Influence of Earlier Documents on the Constitution of the United States

Created Sept. 10, 2024 by Charles Baumgardner


This graphic organizer shows 4 earlier historical documents that influenced the creation of the Constitution of the United States. They are the Magna Carta, the Charters of the Virginia Company of London, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence,
CE.2b_Graphic_Organizer_Pt_1_3tPsbpP.jpgThis graphic organizer shows 4 earlier historical documents that influenced the creation of the Constitution of the United States. They are the Magna Carta, the Charters of the Virginia Company of London, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.

This graphic organizer shows 4 earlier historical documents that influenced the creation of the Constitution of the United States. They are the Magna Carta, the Charters of the Virginia Company of London, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence,


This is a graphic organizer of 2 of the earlier historical documents that influenced the creation of the Constitution of the United States. They are the Articles of Confederation and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. All 6 documents influenced the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights.
CE.2b_Graphic_Organizer_Pt_2_izKBE8U.jpgThis is a graphic organizer of 2 of the earlier historical documents that influenced the creation of the Constitution of the United States. They are the Articles of Confederation and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. All 6 documents influenced the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights.

This is a graphic organizer of 2 of the earlier historical documents that influenced the creation of the Constitution of the United States. They are the Articles of Confederation and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. All 6 documents influenced the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights.

This lesson, and the graphic organizers that go with it, will explain to the student the influence that earlier historical documents had on the Constitution of the United States. The student will learn how America's constitutional government is founded on concepts from the Magna Carta, the Charters of the Virginia Company of London, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

  • understand the foundations of American constitutional government.
  • examine and evaluate the impact of earlier historical documents on the Constitution of the United States.
  • describe how some of these earlier documents particularly had an influence on the creation of the Bill of Rights.

Essential Question

How do earlier documents support the rights Americans have today?

Procedure:

1. Introduction

This lesson describes the 6 historical documents that influenced the creation of the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights, to students.  The students will study the 2 graphic organizers that show what the documents are and the specific concepts that were used in the Constitution.  Students will understand the context of the documents and why they were so important to the Constitution of the United States and its Bill of Rights.

2. Explore

Students should use their device to research the background of the 6 documents, their context with the times they were written, and the concepts that can be applied to the Constitution.  After their research, the students should be prepared to explain to their class what they found out.  Another resource for students to use are short videos that give concise explanations of the documents.  The links to those videos are:

3. Explain

Tell the students they will be able to understand and describe the meaning and background of the six historical documents that had an influence on the creation of the Constitution of the United States.  They will demonstrate this by doing the following:

  • Research the background of the 6 historical documents: The Magna Carta, The Charters of the Virginia Company of London, The Virginia Declaration of Rights, The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, and The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.
  • Using the Graphic Organizers as backdrops, the students will create a presentation of the historical context of the 6 documents and the concepts from those 6 documents that can be applied to the Constitution. 

Directions: Tell the students that based on their research, they are to create a way to present to their class how the 6 earlier historical documents had an influence on the creation of the Constitution of the United States.  Examples of how the student can make a presentation can be a poster, slide presentation (i.e. PowerPoint), flip chart, or video.

4. Assess

Driving Question: 

How does the Constitution of the United States of America reflect previous documents, including the Magna Carta, the Charters of the Virginia Company of London, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom?

Writing assignment: Have students explain in their own words the answer to the driving question in an essay. 

Extending the lesson: Have the students select one of the historical documents and explain how the concepts from that document directly or indirectly affects them.

 

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International    Creative Commons License

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