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Read and study the sources about the foundations, systems, and structures of the
U.S. government. Use your social studies knowledge and the sources to answer the
questions. As you study the sources and answer the questions, get ready to write
about how the systems or structures of the U.S. government show the fundamental
principles of the United States.
Adapted from Common Sense (1776)
In this excerpt from Common Sense, Thomas Paine discusses monarchy as a system of
government.
In the early ages of the world, according to scripture, there were no kings. The
consequence of this was that there were no wars. It is the pride of kings which throw
mankind into confusion and war. Holland without a king has enjoyed more peace for this
last century than any of the monarchical governments in Europe. The exalting of one
man so greatly above the rest cannot be justified on the equal rights of nature.
To the evil of monarchy, we have added that of the right of the children of the present
monarch to assume the throne. All men being originally equals, no one by birth should
have a right to set up his own family as rulers forever.
But it is not so much the absurdity of this system which concerns us as the evil of it.
Rather than ensuring that good and wise men have assumed the throne, it has opened
a door for the foolish, wicked, and improper to become rulers and oppressors. Men who
view themselves as born to reign and view others to obey soon become insolent
Selected from the rest of mankind, their minds are early poisoned by their own sense of
Importance. The world they act in differs so materially from the world at large that they
have but little opportunity of understanding the real world. When they become rulers of
the government, they are frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any throughout the
land.

PLAY
STOP
Use your civics knowledge and the sources to answer the question.
Analyze how the systems or structures of the U.S. government show the
fundamental principles of the United States.
As you write, be sure to do the following:
Provide a claim that answers all parts of the prompt.
Support your claim with information and examples from your knowledge of
civics and evidence from the sources.
Provide explanations and reasoning that show how your knowledge and
evidence support your claim.
BUx, x² Al
The systems of the U.S. government show the
fundamental principles of the United States by the
US government reflect the fundamental prin
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