Lesson Plans for America's 250th
Designed by teachers to help students navigate our nation’s history and constitutional principles using trusted, nonpartisan resources.
Colonial Grievances and the Social Contract
Resources provided by
Bill of Rights Institute, C-SPAN Classroom, Center for Civic Education, Library of Congress, PBS News Hour Classroom, Retro Report, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
In this lesson, students examine how the grievances in the Declaration of Independence demonstrate a broken social contract. Through a matching activity and analysis of draft documents from the Library of Congress, students identify patterns of unfairness and evolving argumentation. Using a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning framework, they practice identifying them as legal arguments and apply their understanding to modern contexts before completing a final written evaluation.