Bills, Bills, Bills!

Lecture: European and American Bills and Declarations

Section 1: Learning Objective
1. The documents we will discuss in this lecture are the ______________, the English Bill of
Rights, ____________, __________________, and the US Bill of Rights.

Section 2: The Magna Carta

1. The Magna Carta forced the signature of ________________ of England in ________.
2. This document became the basis for the _______________.
3. List the 4 major principles of the Magna Carta
a.
b.
c.
d.
4. What is the meaning of Magna Carta and what language did it stem from?

Section 3: The English Bill of Rights

1. _________ & __________ were the king and queen of England during the development of the
English Bill of Rights.
2. The ideas behind the English Bill of Rights reflected those of philosopher _____________.
3. List the 6 principles of the English Bill of Rights:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
4. The English Bill of Rights is one of the main laws governing the succession to the ___________.

Section 4: The American Declaration of Independence

1. Fill in the blank: We hold these truths to be _______ ________, that all men are created
_________, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among
these are _______, __________, and the ________ _____ ________.
2. True or False? This document was drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

3. It was written between ________ 11 & ______ in the year ________.

4. The Declaration of Independence accuses King __________ for a variety of reasons. Please list at
least five:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Section 5: The French Declaration of the Rights of Man & the Citizen
1. The Declaration of the Rights of Man was influenced by the Age ____ _______________ .
2. The ____________ _____________ _____________ adopted the document on August 26,
_______ .
3. Please list 4 of the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen:
a.
b.
c.
d.
4. T or F: the French Revolution was not affected by this document.

Section 6: The U.S. Bill of Rights

1. The US Bill of Rights consists of _____ amendments in 1791.
2. There are 27 total amendments today!
3. Give a brief description of the first five amendments:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
4. Which bill is the US Bill of Rights most closely related to? ______________ .

Section 7: Class Discussion Questions

1. How are these bills similar to one another? (English Bill of Rights, US Bill of Rights)

2. How are these declarations similar to one another? (Magna Carta, US Declaration of
Independence, French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen)

3. Which bill/declaration do you feel was the most important and why?

4. What do you think would have happened if England, France and the United States did not create
these bills and declarations?

Section 8: How are these documents relevant today?

1. How is the issue of gun control related to the US Bill of Rights?

2. Why are these various bills and declarations important to England, France and the United States?
Are they still relevant today? Why?

Activity on Next Page!

Crafting a Bill of Rights

Purpose: Allows students to participate in an activity where they explore the importance and difficulty in
drafting a Bill of Rights.
Directions: You are an influential leader of a new nation formed after many years of war and struggle.
You have been chosen by the people to create a new government based on freedom and democracy! You
and your committee must craft a Bill of Rights to place limits on the government and to protect the rights
of the citizen! You MUST include:
a. A brief description of your country (i.e. culture, geography) and it must be present day.
b. Create a Bill of Rights (min. of ten) and write a simple rational for each.
c. Present and defend your Bill of Rights to the Constitutional Convention (the whole class).
I.

Countrys name and brief description:

II.

Bill of Rights and Rationale

1. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
8. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________