanted to be sure the power was divided. How did they divide the power?

The government is divided in three branches: -The legislative (Congress) makes the laws. -The executive (the president, vice president and cabinet) makes sure the people obey the laws. -The judicial (Supreme Court) decides the meaning of the laws.

What happened at the Constitutional Convention?

The leaders met in secret to write the law of the land. It is called the Constitution.

How many amendments does the Constitution have?

There are 27 amendments to the Constitution.

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson

Why did the colonists fight the British?

because -of high taxes -they wanted their own government - they wanted to be free - they wanted to trade with other countries, not just England