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Welcome students to 8th grade U.S. History. I'm Mr. Armstrong and I'm excited to have
you and look forward to our yearlong study of American History together.
In this class, you're going to be challenged to think about ideas and positions related
to our country that you probably haven't spent much time thinking about before.
It'll be formidable work, but through it all, you'll gain not only a deeper knowledge of
American history, but also a better understanding of our nation today.
We will begin our course by examining the question, "What's the purpose of government?"
This question will frame our study of the events that lead to the American Revolution
and you yourself will get the chance to formulate your own political philosophy with regards
to why governments exist and what purpose they are to serve.
Once your political philosophy is established, you'll better be able to analyze and understand
other political revolutions occurring in our world today, like those in the Middle East.
Your final project for this unit will require you to both present your political philosophy
surrounding the purpose of government to others in the class, as well as write a modern day
declaration of independence. You are going to be the Thomas Jefferson for another group
of people in this world who suffer under a government which, according to your political
philosophy, is not fulfilling its purpose. There's much to do, but were going to have
a great time doing it. Once again welcome to Room. 17 and US History with Mr. Armstrong.
Let's begin!