Fundamental Principles and Documents

Introduction

The Constitution of the United States was adopted by 39 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787.  The Constitution was developed based on several key documents and founding characteristics.  Concepts from the founding documents, including the Charters of the Virginia Company of London, Virginia Declaration of Rights, Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom and the Declaration of Independence, shaped our nation and continue to shape our free society.  

Task

Your Task:  Being an informed citizen is requires effort and desire. As citizens of the United States, it is our responsibility to be educated and informed to keep our country strong.  It's important to know about the documents and principles that our country is founded upon to help you make informed decisions in our society.  You will be looking through the founding documents and watching videos about the foundational principles while answering questions about each.  Take this task seriously, but have fun!

                                                                  

Process

You will visit each of the sites listed below.  You do not have to do them in order, however you must get as many questions answered as you can in the time that you are here.  The person with the most questions answered CORRECTLY will win a prize!

Click on the links in the WebQuest to help you find the answers to the questions!

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Why Your Companys Founding Principles Matter

Part One:  Founding Principles:  Fundamental political principles define and shape American constitutional government.

1. Follow this link:  http://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/

Click on “Founding Principles.”  Write the definitions of each:

  • Limited Government:
  • Representative Government:

Click on “Constitutional Principles.”  Write the definitions for:

  • Rule of Law:
  • Consent of the Governed:

2. Choose TWO of the following videos to watch on the founding principles and answer the question that goes with it.

  1. Consent of the Governed:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-pDcYF64rs&feature=youtu.be
  2. Rule of Law:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0MTEm2a7PA
  3. Representative Government:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVD0bZ5H4MY&feature=youtu.be

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Part Two:  Founding Documents:  American constitutional government is founded on concepts articulated in earlier documents.

Follow the links below to help you answer the questions on your sheet!

The Virginia Declaration of Rights:

The Declaration of Independence:

The Articles of Confederation:

                        ** Play the Show What You Know game to test your knowledge!

 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom:

The Constitution of the United States of America, including the Bill of Rights,

 

Evaluation

The answers to your questions will be checked over by the teacher.  The student with the most correct answers completed in the given amount of time will win a prize!