Exploring the Legacy of Magna Carta with Students through Historic Images

Autor/in	Wesson, Stephen
Titel	Exploring the Legacy of Magna Carta with Students through Historic Images
Quelle	In: Social Education, 78 (2014) 6, S.261-264 (4 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0037-7724
Schlagwörter	Historical Interpretation; Constitutional Law; Critical Viewing; Intellectual History; Library Materials; Lesson Plans; Educational Resources; United States History; Teaching Methods; Visual Aids; Context Effect + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Historische Interpretation; Staatsrecht; Fernsehkritik; Geistesgeschichte; Lesson planning; Unterrichtsplanung; Bildungsmittel; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Anschauungsmaterial
Abstract	Every iconic document owes a debt to a document that came before it, just as its creators were influenced by the thinkers and writers who came before them. The Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights were revolutionary works, and have become powerful symbols of democracy worldwide. Behind them stands an even older document, one whose influence has persisted for almost 800 years--the medieval English charter known as the Magna Carta. Exploring the Magna Carta's influence and legacy, however, doesn't require a close reading of the document's Latin text. Visible evidence of the Magna Carta's influence on early American political thought can be found in two images from the collections of the Library of Congress--one from the eighteenth century and one from the nineteenth century--that both feature the Revolutionary-era writer John Dickinson. A Lawyer and writer who would later become known as the "penman of the Revolution," Dickinson was the son of a wealthy mid-Atlantic landowner. Dickinson studied law in Philadelphia and London, and was an early champion of the liberties of the American colonists. In 1767 and 1768, Dickinson gained renown as the author of a series of essays, "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania," in which he argued for the sovereign powers of the colonies. The images in the Library of Congress collection can provide students with a window into the continuing importance of the Magna Carta in the nation's memory. This article describes a lesson that provides students with an opportunity to review the images and consider the contexts in which they were created. It's especially interesting to note that one of the two documents that appear in the portrait of Dickinson is the Magna Carta. Questions are provided for leading a class discussion of the visual details and textual elements in the images. Information for accessing an on line version of a new exhibition at the Library of Congress, "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor," is provided. A few top resources from the Law Library of Congress are provided by Jeanine Cali. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	National Council for the Social Studies. 8555 Sixteenth Street #500, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Tel: 800-683-0812; Tel: 301-588-1800; Fax: 301-588-2049; e-mail: membership@ncss.org; Web site: http://www.socialstudies.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10