Oklahoma State University
American Government POLA1113-20470
Lecture Notes
Spring 2022
Lecture Two
Contents: cover materials in Chapter 2-The Constitution and Its Origins
American Government
Lecture Notes #2
In America, our founding fathers were twelve. These men were from similar economic backgrounds,
which shows in their words that quickly would come from the mouth of a pick announcer at a carnival.
Take, for example, George Washington, as a young boy growing up on a wealthy plantation with
approximately three hundred enslaved people in Virginia. These men recorded one of the most
controversial, rebellious doctrines in the history of humanity, the United States Constitution.
Washington processed extraordinary leadership skill sets that awarded him a military general and
ultimately our first President of the new republic. Like him, others like him were James Monroe, who
grew up in an affluent, slave-owning family in Virginia, as did George Washington. The other ten men
were as follows:
Alexander Hamilton
Benjamin Franklin
John Adams
Samuel Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
John Jay
Richard Henry Lee
John Dickerson
Patrick Henry
When reading your text, please pay close attention to dates regarding timelines in respect to the process
of ratifying the U. S. Constitution. You will be tested on various dates regarding the origin of this
precious document.
Since the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, this document has gone through many adaptations. But
before moving forward, I think it's best to mention a few other strategic documents before the U.S.
Constitution, namely the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. These
