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History, Civics & Social Studies · Grade 7

Ideas about Power, Rights and Government

Learners compare two answers to an old question, where does a ruler's power come from? They examine divine-right absolutism under Louis XIV, the long English struggle to limit kings from Magna Carta to the Bill of Rights, and the Enlightenment ideas of Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau. They read short public-domain excerpts, trace the ideas into the Declaration of Independence, and debate who was left out.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 110 minutes
  • Power and rights check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: fill in the blanks, choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, type a number and put in order
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What learners will discover

  • Contrast absolute monarchy and divine right with limited government, using Louis XIV and England's Magna Carta, Parliament and Bill of Rights.
  • Explain key Enlightenment ideas (natural rights, consent of the governed, separation of powers, the social contract) and the thinkers associated with them, using short excerpts.
  • Identify Enlightenment ideas in the Declaration of Independence through close reading.
  • Evaluate the limits of these ideas in practice and a historical debate about their origins, in a written argument.

Lessons

  1. Absolute or limited? 7 steps4 practiceabout 27 min
  2. Enlightenment ideas 6 steps4 practiceabout 28 min
  3. Ideas into a founding document 7 steps4 practiceabout 27 min
  4. Limits and debates 5 steps3 practiceabout 28 min
  5. Power and rights check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

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Guide for grown-ups