Indiana Social Studies 8.H.7
The Standard
Identify and explain the steps taken during the Washington administration and the First and Second Congresses of the United States to establish a stable and lasting federal government.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify actions Washington and the first two Congresses took to get the federal government working. They explain how courts, cabinet departments, financial plans, and national coins helped it operate and gain public trust.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can place the Judiciary Act in 1789 and the Coinage Act in 1792. They can explain that one set up federal courts and the other established a Mint and national coins. They can describe how Washington used cabinet advisers to run the executive branch.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Congress wrote the Constitution's three branches from scratch, rather than setting up parts of the government described in it. They may confuse the national bank with the Mint. They may also mistake Washington's cabinet for a separate branch of government.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: What did the Judiciary Act of 1789 and the Coinage Act of 1792 create? Explain how each helped the new federal government work.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs dated cards for the Judiciary Act, cabinet departments, national bank, and Coinage Act; have them build a timeline and label each effect.
Ask, “Which helped the new government work better: federal courts or national coins?” Have partners defend a choice with one concrete effect.
Play an act-and-effect matching game with cards for the Judiciary Act, Bill of Rights, national bank, Coinage Act, and their results.
Show a quarter and a federal courthouse photo; ask which early laws made national coins and federal courts possible.
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