Founding Principles, Virtues, and the American Revolution Guiding Questions

Student Resources:

• Founding Principles, Civic Virtue, and the American Revolution Primary Source Set 
• Founding Principles, Civic Virtue, and the American Revolution Graphic Organizer 

Teacher Resources:

• Poster boards 
• Sticky notes 

Engage

Before class begins, write the following words and their definitions on the board. The first five are virtues and the last two are principles.  

• Courage: The ability to take constructive action in the face of fear or danger; to stand firm as a person of character and do what is right, especially when it is unpopular or puts one at risk. 
• Moderation: The avoidance of excess or extremes. 
• Prudence: Practical wisdom that applies reason and other virtues to discern the right courses of action in specific situations. 
• Responsibility: Acting on good judgment about what is right or wrong even when it is not popular. Individuals must take care of themselves, their families, and their fellow citizens/others in civil society and a republic and be vigilant to preserve their own liberty and the liberty of others. 
• Respect: Regard for and defending the equal rights and inherent dignity of all human beings, including oneself. 
• Natural/Inalienable Rights: Rights which belong to humans by nature and can only be justly abridged through due process. Examples are life, liberty, and property. 
• Equality: All individuals have the same claim as human beings to natural rights and treatment under the law. 

Lead a brief discussion on the principles and virtues. Answer any questions that students may have about each definition.  

 

Explore

Divide students into seven groups and assign each one a principle or virtue.  

In their groups, students should make a video, a collage on a poster board, or other visual in order to create a simple depiction of their word. Once finished, have students view others’ work in a gallery walk 

• Gallery Walk:  
  • If the group visual displays were done on paper, groups rotate around the room, viewing other groups’ displays.    
    • Students use sticky notes to leave comments or questions on other groups’ work.   
  • Example: “I think ____ is important to me because…” 
    • If the visual displays were completed digitally, groups should review the other displays together on their devices.  
  • Have students use the comment feature on the chosen digital tool to interact with other groups by leaving comments or questions.  

Assess 

Tell students “Now that we have a common understanding of these principles and virtues, let’s investigate some sources to see what evidence exists to answer our lesson guiding question: How were civic virtues demonstrated and Founding principles upheld in the Revolutionary era?” 

Distribute the primary source readings and graphic organizer.  

Scaffolding note: Depending on your class you can either have students read all the sources or read one source and then group up with other students in a jigsaw. For more information on the jig saw technique check out https://billofrightsinstitute.org/resources/modes-of-reading. 

As students read, they should note the following in their graphic organizer: 

• Environment: What is the environment like surrounding the creation of the document? What had happened before the document was created?  
• Who: Who was the document created for? Was it written for a friend or foe in the form of a letter? Is it a diary entry that was probably just for individual memory keeping?  
• Key details about personal experiences, including evidence of virtues or principles that are on the board. Note to students there may be more than one in each reading.  
• Impact of the Principle/Virtue on events 

Reflect & Extend

• Individual Reflection:  
  • Students write a short paragraph answering the question, “How were civic virtues demonstrated and Founding principles upheld in the Revolutionary era?” 
• Class Discussion Questions: 
  • What challenges did you face when analyzing these primary sources?  
  • How did analyzing these primary sources help you better understand the broader context of the American Revolution?