Where American government's ideas came from

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D on rights, consent and where the Declaration got its words (the excerpts are exact; card D is in our words). Card A, "Locke, Second Treatise (1689)". Who made it: John Locke, an English philosopher. When: 1689. For whom: English readers. Why: to explain the end of government. Excerpt 1 (Section 124): "The great and chief end, therefore, of men's uniting into commonwealths, and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of their property." Excerpt 2 (Section 95): "Men being, as has been said, by nature, all free, equal, and independent, no one can be put out of this estate, and subjected to the political power of another, without his own consent." Card B, "The Declaration of Independence (1776)". Who made it: the Second Continental Congress, drafted by Thomas Jefferson. When: July 4, 1776. For whom: King George III, the colonies and the world. Why: to explain why the colonies broke away. Excerpt: "among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" Card C, "Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)". Who made it: the Virginia convention, drafted mainly by George Mason. When: June 12, 1776. For whom: the people of Virginia. Why: to state rights before a new state government began. Excerpt: "the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety" Card D, "Dates, in our words". Who made it: written for this sheet. When: read in 2026. For whom: students. Why: to place the documents in order. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Locke's book is from 1689. The Virginia text was adopted on June 12, 1776, and the Declaration on July 4, 1776.

2. 1.

   A student says Jefferson copied Locke's list of rights. Pia compares cards A to C. What is the best verdict?

   • Refuted: Locke wrote about property and Jefferson left property out, so Locke had no influence on the Declaration
   • Shown: both name life and liberty as rights, so the Declaration's list is Locke's list with the same three items
   • Weakly supported: Locke's "property" became "pursuit of happiness," a phrase close to Mason's earlier text
   • Shown: Locke wrote in 1689 and the Declaration says rights come from consent, so Jefferson must have copied Locke
3. 2.

   A writer says the Virginia text came first, so Jefferson copied Mason, not Locke. Tala tests the claim. Which verdict fits the cards?

   • Weakly supported: Mason's text is earlier and fits, but the cards cannot show what Jefferson read or Mason's sources
   • Shown: Mason's text came three weeks earlier and uses the same words, so Jefferson copied Mason, not Locke
   • Shown: the earlier date of the Virginia text shows that Jefferson had it in front of him while he was writing
   • Refuted: Locke wrote about property and Mason's text includes property, so Mason was following Locke alone and no other

4. Use this

   Cards A to D on checks among the branches (the excerpts are exact). Card A, "The Federalist No. 48 (1788)". Who made it: James Madison, writing as Publius. When: February 1, 1788. For whom: the voters of New York. Why: to warn that lines on paper will not keep the branches apart. Excerpt 1: "unless these departments be so far connected and blended as to give to each a constitutional control over the others, the degree of separation which the maxim requires, as essential to a free government, can never in practice be duly maintained." Excerpt 2: "The legislative department is everywhere extending the sphere of its activity, and drawing all power into its impetuous vortex." Card B, "The Federalist No. 51 (1788)". Who made it: James Madison, writing as Publius. When: February 1788. For whom: the voters of New York. Why: to explain how the branches check each other. Excerpt 1: "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." Excerpt 2: "If men were angels, no government would be necessary." Card C, "Article I, Sections 2 and 3". Who made it: the Constitutional Convention. When: September 17, 1787. For whom: the states and the people. Why: to give Congress its powers of impeachment. Excerpt 1 (Section 2): "The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment." Excerpt 2 (Section 3): "The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments." Card D, "A made-up plan". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: A made-up state drafts a constitution that gives its governor no veto and gives its senate no part in appointing officers. The legislature alone makes, carries out and settles the meaning of laws, but a printed article says that the three powers shall be kept "separate and distinct."

5. 3.

   Card D's made-up state relies on its printed article. Using cards A and B, Ari asks for the strongest objection. Which is it?

   • A printed article will not hold: the legislature will draw power in, and no branch can check it
   • Any state with a legislature will fail, since card A says a legislature draws power into its vortex in time
   • Governors lack a veto, which card B calls necessary in a state to keep the legislature honest
   • The article works if men are angels, as card B says, so the plan fails through human flaws alone
6. 4.

   The made-up state on card D adds a governor's veto and Senate consent. Bo asks who gains leverage, using cards A and B. What is the best answer?

   • The legislature gains, since each new control is another vote it can use to fill the other offices
   • Just the governor gains, since a veto is the sole control card A names as keeping the legislature from drawing power in
   • The governor and the senate gain, since each can now check the legislature, matching card B's ambition against ambition
   • The voters gain, since card B says men are angels and need no controls once they have chosen their officers

7. Use this

   Cards A to D on what Greece and Rome meant to the Founders (the excerpts are exact). Card A, "The Federalist No. 9 (1787)". Who made it: Alexander Hamilton, writing as Publius. When: November 21, 1787. For whom: the voters of New York. Why: to answer those who point to the Greek and Italian republics. Excerpt: "sensations of horror and disgust at the distractions with which they were continually agitated, and at the rapid succession of revolutions by which they were kept in a state of perpetual vibration between the extremes of tyranny and anarchy." Card B, "The Federalist No. 63 (1788)". Who made it: James Madison, writing as Publius. When: March 1788. For whom: the voters of New York. Why: to compare ancient and American governments. Excerpt: "it is clear that the principle of representation was neither unknown to the ancients nor wholly overlooked in their political constitutions. The true distinction between these and the American governments, lies in the total exclusion of the people, in their collective capacity, from any share in the latter" Card C, "Brutus No. 1 (1787)". Who made it: an Anti-Federalist writing as Brutus. When: October 18, 1787. For whom: the people of New York. Why: to argue against the Constitution. Excerpt: "History furnishes no example of a free republic, any thing like the extent of the United States. The Grecian republics were of small extent; so also was that of the Romans." Card D, "The Federalist No. 14 (1787)". Who made it: James Madison, writing as Publius. When: November 30, 1787. For whom: the voters of New York. Why: to answer the claim that a republic must be small. Excerpt: "A democracy, consequently, will be confined to a small spot. A republic may be extended over a large region."

8. 5.

   Esme asks whether Greece and Rome were a model or a warning for the Federalists. Using cards A, B and D, which reading fits best?

   • A warning about representation alone: Madison says the ancients had no representatives, which is why their republics failed
   • A model alone: Madison says the ancients knew representation, so the American plan copied the old republics closely
   • Mostly a warning: Hamilton recoils from the old republics, though Madison grants they knew representation
   • Neither: the cards treat Greece and Rome as irrelevant because the American republic is far too large to compare
9. 6.

   Jun reads cards C and D. Both use Greece and Rome. Which statement best shows how they reach opposite conclusions?

   • Brutus treats the old republics as large and Madison as small, so each reads the same history in a different way
   • Both call the old republics small; Brutus infers a large republic cannot be free, Madison that a republic can be large
   • Madison grants that no free republic of the Union's size has existed, so he concedes Brutus's point entirely
   • Madison says a democracy can span a large region, while Brutus says a republic cannot, so both defend large size
10. 7.

    A writer says knowledge of antiquity decided the Constitution. Kira tests it with cards A to D. What is the best verdict?

    • Refuted: authors cited the ancients only to win points, so what they knew of antiquity had no effect on them
    • Weakly supported: Hamilton, Madison and Brutus all cite the old republics yet disagree, so history alone did not decide
    • Shown: the Federalists won ratification after citing the ancients, so the citations must have caused the win itself
    • Shown: every author on the cards cites the Greeks and Romans, so antiquity must have decided the whole argument

11. Use this

    Cards A to D on the size of a republic and the vote (the excerpts are exact; card C is data; card D is made up). Card A, "The Federalist No. 10 (1787)". Who made it: James Madison, writing as Publius. When: November 1787. For whom: the voters of New York. Why: to explain how a large republic controls factions. Excerpt: "Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens" Card B, "Brutus No. 1 (1787)". Who made it: an Anti-Federalist writing as Brutus. When: October 18, 1787. For whom: the people of New York. Why: to argue against the Constitution. Excerpt 1: "In a large republic, the public good is sacrificed to a thousand views; it is subordinate to exceptions, and depends on accidents." Excerpt 2: "In a large republic there are men of large fortunes, and consequently of less moderation; there are trusts too great to be placed in any single subject" Card C, "Votes in three state conventions". Who made it: the state conventions, as tabulated on Wikipedia from the Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution. When: February to July 1788. For whom: students of government. Why: to show how close the votes were. Data and note: Massachusetts 187 to 168 (February 6, 1788); Virginia 89 to 79 (June 25, 1788); New York 30 to 27 (July 26, 1788). Card D, "A made-up writer". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: A made-up writer says the close votes in Massachusetts, Virginia and New York show that Madison's extended-republic argument persuaded delegates, since the Federalist essays were printed in New York in those same months.

12. 8.

    Brutus answers Madison's extended sphere on card A. Luz uses card B. Which is the strongest objection?

    • Size does not dilute faction but gathers ambition: a large republic holds men of large fortunes and over-great trusts
    • Size makes each law unjust, since the public good is sacrificed in a large republic whatever its laws say
    • Size is not the problem, since Brutus says the public good is served by exceptions and accidents in a large republic
    • Size makes faction worse because a large republic has too few parties to check one another's ambitions
13. 9.

    Milo tests the made-up writer on card D, using card C. Which verdict is best?

    • Weakly supported: close votes show a divided audience, not why delegates voted, and the essays had other readers
    • Shown: each close vote was won by the Federalists, so delegates were persuaded by the extended-republic argument
    • Shown: the essays appeared in New York in the same months, so they must have caused the close votes in the three states
    • Refuted: a close vote means delegates were not persuaded by anything, so no argument mattered in these conventions
14. 10.

    The made-up writer says the close votes show Madison persuaded the delegates. Noah looks for missing evidence. What would most challenge the writer?

    • Whether the three conventions met for the same number of days in each state before they took their final votes
    • Evidence of why delegates in the close states voted yes, such as promised amendments, rather than the essays
    • Whether Brutus No. 1 was printed in the same newspapers as the Federalist essays in those three states
    • How many copies of the Federalist essays were printed in each of the three states during that same year