Democratic Ideals and Founding Documents · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Ideals That Built a Country

Civics & Economics · Government · ages 11-14
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which founding document contains the words 'all men are created equal'?

    • The Bill of Rights
    • The Declaration of Independence
    • The Constitution

  2. Which idea does the phrase 'all men are created equal' express in the Declaration of Independence?

    • No person is born with more right to freedom than another
    • Only landowners deserve equal treatment
    • Everyone must earn the same amount of money

  3. 'Consent of the governed' means a government gets its power from a king, not from the people.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. In 1776, who was left out of the ideal that 'all men are created equal'?

    • Enslaved people and women, among others
    • Only children under age ten
    • No one, everyone was included right away

  5. A government ignores what its people want and refuses to listen to complaints. According to 'consent of the governed,' what does that government risk losing?

    • Its army
    • Its taxes
    • Its right to rule

  6. Look at the timeline of voting rights. What does it show about the ideal of equality?

    1776: Ideals stated1870: Black men vote1920: Women vote1965: Voting Rights Act
    • The ideal was fully achieved in 1776
    • The ideal was stated early but took generations to reach more people
    • The ideal was abandoned after 1776

  7. A new country's constitution says 'the government's power comes from the people,' but then bans most citizens from voting. What tension does this create?

    • A gap between the stated ideal of consent of the governed and who actually gets to give that consent
    • The constitution accidentally supports a monarchy
    • No tension, since only leaders need to consent

  8. A classmate says, 'Since the founders didn't give everyone equal rights right away, the ideal of equality in the Declaration doesn't matter.' What is the strongest response?

    • The classmate is right, the ideal was meaningless
    • Equality was never mentioned in any founding document
    • The ideal set a standard that later generations used to demand change
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Ideals That Built a Country W1-mt_dK8hcP-1tS-s1

  1. The Declaration of Independence · Thomas Jefferson wrote that line in the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
  2. No person is born with more right to freedom than another · The phrase states that freedom is not something only some people are born with. It belongs to everyone equally.
  3. False · It is the opposite. The idea says power comes from the people, not from a king or ruler.
  4. Enslaved people and women, among others · Enslaved people, women, and men without property could not vote or claim full rights, even though the ideal said everyone was equal.
  5. Its right to rule · If government power comes from the people's agreement, ignoring the people undermines the government's right to rule.
  6. The ideal was stated early but took generations to reach more people · The timeline shows the ideal of equality stated in 1776, then extended to more Americans step by step over nearly two hundred years.
  7. A gap between the stated ideal of consent of the governed and who actually gets to give that consent · If most people cannot vote, the government cannot truly claim its power comes from everyone it governs. That mismatch is exactly the kind of gap Americans have argued about since the founding.
  8. The ideal set a standard that later generations used to demand change · An ideal can matter even before it is fully lived up to. People pointed back to it for generations to argue for change.
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