AP U.S. Government & Politics - Summer Reading Assignment

Richard Beeman’s The Penguin Guide to the United States Constitution (Penguin Publishing Group, ISBN-13:978-0143118107; ISBN-10:0143118102) is an inexpensive paper back ($12) and can be purchased online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Beeman is Professor of American History at the University of Pennsylvania specializing in the Revolutionary period. He is among the most respected historians on this era and this Penguin Guide, published in 2010 is his most recent work.

At a little over 200 pages it contains a tremendous amount of important information in a very short book. I recommend that you highlight key passages, make notes in the book as you go along and hold on to the book as a ready reference guide to the Constitution as we travel this course from September until the exam in May.

Please type up your answers. I will collect them early the first week of classes – read them – and submit them on Schoology or if Schoology is not yet set up to receive assigments, email them to me so that we can have meaningful class discussion at .

Segment 1, pages 3 – 19, The Declaration of Independence

After reading this portion of the book answer the following:

1. Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?

2. What influence did John Locke have on the Declaration of Independence?

3. Among the list of grievances cited in the Declaration of Independence can you find a few that also resulted in the writing of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution)?

Segment 2, pages 21 – 39, The Constitution, Preamble and Article 1

1. What is the importance of the opening of the Preamble “We the People of the United States?” Whom did the authors of the Constitution include in their understanding of "the People"?

2. For each of the sections of Article 1 (there are 10), briefly summarize the main points. For Sections 3 and 4. Explain the qualifications of becoming a member of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

3. From Section 8, state what are the specified powers of Congress.

4. Why does Beeman specifically address “the commerce clause” and the “necessary and proper” clause in Section 8? Note well these will be key elements in the future growth of the American government.

Segment 3, pages 39 – 47, Article II

1. What part of the government is found in Article II?

2. Again for each of the four sections of Article II, write a brief explanation of the “big idea” for that section.

3. What are the significance of the elections of 1824, 1876, and 2000? Do you think democracy worked in those elections? Why or why not?

Segment 4, pages 47 – 50, Article III

1. What part of government is found in Article III? This is the shortest of the 3 articles on the branches of government. Is that by accident? Were the framers trying to tell us something about this branch?

2. Once more, for each of the three sections of Article III, write a brief explanation of the “big idea” for that section.

3. List the qualifications for office in this branch.

Segment 5, pages 50 – 54, Article IV

1. Once more, for each of the four sections of Article IV, write a brief explanation of the “big idea” for that section.

2. What specific guarantee is made in Section 4?

Segment 6, pages 54 – 56, Article V

1. What are the 2 methods by which the Constitution can be amended?

2. Slavery is NEVER mentioned in the Constitution; however, in this Article what reference is made to the slave trade?

3. The first 10 Amendments, the Bill of Rights, were ratified shortly after the Constitution. Categorize the remaining 17 amendments by the periods in which they were added; for example 3 are associated with the post- Civil War period. When were the others passed?

Segment 7, pages 56 – 57, Article VI

1. By what name does this “clause” go by? According to Beeman how has this clause worked in terms whether courts have sided with the states versus the federal government?

2. What does this Article have to say about religion? Do you find that interesting? Why or why not?

Segment 8, pages 57 – 59, Article VII

1. How many states are needed to “ratify” the Constitution?

2. Compare the names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence with those who signed the Constitution. Who signed both documents?

Segment 9, pages 61- 71, The First Ten Amendments

There are 27 Amendments; the first 10, known as "The Bill of Rights", were passed shortly after the Constitution was adopted.

1. There are 10, but how many were initially proposed? How long did it take to pass these 10?

2, For each of the 10 please write down the “big idea” – that is what does this Amendment do?

For example, The First Amendment to the Constitution protects 1) freedom of speech, 2) freedom of religion, 3) freedom of the press, 4) right to assemble, and 5) right to petition the government.

Segment 10, pages 71 – 92, the next Seventeen Amendments

1. Write a brief explanation of what each Amendment does - just enough so that someone reading it would understand what that specific amendment does.

2. What does Amendment 12 have to do with the election of 1800? Hint: Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamiltion in a duel.

3. The 13, 14, 15thAmendments grew out of the post Civil War political atmosphere. The 14th Amendment contains two key phrases: “due process” and “equal protection”. Why does Beeman call the 14th Amendment the most significant and far reaching amendment to the Constitution?

Segment 11, pages 145 – 165, The Constitutional Convention

1. What were some of the initial problems with the Convention? Did the members of the Convention “over step” their bounds. That is did they do what they were sent to do?

2. Once again what was the “Great Compromise?”

3. How did the Constitution deal with the issue of slavery?

Segment 12, pages 168 – 174, The Contest Over Ratification

1. How many states were required for ratification?

2. Which states ratified quickly, which did not? Why did some oppose the Constitution? By what names do we know the proponents and the opponents of the Constitution?

Segment 13, pages 175 – 188, Establishing Government Under the Constitution, 1789 - 1801

1. What was the importance of Washington’s first administration?

2. What did the Judiciary Act of 1789 do?

3. What were the Alien and Sedition Acts? Who supported them? Who opposed them?

4. Political parties are NOT mentioned in the Constitution. How did they start?

5. What was the significance of the Election of 1800?

Beeman ends his book with explanations of several key Supreme Court decisions, all of which are important and worth knowing; while it would be helpful to familiarize yourself with them now, we will get to them later.

In your journey through the Constitution and the early days of the Republic, you will have touched upon a lot of important ideas that we will discuss at greater length in September and beyond. Along with a grade for the work you turn in, the material from this book will be part of your first major test.

But first we will discuss them in class, so not to worry.

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