Name:

Section: _________

Date: ___________

Impact of the American Revolution

1. Our Current Form of Government
After the American Revolution, the states had to create
their own government. In 1787, U.S. Constitution was
created, which established a plan for the federal
government. It consisted of 3 branches of government
executive, legislative, and judicial along with a system
of checks and balances to ensure no single branch would
have too much power. Look at the diagram to the right.
Think about everything you know about the American
Revolution. Why would the founding fathers want to
create a government in which no one branch of
government would have too much power?

2. Our Rights as American Citizens (The Bill of Rights)

The U.S. Constitution included a Bill of Rights, which protects American citizens rights and freedom. Below is a
summary of some of the original amendments in the Bill of Rights. On the column on the right, check which ones you
think are still relevant today.
Amendm
ent
1

What It Says
Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly (to gather
peaceably), and petition

The right to bear arms (keep weapons)

No soldier shall by quartered (lodged) in any house without the

consent of the owner

Right against unreasonable search and seizure without a

warrant

No person can be jailed without a trial by jury or charged of the

same crime twice. No person can be forced to testify against
himself. The government cannot take private property for
public use without paying the owner a fair price for it.

Any accused criminals must have a speedy trial by jury in the

state where the crime was committed and have the right to
question witnesses against him. The accused must be allowed
a lawyer for his defense.

Prevents excessive bail (money that the accused leaves with

the court as a pledge to appear for trial) and forbids cruel and
unusual punishment.

Relevant Today?

3. The French Revolution

The impact of the American Revolution reached beyond the United States. Inspired by the Americans, in 1789, French
citizens rebelled and started the French Revolution. On the eve of the French Revolution, the French Assembly issued
the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, modeled in part on the Declaration of Independence. Compare
the two in the chart below.

Declaration of Independence (1776)

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789)

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are

The representatives of the French Peoplehave
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man.
Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure
these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights
deriving their just powers from the consent of the
2. The aim of all political association is the
governed.
preservation of the natural and imprescriptible
rights of man. These rights are liberty, property,
security, and resistance to oppression.

In what ways did the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen borrow ideas from the Declaration of Independence?
(What similarities did they have?)

4. Civil Rights Movement

The American civil rights movement was a mass protest movement against racial segregation and discrimination that
occurred in the 1950s and 1960s. It tried to secure equal rights and opportunities to African Americans so that they
could also receive the basic privileges and rights of U.S. citizenship. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a black minister who
became a central leader in the civil rights movement. He is famous for his I Have A Dream speech, which we gave in
Washington, D.C. in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Below is an excerpt from his speech:
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the
magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to
which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men,
would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that
America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in
the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners
will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with
the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of
their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
In what way do the ideas of the American Revolution show up in Martin Luther King, Jrs speech?

5. Womens Rights Movement

The womens rights movement was the struggle for the right of women to vote and to run for office (political position
like mayor, senator, etc.) that took place in the mid-1800s and lasted until the early 1900s. The first gathering
devoted to womens rights in the United States was held in Seneca Falls, NY. The main organizers of the convention
were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. For this convention, Stanton drafted a Declaration of Sentiments.
Read the excerpts below and underline any changes that you see between the two documents.
Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Sentiments

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are

created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness;

We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and

women are created equal; that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these
are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;

that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted

among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of
the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government

that to secure these rights governments are instituted,

deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed. Whenever any form of government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who
suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon
the institution of a new government

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies;

and such is now the necessity which constrains them to
alter their former Systems of Government.

Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under

this government, and such is now the necessity which
constrains them to demand the equal station to which
they are entitled.

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history

of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct
object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over
these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a
candid world.

What is Elizabeth Cady Stanton trying to say in this speech?

The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries

and usurpations on the part of man toward woman,
having in direct object the establishment of an absolute
tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a
candid world.