Lesson Overview
Description
In this lesson, students will examine the Declaration of Independence in its 194th year. The focus will be on the promises outlined in the Declaration and their connection to Hispanic and Latino Americans during the Chicano Movement.
Essential Question
How did the promises of the Declaration of Independence serve as an inspiration to Hispanic and Latino Americans in its 194th year?
Key Promises
- Equality
- Unalienable Rights
- Consent of the Governed
- Right to Revolution
Materials
- Boycott Hook Slides
- Primary Source Digital Unwrapping Slides
- C-SPAN “Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers” Video (external link)
- Civic Participation Chart
- Civic Participation Placards
- National Archives “Senator Robert F. Kennedy Statement on Cesar Chavez” (external link)
- Promises of the Declaration of Independence Handout (optional)
Teacher Content Background Information
[Not intended for student use]
1. Key Promises in the Declaration of Independence
A. Equality
The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal”. This concept of equality focuses on equality as opportunity, where “all men” are created equal, although being created equal does not guarantee equal experiences. Enlightenment philosophers supported the concept of individualism. Individualism suggests that each person possesses an inherent worth that supports freedom, self-reliance, and individual skills, talents, and interests. Equal opportunity in the context of individualism means that being born equal does not lead to equal results or equal outcomes.
B. Unalienable Rights
According to the Declaration, unalienable rights (“natural rights”) are those rights with which people are born (given “by their Creator”). They include the unalienable rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. These rights cannot be taken away by the government, and the government is also obligated to protect unalienable rights. These rights are associated with 17th to early 19th century European Enlightenment philosophers who supported unalienable rights as the means to challenge traditional authority that existed under monarchies.
C. Consent of the Governed
Consent of the governed includes that “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” as written in the Declaration. This promise focuses on self-government. The people rule themselves through governments that they establish. Because the people establish those governments and are not ruled by a government imposed on them (such as a monarchy), the people give their consent to how they are governed. Thus, self-rule is experienced when the people establish their own government to which the people give their consent.
D. Right to Revolution
Consent of the governed includes that “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” as written in the Declaration. This promise focuses on self-government. The people rule themselves through governments that they establish. Because the people establish those governments and are not ruled by a government imposed on them (such as a monarchy), the people give their consent to how they are governed. Thus, self-rule is experienced when the people establish their own government to which the people give their consent.
2. Connecting the Promises to Hispanic and Latino Americans
A. Right to Revolution
The colonists argued in the Declaration of Independence that “whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it…”. With this statement, the colonists claimed that they had the right to revolution. As detailed below, individuals of Hispanic descent have acted to alter the government because they have been denied their unalienable rights based on their ethnicity.
Hispanic American efforts to bring about revolution have included fighting for fair wages and working conditions through labor unions. These labor union-related efforts often incorporate civil rights activism, including protests, boycotts, and marches. Hispanic Americans have also worked to change the government by running for office and advocating for election law changes, which have made voting more accessible to Spanish speakers, many of whom are Hispanic.
Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta were Hispanic labor leaders who co-founded the United Farm Workers of America (UFW). UFW remains the first and largest farm workers’ union in the United States. It formed in the 1960s to protect Hispanic farm workers, most of whom were concentrated in California and other western states. The UFW argued that these farm workers were discriminated against because of their race, ethnicity, citizenship status, spoken and written language, and education. Chavez, Huerta, and others raised public awareness about farm workers’ rights and working conditions, which led to better working conditions and pay through unionization, lobbying, and political activism.
Hispanic Americans have also fought for political rights. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlaws racial discrimination in voting, but it was not until 1975 that the Voting Rights Act was amended to make voting more accessible to individuals who rely on a language other than English. Section 203 requires that all aspects of the voting process, including registration, be provided in any language where at least 10,000 or 5% of the population of a political jurisdiction, such as a county, relies on that language.
The Voting Rights Act has also encouraged Hispanics to run for public office and to motivate non-Spanish speaking candidates and public officials to campaign in Hispanic areas. These efforts have included increased advertising on Spanish-language media.
Additionally, Hispanic Americans’ efforts have brought about economic and political change. Political activism and increased public awareness of issues facing Hispanics have motivated the national government and state governments to better address the concerns of Hispanic Americans.
3. Brief Timeline of the Delano Grape Strike
- In 1929, several Latino service organizations merged to form the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). This organization helps fight for Hispanic and Latino American civil rights, education, health, and more.
- In the 1940s, El Movimiento, or the Chicano Movement, started, bolstered by social, economic, cultural, and political change. This movement continued for another thirty years.
- In 1943, the Bracero Program brought millions of men from Mexico to work legally on short-term labor contracts in the U.S. for agriculture and railroads during World War II. Many stayed and were granted citizenship after the war ended.
- In 1962, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta established the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) in California, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW).
- In 1965, Filipino and Latino farm workers began a nonviolent strike against Delano-area table and wine grape growers, citing the need for better pay and better working conditions. The strike eventually led to a boycott of table grapes, which spread across the country.
- In 1970, the boycott and strikes ended with union contracts that included better pay, benefits, and protections for workers.
Sources: Cesar Chavez, https://chavezfoundation.org/about-cesar-chavez/; Dolores Huerta, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/dolores-huerta, https://doloreshuerta.org/dolores-huerta/; United Farm Workers, https://ufw.org/; Voting Rights Act, Section 203, https://www.justice.gov/crt/language-minority-citizens; Terri Susan Fine, Ph.D., Associate Director Emerita, Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government
Activity Sequence
Hook
- Begin this lesson by opening the Boycott Hook Slides.
- Go through the slides with students, pausing on slide 4 to lead the students through some discussion questions.
Teacher Note: Use this activity as an opportunity to review and fill any content gaps related to the deterioration of the relationship between the British and the colonists, events leading up to the Revolution, and reasons for writing the Declaration of Independence.
- Go to slide 5, and remind students of the promises of the Declaration of Independence. Address the questions listed on the slide.
- Explain to students that a boycott often precedes the right to revolution. When we think of the right to revolution, it doesn’t always mean war and total government abolishment. Our Founders took many actions (like boycotts) on the road to revolution to bring attention to violations of rights. Throughout history, many groups have had to take a stand and repeat those actions to secure the promises of the Declaration.
Featured Primary Source Unwrapping
- Explain to students that it is time to ‘unwrap’ this month’s primary source document.
Teacher Note: As the theme of these lesson plans is America’s birthday, each month, you and your students will digitally unwrap a new primary source. This is an opportunity to drum up excitement as we lead up to the 250th celebration and draw our focus to a time when individuals were fighting for those promises outlined. Because October is Hispanic Heritage Month, the focus for this month will be on Hispanic and Latino Americans.
- Using the Primary Source Digital Unwrapping Slides, reveal the primary source inside.
- Click the link to the video of Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers from C-SPAN on the second slide.
Teacher Note: This month’s source is an interview with Dolores Huerta pertaining to the Delano Grape Strike.
- Pass out the Civic Participation Chart. Fill in the first row (Chicano Movement Boycott) together based on the information you learned from the video.
Teacher Note: See the Teacher Background Information section above and the Sample Answers section below to help guide class discussion.
Lesson Activity
- Explain to students that the civic participation of colonists in the 1700s looked very similar to the civic participation of Hispanic and Latino Americans during the mid-1900s with the Chicano Movement. We will compare both groups as they worked toward bringing attention to their goals.
- Print or display the Civic Participation Placards around the room for students to read and analyze.
- Divide the class into groups for a Gallery Walk activity.
- Explain to students that in their groups, they will circulate to each placard. When at each placard, they will read the information, and then work together to complete the remaining boxes on their Civic Participation Chart.
Teacher Note: Depending on class size, multiples of each placard may be posted. Time allotted for each placard and method of transition between placards should be determined ahead of time.
- When students are finished, have them come together and share how the colonists and Hispanic and Latino Americans during the Chicano Movement shared similar experiences.
Conclusion
- Display Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s Statement on Cesar Chavez from the National Archives and read it together as a class.
- Ask students to craft a written response on the ways the government kept the promises of the Declaration in mind when responding to the Delano Grape Strike and the efforts put forth by Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez during the Chicano Movement.
Teacher Note: Project or provide students the Promises of the Declaration of Independence Handout if needed for support.
Additional Resources
Sample Answers
Download the Hispanic & Latino Americans Lesson
Link to Google Docs
Zip Folder Download
Lesson Designed in Partnership with:
