Idaho Social Studies 6-12.US1.9
The Standard
Identify the impact of multiple intellectual traditions on the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, including early modern and Enlightenment thinkers (e.g., Locke and Montesquieu), Greek, Roman and English political history.
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · American Revolution 1754-1791
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students trace ideas about rights, consent, citizen rule, and limits on rulers from five earlier sources. They explain which ideas appear in the Declaration and which shaped plans for government during the Revolution.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student links Locke's ideas about rights and consent to lines in the Declaration. They connect its tax grievance to English limits on royal power. They distinguish Greek assemblies and the Roman republic from Montesquieu's plan for separate branches of government.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Jefferson invented natural rights or that every influence appears directly in the Declaration. They may confuse voting in Athens with government in Rome, or say the Declaration created three branches of government.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Match the Declaration's phrases “consent of the governed” and “taxes without our consent” to Locke or the English Bill of Rights. Then explain why Montesquieu's idea fits plans for government better than the Declaration.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs cards for Locke, Montesquieu, Athens, Rome, and the English Bill of Rights; have them map links to Declaration phrases or government plans.
Ask: Why does the Declaration echo Locke's consent more directly than Montesquieu's separate powers? Require one quoted phrase from each source.
Run a card match: teams pair natural rights, separate powers, citizen assembly, republic, and limits on royal taxation with their sources.
Have students write a school club charter with a rights statement and separate officer jobs, then label which source inspired each choice.
Free download
Printable 6-12.US1.9 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 6-12.US1.9, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- 9-12.WC.45
Analyze the extent to which the Enlightenment influenced the American and French Revolutions.
- 5.SS.1.6
Analyze the causes and effects of various compromises and conflicts in American history, including the various events leading to the American Revolution.
- 9-12.GOV.1
Examine the influences of leading European thinkers such as Locke and Montesquieu, as well as the influence of historical institutions such as Greek democracy, ...
- 6-12.US1.7
Trace and analyze the colonial social, religious, political, and economic developments that provided context for the American Revolution, including, but not lim...
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson