8.1

Students understand the major events preceding the founding of the nation and relate their significance to the development of American constitutional democracy.

American Revolution and Natural Rights

How did the American Revolution develop the concept of natural rights? Download Primary Source Set: American Revolution and Natural Rights

This source set introduces traditional documents of the Enlightenment and the American Revolution which focus on the idea of natural rights. It then provides primary document evidence to link American Revolutionary ideas to anti-slavery, women’s rights, and the French Revolution.