Common Core @USM-LAC  Tags: lewiston gen_ed common_core  

1. Understand the context of key historical documents in order to interpret their meaning (inspired by ACRL Standard 3.2.d)

This course aims to make students familiar with the ancient origins of democracy; the variety of definitions, theoretical understandings, and practical arrangements of democratic, republican, and other forms of government; the beginnings of democratic thought in 17^th century North America (and even earlier with the democratic tendencies of indigenous egalitarian societies, such as the Iroquois League of Nations); the establishment of a republican form of government among the original states following their declaration of independence; the strengths and shortcomings of the 1787 Constitution and the system of government it put into place;  salient historical events, particularly those preparing colonists for revolution, along with those presenting the challenges the new republic faced in its first 100 years of existence; and the relevance of this body of knowledge to anyone who would be an informed and active citizen today.