Revisiting the Founding Principles at 250 Years of the American Experiment
Introduction to the Readings
The Civic in a Year reader is organized to help you trace how ideas about government developed over time. You will begin with early documents that limit power, move into Enlightenment ideas about natural rights, examine how those ideas shaped the Declaration of Independence, and then follow how Americans debated and expanded those principles across history. As you read, focus on how each document answers three questions: Where does government get its power, what are the rights of individuals, and how should a just society be organized?
Session 1
The Antecedents of the Declaration of Independence
Magna Carta (1215)
A ruler should follow the law.
Discussion Questions
- Why would limiting a king's power matter to ordinary people?
- How does this idea show up in American government today?
Mayflower Compact (1620)
The colonists agree to make a compact and govern themselves.
Discussion Questions
- Why is agreement important in forming a government?
- What happens if people do not agree with their government?
English Bill of Rights (1689)
The monarchy is limited and Parliament has important powers.
Discussion Questions
- What does this document say about the power of rulers?
- Why would Americans care about this English document?
Session 2
The Declaration of Independence: The Laws of Nature and Nature’s God
John Locke, Second Treatise on Civil Government
People have natural rights before government exists.
Discussion Questions
- What rights do you think everyone should have?
- Should the government protect rights or give them?
George Mason, Virginia Declaration of Rights
All people are naturally free and equal.
Discussion Questions
- How does Mason's language compare to Locke's?
- What does "free and equal" mean in government?
The Declaration of Independence (1776)
The Declaration argues that governments get power from the consent of the governed and exist to protect rights.
Discussion Questions
- What rights does the Declaration list?
- Why does the document say governments can be changed or replaced?
Session 3
The Declaration of Independence: Constitutionalism
Virginia Resolves on the Stamp Act (1765)
The colonists objected to taxation by a British Parliament rather than their own legislatures, which could represent them.
Discussion Questions
- Why is representation important in taxation?
- Would you accept laws from a government you did not elect?
Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress (1774)
The colonies claim their rights and demand that Britain respect constitutional limits.
Discussion Questions
- What do the colonists think are the most important sources of rights?
- Why did the colonists think that they could never be represented in Parliament?
Thomas Jefferson, Drafts of the Declaration of Independence
Congress revised the draft to focus on the King rather than Parliament, which had been the villain in earlier protests, even though most of the grievances remained about local government.
Discussion Questions
- Why would Congress revise the Declaration to make the king rather than Parliament the primary enemy?
- What makes a good argument in a political document?
Additional connection: The Declaration of Independence
Use this section to connect earlier grievances to the final break with Great Britain.
Session 4
The Declaration of Independence and Created Equal
James Wilson, Of Man as a Member of Society
Equality is about rights and obligations.
Discussion Questions
- How, according to Wilson, did the Founders understand equality?
- Why would that understanding of equality matter in a republic?
French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
Rights and citizenship are tied to political equality.
Discussion Questions
- Why would French revolutionaries study American ideas?
- How is this Declaration different than the Declarations of Virginia or of Independence?
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Address Delivered at Seneca Falls
Women should receive the rights promised in the Declaration.
Discussion Questions
- Who was left out of the Declaration's promise of equality?
- How does Stanton use the Declaration as an argument?
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
Reformers use the Declaration’s structure to protest women’s inequality.
Discussion Questions
- Why would reformers copy the Declaration's structure?
- What is the purpose of a declaration in a protest movement?
Session 5
Constitutional Implementation
Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776
The Pennsylvania Constitution embraces the Declaration’s idea of self-government and assumes that citizens will be very careful to ensure their rights are protected.
Discussion Questions
- How is this Constitution different than the US Constitution?
- Why do you think most Founders have later considered this Constitution a failure?
Massachusetts Constitution of 1780
Separate branches protecting rights help build a stable republic.
Discussion Questions
- How do rights and order work together here?
- Why do you think this Constitution, instead of the Pennsylvania one, became the model for both the US Constitution and most state constitutions?
Session 6
Slavery and Civil Rights
Thomas Jefferson, Drafts of the Declaration of Independence (slavery passages)
The drafts show the tension between the Declaration’s ideals and the reality of slavery.
Discussion Questions
- What tension do you notice between ideals and reality?
- Why do you think these passages were removed?
Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
Douglass says America cannot celebrate freedom while denying it.
Discussion Questions
- Why is Douglass critical of the celebration?
- What solution or cause for hope does Douglass see?
Alexander Stephens, Cornerstone Speech (1861)
Stephens rejects the Declaration’s equality claim and defends slavery instead.
Discussion Questions
- How does Stephens disagree with the Declaration?
- Why is this speech important for understanding the Civil War?
Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have a Dream”
King says America must keep working to make equality real for everyone.
Discussion Questions
- What does King mean by a promise?
- What would it take to fully keep that promise?
Session 7
Commemoration
Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
Lincoln says the nation should be a government of, by, and for the people.
Discussion Questions
- Why does Lincoln return to the Declaration's ideas?
- How does this speech honor the Declaration?
Calvin Coolidge, On the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration
Coolidge argues the Declaration, and its implementation in the Constitution, constitutes “the most important civil document in the world.”
Discussion Questions
- Where does Coolidge think the ideals of the Declaration of Independence came from?
- Why does Coolidge say the Declaration’s ideals should be understood as “final”?
Debate and Extension
Debate Prompt
Would you sign the Declaration of Independence?
Additional Reading
Jeremy Bentham, “A Short Review of the Declaration” (1776)
Discussion Questions
- What risks would you face if you signed?
- What principles would matter most to you?
Podcast Episodes
Civic in a Year Podcast Playlist
Full Playlist
Antecedents
Natural Rights & Declaration
Constitutionalism
Why the Declaration Still Matters
Equality & Reform
Constitutional Design
Slavery & Civil Rights
Commemoration