What is a Constitution?
Does the United States have a Constitution?
•
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION: Article V. For the most convenient
management of the general interests of the united States, delegates shall be
annually appointed in such manner as the legislatures of each State shall
direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year,
with a power reserved to each State to recall its delegates, or any of them, at
any time within the year, and to send others in their stead for the remainder
of the year.
•
U.S. CONSTITUTION: Clause 2: Immediately after they shall be assembled in
Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be
into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated
at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of
the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so
that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by
Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State,
the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next
Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.
Who do you believe involved or
responsible for the ratification of the
Constitution?
• Large group of individuals?
• Small group of individuals?
Charles Pinckney
Charles Pinckney and the 3/5 Compromise
Henry Laurens
Pink represents
Yellow represents
Slaves
Citizens
What does it mean to ratify something?
What does it mean to ratify something?
Instructions for activity…
• You will now draw numbers (1-5).
• Each number will represent your group
number.
• Each committee will be assigned a specific concept that
they are to ratify. On the board, you will find your
committee’s concept. They pertain to your school, and you
might have personal feelings about them. They include:
• Group 1-an amendment mandating a 20 minute recess
increase; group 2- an amendment mandating that
homework be a minimum of 15 minutes per subject
• Group 3- an amendment mandating that fried foods should
be offered with every lunch.
• Group 4-an amendment mandating that teachers allow the
use of cell phones and IPods in class during instructional
time.
• Group 5 an amendment mandating that school starts and
ends one hour later every day.
• Your task is to discuss your concept, and create a pro-con
chart to present to the class. You have 5 minutes.” Students
will discuss their concept and try to ratify.
INDIVIDUALLY ANSWER…
• Now that you have discussed your concept,
everyone in the group should answer these
questions individually:
• 1. Did you reach a decision about your
amendment?
• 2. Did everyone agree on every pro and con?
• 3. Was there anyone in the group that did not see
it your way?”
• Students will have a few minutes to respond on
paper, and they will do so.
• As a group, write down your proposed
amendment, the yea/nay vote tally, and
ratified or not ratified. Be prepared to present
your product.”
• Create a poster in preparation to present.
Presentation
• I will call each committee by number, and you
will have time to present your amendment,
voting results, and if you ratified or not.
• Committees will present.
Question to consider during each
presentation…
Do you agree with all of the
groups’ decisions?”
INDIVIDUALLY…
• On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph
explaining how this ratification process of
contemporary, school-related amendments
relates to the ratification process of the
Constitution in the 18th century. Include in your
paragraph an assertion about how this process
contributes to the preamble’s stated purpose: We
the people of the United States, in order to form a
more perfect union.... Students will create
responses.
• It is important to remember that a set of rules
already existed at the time of the ratification.
The Articles of Confederation was the
document that first named the ‘United States,’
and the Constitution was really a new
document to replace those older, more crude
rules. It is also very important to remember
that ratification depended on the agreement
of 9 out of 13 states, which we did not
simulate here.
REWRITE…
• RATIFICATION-CONSTITUTION-CONGRESS:
write a short paragraph using these terms
about how a Constitution is ratified from the
beginning of the lesson.
• Quickly rewrite your response to accurately
explain this process