Inside the Constitutional Convention

Inside the Constitutional Convention

Class Length: 1-2 class meetings

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

1.  Summarize the role of delegates at the Constitutional Convention.

2.  Describe the various ways to resolve conflicts.

3.  Apply proper writing, research, and critical thinking skills to interpret sources.

Materials:

-  Government textbooks

Procedures:

Assign the role of a key delegate to each student. Students will research their delegate using the Internet, textbooks, etc, and note and summarize the following information to the class:

-  Age

-  Occupation, martial status

-  Education

-  Member of the Continental Army

-  Representative to the Continental Congress

-  Signer of which of the following: Declaration of Independence, Articles Of Confederation, and the Constitution

-  Pro/Cons of Constitution

-  Miscellaneous facts

Class will discuss the following information together.

Class will be divided into categories of states and assign state roles:

-  Small (Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut)

-  Mid (Georgia, New York, South Carolina)

-  Large (Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia)

Using their textbooks as a guide, the class will research and prepare debate for the following issues:

o  The Great Compromise

o  Role of Native Americans

o  Federalism vs. Pro-State Power

o  Farming vs. Industry

o  Slavery/3/5 Compromise

Teacher will explain the relationship between state-size, delegates, and their voice in the Constitutional Convention (useful instructional information retrievable from cite referenced):

-  The more populous states supported the Virginia Plan, which proposed that representation within the government should be based on the size of a state's population, designed to give states with large populations a proportionately large share of decision-making power.

-  Less populous states supported the New Jersey Plan, by which every state, regardless of size, would have the same representation within the government.

-  Connecticut Compromise (Great Compromise) called for the creation of a Congress, a two-house legislative branch.

o  House of Representatives: elected according to the states' relative populations

o  Senate: equal voice to each state no matter what its size.

Each students will present their research and positions as their delegate would have done, and explain how the issues they cover are pertinent to modern society

o  Examples: dividing land properly (Israel/Palestine), slavery/demeaning human conditions (Sudan, Darfur, Holocaust, etc), Abuses/mistrusts of power (current Bush administration, War on Terror, Patriot Act, Nixon Administration, Watergate, etc)

Students will be evaluated on:

o  Thoroughness of their report

o  How close the students’ adhered to their delegates demeanor, opinions, and beliefs

o  How accurate the students define and debate the major issues discussed at the Constitutional Convention

o  How well students connect Constitutional issues to today’s world

References:

Maisel, L.S. (2004). The constitutional convention. The New Book of Knowledge:

Constitution of the United States. Retrieved November 10th, 2007 from

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=a2030370-

h&templatename=/article/article.html