American History and Speech
American History Assignments
"Facts are stubborn things."
John Adams
“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
Thomas Paine
"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst."
William Penn, Pennsylvania Colony
“All great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage.”
William Bradford, Plymouth Colony
"Win or lose, you will never regret working hard, making sacrifices, being disciplined, or focusing too much. Success is measured by what we have done to prepare for competition."
Captain John Smith of Jamestown
"I came to hazard all the freedom of America, and desirous of passing the rest of my life in a Country truly free and before settling as a Citizen, to fight for Liberty."
Casmir Pulaski (address to Congress)
"Americans need never fear their government because of the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation."
Gouverneur Morris, writer of the United States Constitution
"Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life."
George Washington, Address to Congress on Resigning his Commission,
December 23, 1783
Welcome to the United States History site. The purpose of this site is to inform you of where our study of United States history is going each day. Our studies will range from approximately 1607 - The founding of Jamestown Colony - to 1877 - The Westward Expansion that accelerated following the conclusion of the Civil War and the Era of Reconstruction. Look to this site for your assignments and also for other valuable information. Hopefully you will find that your previous historical studies (such as ancient civilization, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Age of Exploration will provide a strong foundation for your survey of American history.
05 March, 2020
Next week, we will take TWO quizzes over Article I of the United States Constitution. The information below will help you to prepare for both of these quizzes. The first quiz will take place on Tuesday, 10 March. The second quiz will take place on Friday, 13 March:
1. List three reasons why the Constitution was written according to the Preamble.
2. How many houses of Congress are there? __________________ Name the houses:
3. How long is the term of a United States Representative? How many years?
4. What are the three qualifications for a U.S. Representative?
5. The number of U.S. representatives in each state depends on the ______________________
of each state.
6. When a U.S. Representative leaves in the middle of a term, how is the position filled?
7. The leader of the House of Representatives holds the title: _______________________________.
8. What part does the House of Representatives play in a Presidential impeachment?
9. What role does the Senate play in a Presidential impeachment?
10. How many years is the term of a United States Senator?
11. What are the three qualifications for a United States Senator?
12. Who is the President of the Senate and what is the main job of the President of the
Senate?
13. List FOUR steps in the process by which a bill becomes a law.
14. If the President vetoes an act of Congress how can Congress pass the law without his
approval?
15. List four powers of Congress.
16. List three things that states cannot do under the Constitution.
17. List three things that Congress cannot do under the Constitution.
18. In what house of Congress must revenue bills originate?
19. If a U.S. Senator cannot finish his or her term of office, what happens?
20. List two military powers of Congress:
21. What is the census? How often does the census happen?
22. Match the following terms with their definitions:
1. ______ Bill of Attainder
2. ______ Habeas Corpus
3. ______ President Pro Tempore
4. ______ Enumeration
5. ______ Ex Post Facto
6. ______ Revenue
7. ______ Veto
8. ______ Impeachment
9. ______ Speaker
10. ______Majority Leader
a. A trial that can mean being
removed from office
b. Money/taxes for the government
c. A "law" that says someone in
particular is guilty of a crime.
d. A document charging someone
with a specific crime or crimes
e. The Census
f. The leader of the House of
Representatives
g. The person who steps in for the
President of the Senate if
necessary
h. Making something illegal, then
charging someone who did it
when it was legal.
i. The President rejects a bill passed
by Congress
j. The leader of the Senate
k. A Constitutional provision
protecting the slave trade.
Possible Bonus Questions:
1. Members of Congress are” privileged" from ______________________________ "during their attendance at the
session of their respective houses. . ."
2. The salaries for members of Congress are paid out of the ______________________________________ of the
United States.
3. When the Senate holds an impeachment trial, who presides over the trial? _______________________________
______________________________________________.
4. Under the original rules of representation, each state was to have one U.S. representative for every
______________________________________ people living in the state.
5. How were United States Senators originally chosen?
________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Revenue Bills can only come from which house of Congress?
06 February, 2020
The first quiz over Chapter Seven will take place tomorrow, Friday, 7 February. Your study guide is posted below:
1. Constitution is a document stating the rules by which a government will operate.
2. In a government, the executive is the person who runs the government and sees that the laws
are carried out.
3. Two important documents that contained protections for religious freedom were the
Virginia Bill of Rights and the New York Constitution.
4. The first governmental system the United States had was the Articles of Confederation.
5. The Land Ordinance of 1785 sold land to people for no less than one dollar per acre.
The Ordinance required that every township set aside land for schools.
6. The law that set up a three-step process for new states was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
Under the plan, every territory wanting to become a state had to have a free population of
60,000 people.
7. A delegate is a representative at a convention.
8. Daniel Shays staged a rebellion because the state of Massachusetts wanted to take his farm
away because he couldn’t pay his taxes.
9. At the Philadelphia Convention, each delegate represented the state from which he came.
10. The Virginia Plan suggested a Three-Branch government.
11. The Legislative Branch – Congress - makes the laws
The Executive Branch – The President – Enforces the Laws
The Judicial Branch – The Courts – Interprets the Laws.
BONUS:
The “Great Compromise” created a two-house Congress. Every state would have
TWO Senators and every state would have a number of Representatives that
depended on their population.
13 January 2020
Chapter Six Part C (16-23) will be due on Tuesday, 14 January. Remember to include page and paragraph citations in all of your responses.
13 January, 2020
The questions for African Americans in the American Revolution are due on Thursday, 16 January, 2010. Write all answers in complete sentences.
13 January, 2020
Your Revolutionary War recruitment poster will be due on Tuesday, 19 January.
John Adams
“These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
Thomas Paine
"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst."
William Penn, Pennsylvania Colony
“All great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage.”
William Bradford, Plymouth Colony
"Win or lose, you will never regret working hard, making sacrifices, being disciplined, or focusing too much. Success is measured by what we have done to prepare for competition."
Captain John Smith of Jamestown
"I came to hazard all the freedom of America, and desirous of passing the rest of my life in a Country truly free and before settling as a Citizen, to fight for Liberty."
Casmir Pulaski (address to Congress)
"Americans need never fear their government because of the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation."
Gouverneur Morris, writer of the United States Constitution
"Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life."
George Washington, Address to Congress on Resigning his Commission,
December 23, 1783
Welcome to the United States History site. The purpose of this site is to inform you of where our study of United States history is going each day. Our studies will range from approximately 1607 - The founding of Jamestown Colony - to 1877 - The Westward Expansion that accelerated following the conclusion of the Civil War and the Era of Reconstruction. Look to this site for your assignments and also for other valuable information. Hopefully you will find that your previous historical studies (such as ancient civilization, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Age of Exploration will provide a strong foundation for your survey of American history.
05 March, 2020
Next week, we will take TWO quizzes over Article I of the United States Constitution. The information below will help you to prepare for both of these quizzes. The first quiz will take place on Tuesday, 10 March. The second quiz will take place on Friday, 13 March:
1. List three reasons why the Constitution was written according to the Preamble.
2. How many houses of Congress are there? __________________ Name the houses:
3. How long is the term of a United States Representative? How many years?
4. What are the three qualifications for a U.S. Representative?
5. The number of U.S. representatives in each state depends on the ______________________
of each state.
6. When a U.S. Representative leaves in the middle of a term, how is the position filled?
7. The leader of the House of Representatives holds the title: _______________________________.
8. What part does the House of Representatives play in a Presidential impeachment?
9. What role does the Senate play in a Presidential impeachment?
10. How many years is the term of a United States Senator?
11. What are the three qualifications for a United States Senator?
12. Who is the President of the Senate and what is the main job of the President of the
Senate?
13. List FOUR steps in the process by which a bill becomes a law.
14. If the President vetoes an act of Congress how can Congress pass the law without his
approval?
15. List four powers of Congress.
16. List three things that states cannot do under the Constitution.
17. List three things that Congress cannot do under the Constitution.
18. In what house of Congress must revenue bills originate?
19. If a U.S. Senator cannot finish his or her term of office, what happens?
20. List two military powers of Congress:
21. What is the census? How often does the census happen?
22. Match the following terms with their definitions:
1. ______ Bill of Attainder
2. ______ Habeas Corpus
3. ______ President Pro Tempore
4. ______ Enumeration
5. ______ Ex Post Facto
6. ______ Revenue
7. ______ Veto
8. ______ Impeachment
9. ______ Speaker
10. ______Majority Leader
a. A trial that can mean being
removed from office
b. Money/taxes for the government
c. A "law" that says someone in
particular is guilty of a crime.
d. A document charging someone
with a specific crime or crimes
e. The Census
f. The leader of the House of
Representatives
g. The person who steps in for the
President of the Senate if
necessary
h. Making something illegal, then
charging someone who did it
when it was legal.
i. The President rejects a bill passed
by Congress
j. The leader of the Senate
k. A Constitutional provision
protecting the slave trade.
Possible Bonus Questions:
1. Members of Congress are” privileged" from ______________________________ "during their attendance at the
session of their respective houses. . ."
2. The salaries for members of Congress are paid out of the ______________________________________ of the
United States.
3. When the Senate holds an impeachment trial, who presides over the trial? _______________________________
______________________________________________.
4. Under the original rules of representation, each state was to have one U.S. representative for every
______________________________________ people living in the state.
5. How were United States Senators originally chosen?
________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Revenue Bills can only come from which house of Congress?
06 February, 2020
The first quiz over Chapter Seven will take place tomorrow, Friday, 7 February. Your study guide is posted below:
1. Constitution is a document stating the rules by which a government will operate.
2. In a government, the executive is the person who runs the government and sees that the laws
are carried out.
3. Two important documents that contained protections for religious freedom were the
Virginia Bill of Rights and the New York Constitution.
4. The first governmental system the United States had was the Articles of Confederation.
5. The Land Ordinance of 1785 sold land to people for no less than one dollar per acre.
The Ordinance required that every township set aside land for schools.
6. The law that set up a three-step process for new states was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
Under the plan, every territory wanting to become a state had to have a free population of
60,000 people.
7. A delegate is a representative at a convention.
8. Daniel Shays staged a rebellion because the state of Massachusetts wanted to take his farm
away because he couldn’t pay his taxes.
9. At the Philadelphia Convention, each delegate represented the state from which he came.
10. The Virginia Plan suggested a Three-Branch government.
11. The Legislative Branch – Congress - makes the laws
The Executive Branch – The President – Enforces the Laws
The Judicial Branch – The Courts – Interprets the Laws.
BONUS:
The “Great Compromise” created a two-house Congress. Every state would have
TWO Senators and every state would have a number of Representatives that
depended on their population.
13 January 2020
Chapter Six Part C (16-23) will be due on Tuesday, 14 January. Remember to include page and paragraph citations in all of your responses.
13 January, 2020
The questions for African Americans in the American Revolution are due on Thursday, 16 January, 2010. Write all answers in complete sentences.
13 January, 2020
Your Revolutionary War recruitment poster will be due on Tuesday, 19 January.
Current Events
News Quotes
We all have our likes and our dislikes. But... when we're doing news - when we're doing the front-page news, not the back page, not the op-ed pages, but when we're doing the daily news, covering politics - it is our duty to be sure that we do not permit our prejudices to show. That is simply basic journalism.
Walter Cronkite
If people in the media cannot decide whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda, it is all the more important that the public understand that difference, and choose their news sources accordingly.
Thomas Sowell
“News is what someone wants suppressed. Everything else is advertising. The power is to set the agenda. What we print and what we don’t print matter a lot.”
Katharine Graham
Welcome to the Current Events web site. Your study of contemporary news stories will include events in and outside of the United States. The course will revolve around the development of critical thinking concerning news reports. You will learn to identify objectivity and bias in news reporting. You will also learn to separate real from manufactured (fake) news. The goal of the course is to create a permanent interest on the part of every student in paying attention to what is going in the surrounding world, locally, state-wide, nationally and internationally.
15 November, 2019
Your next CNN News document will be due on Tuesday, 19 November.
We all have our likes and our dislikes. But... when we're doing news - when we're doing the front-page news, not the back page, not the op-ed pages, but when we're doing the daily news, covering politics - it is our duty to be sure that we do not permit our prejudices to show. That is simply basic journalism.
Walter Cronkite
If people in the media cannot decide whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda, it is all the more important that the public understand that difference, and choose their news sources accordingly.
Thomas Sowell
“News is what someone wants suppressed. Everything else is advertising. The power is to set the agenda. What we print and what we don’t print matter a lot.”
Katharine Graham
Welcome to the Current Events web site. Your study of contemporary news stories will include events in and outside of the United States. The course will revolve around the development of critical thinking concerning news reports. You will learn to identify objectivity and bias in news reporting. You will also learn to separate real from manufactured (fake) news. The goal of the course is to create a permanent interest on the part of every student in paying attention to what is going in the surrounding world, locally, state-wide, nationally and internationally.
15 November, 2019
Your next CNN News document will be due on Tuesday, 19 November.