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

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

   • Securing the people's rights and their liberty.
   • Making sure that the government has enough power.
   • Setting up a new government whenever the people wish.
   • Providing for the common defence of the whole country.
5. 4.

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

   • 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.
   • Ask the generations who come later to protect the freedom we have now.
   • Write down a careful plan for the new national government.
6. 5.

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

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

7. 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.

8. 6.

   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 often refused to serve on the juries in their towns.
   • The colonists lost many of the cases that their juries heard.
   • The colonists had many complaints about the way the king ran his courts.
9. 7.

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

   • 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.
   • Criminal cases, in sentence 7, and suits worth less than twenty dollars, in sentence 8.
   • Disputes over money or property, as sentence 12 describes them.
10. 8.

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

    • Shared: both documents want fair courts, so both want quick trials too.
    • Shared: sentence 6 and sentence 7 both ask for a trial that is quick.
    • Not shared: Document B, sentence 7, asks for a public trial, not a quick one.
    • Not shared: speedy is in Document B, sentence 7, and Document A does not say it.
11. 9.

    Tala rewrites a phrase from sentence 8: “where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars.” Which plain version is right?

    • When the amount the two sides are arguing over is more than twenty dollars.
    • When a case seems important enough to bring to a court.
    • When each member of the jury is paid more than twenty dollars.
    • When the amount the two sides are arguing over is less than twenty dollars.
12. 10.

    Zee's matrix has the row “Was the right to a jury lost or protected?” What belongs in the Document A cell?

    • Lost: sentence 6 complains of being deprived of Trial by Jury.
    • Protected: sentence 6 lists Trial by Jury among the colonists' benefits.
    • Protected: sentence 8 says the right of trial by jury shall be preserved.
    • Protected: sentence 13 says the right cannot be taken away.