Petitions to Congress: Grassroots Democracy, 1800–1850

Summary

Students analyze 19th-century petitions to Congress to identify the issues that people petitioned about, place the petitions in the context of their time, and understand how everyday people lobbied Congress to influence action by the government and shape the course of history.

Rationale

The constitutional right to petition the government is protected in the First Amendment, and the American people have exercised their right to petition since 1789. Petitions from people of all levels of society were a central feature of the emergence of grassroots democracy in the 19th century. Studying these petitions enables students to explore how people worked to influence the actions of government and shape the course of history.

Guiding Question

How do 19th-century petitions to Congress show people organizing to influence the actions of government and shape the course of history?

Materials

5 worksheets (4 graphic organizers for stations, 1 sheet of reflection questions)
12 primary source document sheets (Note: This lesson studies excerpts from petitions. The full petitions are available in the National Archives Catalog: catalog.archives.gov. To access the petition in full, enter the Catalog number included with the document information in the Catalog search box.)

Grade Levels

7–12

Time Required

Two 45-minute class periods

Courses

U.S. History, Civics, Government

Learning Activities

Preparing the materials:

1. Print for each student copies of the graphic organizers for Stations 1–4 and the Reflection Questions.
2. Establish four stations.
3. Make one additional copy of each graphic organizer for each station.
4. Make one copy of the Primary Source Sheets, and cut along the dotted lines of each sheet. Keep each primary source, document information, and description together with a paperclip.
5. Place a copy of each graphic organizer and the corresponding cut-out Primary Source Sheets at each station. Mix up the primary sources, captions, and descriptions at the station so that students must match the documents, information, and descriptions.

Classroom Activity:

1. Divide the students into four groups.
2. Carousel the groups through the four stations.
3. Provide each group with enough time at each station for students to:
   • Match each primary source to the document information and description.
   • Respond in writing to the prompts on their individual copies of the graphic organizer for each station.

Reflection Activity:

1. When the students have completed their work at all four stations, instruct the students to complete the Reflection Questions Worksheet independently and prepare to share their responses with the full class.
2. Have a whole group discussion of the Reflection Questions.

Distance Learning Instructions for the Lesson:

1. Make the graphic organizers and primary source documents available to the students in digital form. Separate the documents into four station-specific groups to ensure that the students know which documents go together. Clarify for the students that the learning activities and documents are organized as stations on the lesson materials and that work in the lesson will be completed one station at a time.
2. Divide the class into four groups.
3. Assign one group to begin work at each of the four stations. Instruct the students to work collaboratively to respond in writing to the prompts on the graphic organizer for each of the four stations.
4. When the students have completed their work at all four stations, instruct students to independently complete the Reflection Questions Worksheet and prepare to share their responses with the full class.
5. When the groups of students have completed the Review Worksheet, convene a whole class discussion of the review questions.