Two founding documents, one idea

Grade 9 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Where a Government's Power Comes From (two documents)

   Background: [1] The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, when thirteen American colonies announced that they were breaking away from Great Britain. [2] Eleven years later, in 1787, delegates in Philadelphia wrote the Constitution, the plan of government that the United States still uses. [3] Both documents say where a government's power comes from. [4] Each excerpt below is copied exactly, and a mark shows each cut.

   Document A, from the Declaration of Independence (1776): [5] …That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

   Document B, the Preamble to the Constitution (1787): [6] We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

   Word notes: [7] In Document A, the words these rights point back to the rights named just before the cut: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. [8] Instituted means set up. [9] The consent of the governed means the agreement of the people who are ruled. [10] Destructive of these ends means working against those goals. [11] To alter is to change, and to abolish is to end completely. [12] To effect their safety is to bring it about. [13] In Document B, ordain means to set up by an official order. [14] Domestic tranquility means peace at home. [15] Posterity means the people who come after us. [16] The Preamble is one sentence, and it opens the Constitution before the articles that say how the government works.

2. 1.

   Ari fills the claim row for both documents. Which idea do Documents A and B share?

   • A government's power comes from the laws it has written down.
   • Both documents describe the government of the United States.
   • The people may alter or abolish a government that fails them.
   • A government's power comes from the people it governs.
3. 2.

   Bo rewrites part of sentence 5 in plain words: “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Which plain version is right?

   • Governments have a great deal of power over the people who live under them.
   • Governments decide which rules the people they govern must agree to.
   • Governments get their rightful power from the people who hold office in them, not from the governed.
   • Governments get their rightful power from the agreement of the people they rule.
4. 3.

   Esme's matrix has the row “What happens if a government fails its people?” What belongs in the Document B cell?

   • The cell stays empty, because the Preamble does not address a failing government.
   • The government must follow the articles that say how it works.
   • The people may alter or abolish it and set up a new government.
   • The people must form a more perfect Union to repair it.
5. 4.

   Jun looks for a goal that both documents give a government. Which goal appears in both?

   • Setting up a new government whenever the people wish.
   • Providing for the common defence of the whole country.
   • Securing the people's rights and their liberty.
   • Making sure that the government has enough power.
6. 5.

   Kira rewrites a phrase from sentence 6: “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” Which plain version is right?

   • Ask the generations who come later to protect the freedom we have now.
   • Protect the good things freedom brings, for people now and for later generations.
   • Protect the freedom of the people who wrote it and of their own families.
   • Write down a careful plan for the new national government.
7. 6.

   Luz's matrix has the row “Who sets up a government?” What belongs in the Document A cell?

   • A ruler: sentence 5 says Governments are instituted among Men.
   • We the People of the United States: sentence 6 says they establish it.
   • Delegates in Philadelphia: sentence 2 says they wrote the plan.
   • The people: sentence 5 says the People may institute new Government.

8. Trial by Jury, Lost and Promised (two documents)

   Background: [1] The longest part of the Declaration of Independence is a list of complaints against King George III of Great Britain. [2] Each complaint names a wrong that the colonists blamed on the king, either for doing it or for approving it. [3] Fifteen years later, in 1791, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, became law.

   Document A, three complaints from the Declaration of Independence (1776): [4] He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. [5] For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: [6] For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

   Document B, from the Sixth and Seventh Amendments (1791): [7] In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed… [8] In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved…

   Word notes: [9] In Document A, He means the king, and Assent means approval. [10] Wholesome means good for people. [11] In Document B, an impartial jury is one that does not favor either side. [12] Suits at common law are cases in which one person asks a court to settle a dispute with another, often over money or property. [13] Preserved means kept safe, so the right cannot be taken away.

9. 7.

   Milo fills the claim row for both documents. Which idea links Document A's complaints to Document B?

   • A jury should be chosen by the king's own judges.
   • Taxes should not be imposed without the people's consent.
   • Courts and laws matter a great deal to a free people.
   • A trial by jury is a right that people should not lose.
10. 8.

    Noah rewrites sentence 6 in plain words: “For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury.” Which plain version is right?

    • The colonists were often denied the benefit of having a jury decide their cases.
    • The colonists lost many of the cases that their juries heard.
    • The colonists often refused to serve on the juries in their towns.
    • The colonists had many complaints about the way the king ran his courts.
11. 9.

    Pia's matrix has the row “Which kinds of case get a jury?” What belongs in the Document B cell?

    • Disputes over money or property, as sentence 12 describes them.
    • Criminal cases, in sentence 7, and suits worth less than twenty dollars, in sentence 8.
    • Many cases, in sentence 6, although the king had taken that right away.
    • Criminal cases, in sentence 7, and suits over more than twenty dollars, in sentence 8.
12. 10.

    Ren checks a classmate's claim row: “Both documents say a jury trial must be quick.” Which verdict on that claim is right?

    • Not shared: Document B, sentence 7, asks for a public trial, not a quick one.
    • Shared: both documents want fair courts, so both want quick trials too.
    • Not shared: speedy is in Document B, sentence 7, and Document A does not say it.
    • Shared: sentence 6 and sentence 7 both ask for a trial that is quick.