US History - Standards of Learning - USI.6
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/bdsdcc:@field(DOCID+@lit(bdsdcc22501))
The Northwest Ordinance was written in order to divide the land we gained from Britain after the Revolution and to devise a method for this territory to become states. This document lays out that plan and also addresses regarding the inhabitants of that territory. Though this document’s reading level is a little too advanced for middle school, I would show this source before I would lecture the class on the Northwest Ordinance so that they would have a visual to remind them of the importance of the document.
-Amy DuBois
Source IDTag:USI.6.001
2. Formation of American Government
Jefferson mentions the importance of a free press in a democracy in his letter to Dr, James Currie. This document would be helpful in demonstrating to students where the ideas of freedom of the press developed. The website is the Jefferson collection from the Library of Congress website.
3. Constitution
James Madison kept notes during the constitutional convention of 1787; these notes were copied by John C. Payne. John C. Payne's Copy of James Madison's Original Notes on Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787are a tremendous resource for scholars historical and legal. The website is the library of congress Madison Collection
4. Northwest Ordinance
http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch1s8.html
By 1783, the United States had nearly doubled its territory under the Treaty of Paris by obtaining the Northwest Territory. Once the territory was acquired the questioned remained as to how to proceed with setting up government and settlement. These problems were addressed in a series of ordinances issued to outline how the land would be distributed and how settlement would take place.
The most important of these ordinances was the third, issued in 1787. Thomas Jefferson originally laid out a plan for settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. While his plan was not adopted as he wrote it, it laid the groundwork for what was to become the Northwest Ordinance. Established under the Confederation government, this ordinance contained a bill of rights and prohibiting slavery in the territory. The bill of rights contains a number of fundamental rights including trial by jury, freedom of religion, and the right to liberty and property. The prohibition of slavery, while not having much impact at the time, proved to be an important component of the ordinance because when the issue of slavery heats up in the years that follow, the precedent set by the Northwest Ordinance discouraged slave owners from settling in the area, thus determining the makeup of the territory for years to come.
The ordinance is also important because it also included a framework for states admission into the Union. The ordinance required existing states to give up claims to land in the territory and outlined the admission process for five new states. This document aligns with Massachusetts standard USI.6 which is related to examining the government under the Articles of Confederation and its major accomplishments and shortcomings. This document is considered a seminal document to read in the curriculum and is considered by many to be the greatest accomplishment of the government during this particular time period. In the classroom, this document could be divided by sections or articles. Each student could examine one particular article and rewrite the component into everyday English. Students can then make a poster with the major points of the legislation. Students could then play a game of Simcity to try and understand the complications of settlement and constructing towns and cities.
- Alexandra Friedman
