Analyzing the Articles
Introduction
Once we broke away from England, the trouble started. We had no courts, or national government. It was clear that we were already missing those things which England had once provided for us.
In addition, states were squabbling with each other acting like 13 separate countries rather than a set of united states. Something had to be done.
Procedure
This lesson is devoted to studying the attempts the colonies, then states, made to unify... whether it was mutual defense agaionst the Indians, the French, or eventually the British. We will also analyze our first attempt at creating a nation under the Articles of Confederation
Resources
- lecture and discussion
- "The States are Not United" (handout)
- "Early Attempts at Unity" (handout)
- "A New Government is Needed" (handout)
- "Rules" political cartoon
- The Articles of Confederation (primary source handout)
- "Strengths and Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation"(handout)
- "The Confederation" (handout)
- Map: States Claims to Western Lands
- role play: The Articles of Confederation: a case study
- Liberty (DVD)
- Powerpoint presentation: "Building Blocks"
Specific Objectives
Upon the completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
- identify the early attempts made by the colonies to unite under the New England Confederation (1643) and Ben Franklin's Albany Plan of Union (1754) and explain why each of these plans failed
- discuss the role of the Continental Congress during he Revilutionary War
- analyze the Articles of Confederation and determine the strengths and weakness of this document
There will be a brief follow-up discussion following the completion of this lesson as well as a quiz on the information in the textbook
Delaware State Standards addressed
Geography Standard Four Grade 6-8a
- Students will explain how conflict and cooperation among people contributes to the division of the Earth's surface into distinctive cultural regions and political territories.
- Students will analyze historical materials to trace the development of an idea or trend across space or over a prolonged period of time in order to explain patterns of historical continuity and change.
- Students will examine historical documents, artifacts, and other materials, and analyze them in terms of credibility, as well as the purpose, perspective, or point of view for which they were constructed
- Students will compare different historians' descriptions of the same societies in order to examine how the choice of questions and use of sources may affect their conclusions
- Students will develop an understanding of pre-industrial United States history and its connections to Delaware history, including:
- Three worlds meet (Beginnings to 1620)
- Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763)
- Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
- Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
- Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
- Students will understand why governments have the authority to make, enforce, and interpret laws and regulations, such as levying taxes, conducting foreign policy, and providing for national defense.
Economics Standard One 4-5b
- Students will understand that consumers and producers make economic choices based on supply, demand, access to markets, and the actions of the government.
- Students will analyze how changes in technology, costs, and demand interact in competitive markets to determine or change the price of goods and services
- Students will analyze the role of money and banking in the economy, and the ways in which government taxes and spending affect the functioning of market economies.
- Students will demonstrate how international trade links countries around the world and can improve the economic welfare of nations.
- Students will examine how nations with different economic systems specialize and become interdependent through trade and how government policies allow either free or restricted trade