the assignment must be completed in its entirety in order

Honors Civics – Summer Assignment – 2014/2015

Welcome to Honors Civics! This is a year-long course designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the United States government, politics and the American economic system. I’m sure the study of government and economics is not something that you think would be relevant to a sophomore, however, I think you’ll be surprised to find that you are effected by politics and our economic system in ways you never realized. This course will be challenging and will require a commitment of hard work. Be ready to read, discuss and apply the knowledge you gain in this class. I’m excited to meet every one of you and hope that you will find this class as interesting and important as I do.

Your summer assignment will prepare you for some of the concepts we will cover in the first couple of units of class. Attached you will find a packet of various readings and primary source documents. There are three main topics you will explore; the overall formation of the American Government, the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Read each section carefully, and complete the assignments at the end of each section.

The assignments you do this summer will help serve as study aids for the lessons we go over in class, so make sure they are neat and legible; if I can’t read it, I can’t grade it. The two essays you have to write must be in no larger than 12 font and either Arial or Times Roman, and double spaced.

The teacher assigned for your specific Honors section will not be determined until you get your fall schedules, however, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. [email protected].

This assignment will be collected August 13, 2014, and will not be accepted after that unless previous arrangements have been made or mitigating circumstances are present.

The assignment must be completed in its entirety in order to receive credit.

Completion Checklist

I. Foundations of Government – 25 points. a. Read this section and make a list of what you think the

founders considered important when forming our government, and what its function should be.

b. Based on what you know of our government today, write a short essay on whether or not you think the Founding Fathers were successful in creating what they envisioned.

i. Address what things you think the Founders would be proud of in our government today.

ii. What do you think they would be surprised about regarding our government today?

II. Justice for All – 25 points. a. You will look at primary source documents and compare the

concepts in them. b. Write a short essay on the primary source documents

referenced. III. Declaration of Independence – 40 points

a. Read the section and complete the scavenger hunt attached. (you will look for how each person, place or thing relates to the Declaration of Independence)

IV. The Constitution – 40 points a. Read the condensed version of the Constitution provided b. Complete the second study assignment attached where you

will extract the main concepts from each section of the Constitution.

The Foundations of AmericanGovernmentAre people good, or evil? Your answer probably depends on how you have seenpeople around you behave. If you have studied history, the answer might furtherdepend on what you think of past wars, as well as how people manage to livealongside one another in peace. People can be both hateful and noble, can’t they?James Madison, an ardent student of political philosophy, put it this way:

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to

govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be

necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over

men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to

control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A

dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the

government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary

precautions. (Federalist No. 51)

Madison, along with others who had experienced the British government’sviolation of the traditional rights of Englishmen in the years leading to America’sindependence, looked to the lessons of human nature and history to determinehow best to structure a competent government that would promote liberty.

"Washington Crossing the Delaware" - painting by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze from 1851

If you were asked to establish a new government for you and your neighbors, therules you would make—and the amount of power you would give to futuregovernment officials—would probably depend on how much you trust people tobehave well. The problem is, people are capable of doing many wonderful things,but history also shows that otherwise peaceful citizens can be persuaded to allow—or even join in the use of government to abuse others. For example, after fivecenturies of British monarchs (mostly) recognizing such traditional rights asprotection of property rights and trial by jury, the three King Georges insuccession began to rule the colonies by fiat. The Declaration of Independencelisted specific violations committed by King George III. Among other abuses, he

precautions. (Federalist No. 51)

dissolved colonial legislatures, depriving colonists of the right of representation.He made judges dependent on his will alone, leading to the corruption of justice.He deprived Americans of fair jury trials. He stationed standing armies in thecolonies in times of peace, and required colonists to provide room and board forthem.

He imposed taxes without representation. He cut off their trade with foreigncountries. The majority in Parliament approved these policies. Seeking to offsetthe debt accumulated during the French and Indian War, Parliament passed anumber of measures which the colonies viewed as blatant violations of traditionalliberties of Englishmen. In his 1776 pamphlet, Common Sense, the Britishrevolutionary Thomas Paine wrote, “We have it in our power to begin the worldover again.” The time had come to cut ties with the mother country and becomefree and independent states. How to design a system that would “first enable thegovernment to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to controlitself” was the challenge the American Founders faced.

The American Founders—and the American people generally—did not trust a king.They had seen kings behave like spoiled children, destroying businesses theydisliked and imprisoning people without just cause. The world was changing, withnew inventions making it possible for more and more people to work their way outof poverty. People needed not only to be free from fear of what kings might do to

The prevailing view through times past had been that powerfulrulers of noble upbringing were needed to keep people fromfalling back into the tribal warfare that stains much of humanhistory. They believed not only that kings were fit to rulepeople, but also that God himself gave monarchs that authority—a concept known as “divine right of kings.” The reasoningwas that God could have given anybody the right to rule, andHe selected the specific people who should govern others.

them, but to engage in commerce. The Founders believed that liberty wasessential to human progress, and that we all have inherent rights to makedecisions about ourselves and our property—rights that not even a king has theauthority to take away. As John Locke explained in his Second Treatise of Civil

Government, the only legitimate government was one to which the people hadgiven consent.

The people themselves have a voice, and need not simply submit to rulers whoviolate their liberties. If there were no king, could the Founders settle on a puredemocracy, in which the majority gets whatever it wants? The Founders rejectedthis solution, too. They believed history proved that democratic majorities oftenend up behaving like tyrants—abusing minorities, starting wars, and running uphuge debts. As children they had learned about persuaders like the Greek oratorand general Alcibiades, who enticed Athenians to wage a disastrous war withSparta, and Gaius Flaminius Nepos, who violated the Roman constitution to winpopularity with the masses. The tyranny of the majority, expressed throughcorrupt politicians, can happen anywhere, anytime.

The point of government, as the Founders saw it, was to enable a people to livewithout fear of having their persons or property violated, to cooperate to governthemselves peacefully, and to repel foreign threats. Without government, thepowerful would rule, and nobody’s rights would be secure. Philosophers like JohnLocke, who strongly influenced the Founders, argued that citizens form forthemselves a “social contract” in which they sacrifice a small amount of theirnatural freedom to a government whose protection makes them more free to livetheir lives than would otherwise be possible. When government repeatedly

History, the Founders believed, showed how otherwise decentpeople can be swayed by emotion, selfish impulses, andcorrupt leaders to do terrible things to one another. TheFounders worried that a democracy would become justanother version of tyranny.

their lives than would otherwise be possible. When government repeatedlyviolates this contract by taking more freedom than is necessary—and especiallywhen it violates the rights that it was created to protect—the Founders believedthat people have a right and duty to abolish and replace it with something better.That is precisely what they did when they declared independence from GreatBritain.

The Founders knew that legitimate governing authority must be just. This did notmean that everybody gets an equal share of everything, but that everyone hasthe right to be treated equally and fairly by their government. While earliergenerations defined nations by the power it takes to rule, the Founders werethinking about a nation of citizens, born with inalienable rights, who should onlybe governed by virtuous representatives accountable to the people. Earlierphilosophers believed ruling authority came from an aristocracy, a military power,or from God. The Founders believed legitimate ruling authority only comes fromthe citizens themselves.

But the Founders faced a dilemma: How to give people the power to control theirgovernment while also denying to them the power to use government to violatethe rights of others. People, even though they frequently live and work alongsideone another in harmony, can behave selfishly. It is human nature to pursue whatwe believe will make us wealthy, powerful, or popular—even to the point ofharming others.

Worse still, we can convince ourselves that our bad behavior is actually virtuous.A thief, for example, might tell himself he has no choice, even as poorer peoplework to survive without stealing. A powerful politician may tell herself thatslandering her opponent is excused by all the good she will do once she is elected.People are clever. We are good at justifying our actions—especially to ourselves.

The colonists fought the British tyranny in the American Revolution.

The Founders’ challenge, as they built on their experience with a nationalgovernment under the Articles of Confederation, which many considered tooweak, was to establish a government that was not so powerful that people coulduse it to pursue their own interests at the expense of other people's rights. As aresult, they settled on what is called a constitutional republic.

It was an ingenious solution. Our Constitution’s authors sought to leverage for thecommon good people's natural inclinations toward ambition and self-interest.That is why they divided our government’s power between executive, legislative,and judicial branches. It is also why they split Congress into two bodies. Theygave members of the House of Representatives smaller districts and shorterterms so they would keep the desires of their constituents first and foremost. Butthey balanced this more democratic body with Senators who represent entirestates, for longer terms, with the expectation that they would therefore have thefreedom to make decisions that they considered right even when they were notpopular. The Founders gave this Congress the power to make laws, but gave thepower of administering those laws to the president and the executive branch.Separate from these was the Supreme Court, its members appointed by thepresident but with the Senate’s approval. In addition to splitting governmentpower among three branches, the Founders also guarded against a concentrationof power by dividing governing authority geographically. The national or central

of power by dividing governing authority geographically. The national or centralgovernment would have carefully enumerated and limited powers, and all otherfunctions that the people wanted their government to have would be left to stateand local decision-making. The significance of state authority is reflected in themanner by which the Constitution was ratified. It did not take effect untilapproved by nine of the thirteen states through conventions called specifically forthat purpose. The Constitution was engineered so that the competing ambitionsof government officials—as well as the competing ambitions of different branchesand levels of government—would work to form a system of checks and balances.

Equally important with these checks and balances, however, is the principleexpressed in the Preamble of the Constitution itself. “We the People…do ordainand establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The Foundersknew that all legitimate government authority comes from the citizens. That iswhy the Constitution is written as a narrow list of government powers. The firsteight amendments, meanwhile, make especially clear the kinds of things thefederal government is NOT allowed to do. The Ninth and Tenth Amendmentsemphasize that rights and powers not listed remain with the states and people.

The Founders tried to design a government that would protect citizens fromtyrants and from the tyranny of unrestrained democracy, but they knew that aclever design would never be enough. They counted on citizens to embracevirtues like honesty, respect, humility, and personal responsibility. The American

If all government power rested with just a few people, thesefew might begin to abuse other's rights. But because theConstitution spreads government power among many people,and sets up those powers so that they are “checks” on oneanother, natural self-interest works in favor of "We, thepeople." In this way, ambition –properly exercised— becomesa useful tool for the preservation of rights.

republic was designed to encourage and depend on those citizen virtues.

They also counted on people to be tolerant of one another’s differences and to actjustly, standing up to attempts to violate people's liberty or their right to theirown property. Even though the Founders designed a government that harnesseshuman self-interest to check itself, they knew that freedom will always depend,ultimately, on the willingness of citizens to defend it. While the Foundersexpected government officials to keep an eye on one another, they knew it waseven more important for citizens to keep an eye on government and to vote forcapable and trustworthy officers. It is our responsibility to exercise vigilance andto refuse power to anyone who behaves as if the Constitution is not the law of theland. Effective government requires that the governed choose well.

Finally, the Founders expected citizens to be educated, to understand whyfreedom is important, and to have the wisdom to recognize when laws or ideasthat sound good at first might cause long-term harm. John Adams noted thatwisdom, knowledge, and virtue are essential to preserving freedom. Eachgeneration must help cultivate these qualities in the next.

Justice for All “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...”

It would be easy to fault the Founders for not mentioning women in that statement, unless we remember that to their way of thinking, “men” and “mankind” were acceptable ways to describe groups that include men, women, and children. We might also fault them for allowing slavery to persist, even as they wrote a document about human freedom. What we should keep in mind, however, is that we base our belief that slavery is wrong on the very ideas embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.

Even though some of their beliefs don’t fit our modern sensibilities, the Founders embraced world-changing ideas about justice and freedom. To appreciate this, it is helpful to understand how people were governed in the centuries before America’s Founding.

The scales of justice are a symbol for the justice system in the United States.

Throughout history, most people have been treated unequally by their rulers. Unless one was born into a privileged family or tribe, there was little access to precious resources we take for granted in a prosperous society—things like meat, well-defended shelter, and education. In many cases people might be enslaved, or something close to it. People were treated unequally, both so that the powerful could have more comfort, and because rulers believed most people couldn’t be trusted to make decisions about how society should operate.

As we have seen, the Founders declared that no one has a right to rule others simply because of the family into which he’s born. Instead, they believed that everyone is born with certain rights and that the law should equally protect people’s freedoms and property. “That alone is a just government,” wrote James Madison, “which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own.” This was important to the Founders because they believed government exists not only to make rules, but also to ensure justice.

As American ideas about equality changed, we enacted laws to free American slaves and to extend voting rights to women and those without property. We moved to stop government agencies from treating African Americans unequally, whether by denying them the right to vote, denying them access to city-owned hospitals, or simply failing to extend to them the same police protection enjoyed by other citizens.

The Constitution protects justice for all citizens in the United States.

A long period of mistreatment had contributed to substantial poverty in African-American communities, and this was not the only inequality in the United States. A growing economy presents numerous opportunities for people to start new businesses, or find ways to earn money using their particular skills and ideas. Just as varied abilities (and sometimes luck) ensure that different players on a baseball team will score different numbers of runs—even when they’re all playing by the same rules—a free economy yields different rewards. It offers substantial benefits to everyone participating in it, but especially large rewards for people whose luck, skill, or perseverance makes them exceptional.

Despite the Great Depression and two world wars, Americans—even the poorest Americans—saw their standard of living rise tremendously during the 20th century. Our understanding of equality and fairness was changing, however. While the Founders believed government should protect everyone’s rights impartially, many Americans came to believe that outcomes should be more equal. We began to take money from some individuals to give to others, and to offer special benefits, like preferential treatment for minority-owned firms seeking government contracts. In order to achieve more equitable outcomes, in other words, our government began to treat people unequally.

Some people see this as necessary to pursue equal treatment. Their point is that if the game has been rigged to keep some people from scoring, it is not fair to just start treating everyone equally, because some are now behind in the game. Efforts to redistribute wealth and adjust racial, ethnic, and gender proportions in workplaces and even sports teams are, they believe, necessary to achieve the Founders’ vision of a society where everyone has equal protection under the law.

Others argue that two wrongs do not make a right, and that we are punishing people who did nothing wrong for the sins of their ancestors. People are getting accustomed to living on government programs, they say, creating long-term dependency.

This statute on front of a courthouse is holding the scales of justice and her eyes are covered. What do you think her blindfold represents? Americans disagree about what our government should do—if anything—given the unequal outcomes that naturally occur in a free society. Thankfully, the Founders crafted a political system we can use to work out our disagreements. What we should avoid, meanwhile, is taking for granted that we will always enjoy the equality our Founders promoted. We each depend on our government to protect our rights equally, but we have to remember that this depends, in turn, on citizens upholding that ideal.

For example, if we see someone who is charged with governing others—whether a senator, a mayor, or even a homeowners association president—allow favored members of the community to get by without following rules, or, worse still, make rules designed to hurt those they disfavor, we should question the justice of this. Even if we turn out to be mistaken, citizens must be willing to ask such questions, if only to remind ourselves—and our elected officials—that equal treatment before the law is essential to freedom.

© The Bill of Rights Institute www.DocsofFreedom.org

Handout A: Excerpts from the Magna Carta (1215)

1. … the English Church shall be free, and shall have her rights entire, and her liberties inviolate…

13. [T]he city of London shall have all its ancient liberties and free customs… furthermore…all other cities, boroughs, towns, and ports shall have all their liberties and free customs…

a slight offense, except in accordance with the degree of the offense; and for a grave offense he shall be amerced in accordance with the gravity of the offense…

28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take corn or other provisions from anyone without immediately tendering money therefore, unless he can have postponement thereof by permission of the seller…

39. No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised [deprived] or exiled or in any way destroyed…except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land…

40. To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice…

42. It shall be lawful in future for anyone (excepting always those imprisoned or outlawed in accordance with the law of the kingdom…) to leave our kingdom and to return…

DOCUMENTS of FREEDOMHISTORY, GOVERNMENT & ECONOMICS THROUGH PRIMARY SOURCES

Unit 1: The Foundations of American GovernmentReading: Justice for AllActivity: The Foundations of American Justice


In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereigne Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc. having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honour of our king and

the Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civill body politick, for our better ordering and preservation, and

furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enacte, constitute, and frame such just and equall laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions

most meete and convenient for the generall good of the Colonie unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the 11. of November, in the year of the raigne of our sovereigne lord, King James, of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and

John Carver Edward Tilley Degory Priest

William Bradford John Tilley Thomas Williams

Edward Winslow Francis Cooke Gilbert Winslow

William Brewster Thomas Rogers Edmund Margeson

Issac Allerton Thomas Tinker Peter Browne

Myles Standish John Rigdale Richard Britteridge

John Alden Edward Fuller George Soule

Samuel Fuller John Turner Richard Clarke

Christopher Martin Francis Eaton Richard Gardiner

William Mullins James Chilton John Allerton

William White John Crackston Thomas English

Richard Warren John Billington Edward Dotey

John Howland Moses Fletcher Edward Leister

Stephen Hopkins John Goodman




The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, it is declared and enacted, That no Freeman may be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold or Liberties, or his Free Customs, or be outlawed or exiled, or in any manner destroyed, but by the lawful Judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the Land.

IV. And in the Eight and twentieth Year of the Reign of King Edward the Third, it was declared and enacted by Authority of Parliament, That no Man of what Estate or Condition that he be, should be put out of his Land or Tenements, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disherited, nor put to

Process of Law.

Soldiers and Mariners have been dispersed into divers Counties of the Realm, and the Inhabitants against their Wills have been compelled to receive them into their Houses, and there to suffer them to sojourn, against the Laws and Customs of this Realm, and to the great Grievance and Vexation of the People.

thereof claiming an Exemption, have escaped the Punishments due to them by the Laws and Statutes of this Your Realm, by reason that divers

unjustly refused or forborn to proceed against

were punishable only by Martial Law, and by Authority of such Commissions as aforesaid: Which Commissions, and all other of like Nature, are wholly and directly contrary to the said Laws and Statutes of this Your Realm:

excellent Majesty as their Rights and Liberties according to the Laws and Statutes of this Realm; and that Your Majesty would also vouchsafe to

to the Prejudice of Your People in any of the Premises shall not be drawn hereafter into Consequence or Example; and that Your Majesty would be also graciously pleased, for the further Comfort and Safety of Your People, to declare Your Royal Will and Pleasure, that in the Things

serve You according to the Laws and Statutes of this Realm, as they tender the Honour of Your Majesty, and the Prosperity of this Kingdom.




That the pretended power of suspending the laws or the execution of laws by regal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal...

That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal...

That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law...

That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defense suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law...

That election of members of Parliament ought to be free...

That freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament...

That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor

That jurors ought to be duly impaneled and returned…

And that for redress of all grievances, and for the amending, strengthening and preserving of the laws, Parliaments ought to be held frequently.




Document Name Summarize

How does this document

promote justice?

How is this document similar

to the other documents?

How is this document

different from the other documents?

Magna Carta (1215)

The Petition of

The English Bill

What ideas from these documents were used by the Founders in the American Founding Documents like the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the United States Constitution, or the United States Bill of Rights?

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Handout E: Compare the Documents



Directions: After reading the documents, complete the table and answer the questions below.


Sec. 124. The great and chief end, therefore, of men’s uniting into commonwealths, and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of their property.

First, There wants an established, settled, known law, received and allowed by common consent to be the standard of right and wrong, and the common measure to decide all controversies between them: for though the law of nature be plain and intelligible to all rational creatures…

Sec. 125. Secondly, In the state of nature there wants a known and indifferent judge, with authority to determine all differences according to the established law…

often wants power to back and support the sentence when right, and to give it due execution…

Sec. 131. But though men, when they enter into society, give up the equality, liberty, and executive power they had in the state of nature, into the hands of the society… to preserve [themselves, their] liberty and property…

[T]he power of the society, or legislative constituted by them, can never be supposed to extend farther, than the common good; but is obliged to secure everyone’s property …. And all this to be directed to no other end, but the peace, safety, and public good of the people.

Handout F: Excerpts from John Locke’s Second Treatise of Civil Government


Unit 1: The Foundations of American GovernmentReading: Justice for AllActivity: Comparing Locke and Montesquieu


In every government there are three sorts of power; the legislative; the executive… [and] the latter we shall call the judiciary power…

There would be an end of every thing were the same man, or the same body…to exercise those three powers that of enacting laws, that of executing the public resolutions, and that of judging crimes…

The executive power ought to be in the hands of a monarch; because this branch of government, which has always need of expedition, is better administered by one than by many: Whereas, whatever depends on the legislative power, is oftentimes better regulated by many than by a single person...

When once an army is established, it ought not to depend immediately on the legislative, but on the executive power, and this from the very nature of the thing; its business consisting more in action than in deliberation.

From a manner of thinking that prevails amongst mankind, [armies] set a higher value upon courage than timorousness, on activity than prudence, on strength than counsel. Hence, the army will ever despise a senate, and respect

Handout G: Excerpts from Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws






Locke Montesquieu

How are Locke’s and Montesquieu’s understandings of liberty similar? How are they different?

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Handout H: Compare and Contrast Locke and Montesquieu

Directions: After reading the excerpts from Locke and Montesquieu, complete the table below. Think about the ways in which each author hopes to promote and protect liberty.

DOCUMENTS OF FREEDOM – Justice for All Activity

After reading Handout F and G and completing Handout H, write a short essay in response to this prompt:

Many of the Founders read the writings of Locke and Montesquieu. How did the Founders incorporate Locke and Montesquieu’s ideas into the Founding Documents?

Your essay should be at least 3 paragraphs long and a minimum of 6 sentences per paragraph.