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ERIC ED364451: "The Blueprint of Democracy": The United States Constitution. PDF

8 Pages·1993·0.22 MB·English
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 364 451 SO 023 397 TITLE "The Blueprint of Democracy": The United States Constitution. INSTITUTION National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC. Office of Public Programs. PUB DATE [93] NOTE 10p.; For related documents, see SO 023 393-400. PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use - Teaching Guides (For Teacher) (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Constitutional History; Elementary Secundary Education; Field Trips; *History Instruction; Law Related Education; Learning Activities; *Primary Sources; *Public Agencies; Resource Materials; Social Studies; *United States History IDENTIFIERS *National Archives DC; *United States Constitution ABSTRACT This publication is intended for teachers bringing a class to visit the National Archives in Washington, D.C., for a workshop on primary documents. The National Archives serves as the repository for all federal records of enduring value. Primary sources are vital teaching tools because they actively engage the student's imagination so that he or she may visualize past events and make sense of their reality and meaning. This publication concerns a workshop on the U.S. Constitution. In addition to historical information on the U.S. Constitution, background on two documents involved in the workshop--George Washington's copy of the first draft of the Constitution and the 19th Amendment--is included. Photographs of these two documents as well as two student exercises also are provided. (DB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** "The Blueprint of Democracy" The United States Constitution EDUCATION U.II. DEPARTMENT Of ano Improvement Ofhc ot Educational Research INFORMATION UCATIONAL RESOURCES CENTER (ERIC) reproduced Ae Thus document has been or orgeruzat ion *wed from the person cevnionga made to means Minor changes have been reproduction ousIdy stated in this docu- Pants ot vm.. or opinions represent official mint do not necessarily GERI positton or policy C`- c0 rb 0 2 AVAILABLE BEST COPY of Democracy" "The Blueprint Uraiiirr4 54aMi 1111A in September; their report, dratted by the young FOR THE TEACHER Alexander Hamilton, called for a general convention. This report finally became a reality on February 21, 1787, when the Confederation Congress adopted the Thank you for arranging the primary document resolution authorizing the "Federal" Convention. workshop "The Blueprint of Democracy" for The Convention consisted of statc Governors, chief history is just an your class. For too many students, justices, attorneys general, and many delegates to the in a endless string of dates and events chronicled Confederation Congress, as well as several distin- textbook. Primary sources actively engage the stu- guished Americans who, like Benjamin Franklin (at 81, dent's imagination so that he or she may visualize past the oldest Convention member), agreed to come out ar.d meaning. Before events and sense their reality of retirement to participate one last time in American advantageous to intro- your workshop, it would be politics. The willingness of these men to place their duce your students to primary sources with the poster- prestige at risk by attending the Convention testified have size documents and the attendant exercises we problems and to its legitimacy and to the severity of the provided. The exercises may be photocopied facing the United States. Senior statesmen such as teaching should be adapted to fit your objectives and and George Washington of Virginia, Roger Sherman of style. We hope that these preliminary materials Connecticut (the only man to sign the Declaration of class's understanding our workshop will enhance your Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the arid appreciation of the blueprint of democracy, later the Constitution), and John Dickinson of Dela- United States Constitution. helped ware were veterans of colonial politics and lead the struggle against Britain. They provided an essential ability to compromise and an acute sensi- The United States Constitution tivity to the often clashing interests of the states. Some leading figures were not in attendance. John Adams the The Constitutional Convention, which met in and Thomas Jefferson were the American ministers to Hall) at State House (now called Independence London and Paris at the time, but they kept abreast of Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787, was a the Convention's progress. and world history. supreme event in both American and The United States Constitution, the resilient The delegates elected Washington president of the which 13 enduring charter of government under Convention, and he immediately appointed a commit- fledgling states were eventually forged into a super- May tee to prepare rules of order and procedure. By unmercifully hot sum- power, emerged during those 29, rules were adopted to ensure the secrecy of the of 55 delegates from 12 of mer days. It was the product proceedings, and the option to reopen any matters for delegates). the 13 states (R hode Island did not send further debate was granted as well. and Usii ig reason, Lump oinise, practical experielme, Edmund Randolph of Virginia then submitted for philosophy, these men decided a command of polit ical consideration the Virginia Plan. Largely the work of Three how a people should govern themselves. James Madison, the Virginia Plan discarded the annougn months after the Convention s completion, Articles and framed an entirely new constitution. Its Adams wrote that the he was not a participant, John 15 re3olutions proposed the creation of a supreme "if not the greatest delegates had demonstrated national government with separate legislative, execu- the greatest single exertion of human understanding, tive, and judicial branches. Under the Virginia Plan, that the world has ever effor t of national deliberation however, population would determine representation seen:' in both houses of Congress. This element of the plan exchanged corre- Before 1787, advocates of reform was anathema to the small-state delegates, so in order for a convention to spondence to muster support of the to protect the principle of state equality, they decided revise the first charter of the government to rally behind William Paterson's New jersey Plan. Confederation. As early United States, the Articles of Paterson's plan preserved each state's vote in a George Washington that the as 1780 it was apparent to unicameral legislature, but the delegates rejected it Fielding Confederation was defective; he wrote to passed on June 19. Nearly a month of bitter debate the influence and Lewis: "Our measures are not under before the Connecticut delegation proposed the each of which direction of one Council, but thirteen, "Great Compromise" of July 16. It provided a way out . We are politics. is actuated by local views and . . of the impasse by apportioning the House of Repre- corre- attempting the impossible:' The voluminous sentatives on the basis of population and by providing leading Ameri- spondence of Washington and other each state with two votes in the Senate. Deadlock had for the ground-breaking cans laid the foundation been subjugated and the Constitution saved. that sought interstate conferences and conventions throughout the 1780s. greater unity among the states Annapolis, MD, in The last of these conventions met at gathered there 3 1786.1Welve delegates from five states . . . _ . Of particular importance among these enfran- Washington's Copy of the chisement amendments is the 19th. Ratified ". 1920, it enfranchised women, the largest group of people in First Printed Drop American history ever denied suffrage. On the back of of the Constitution your poster is a reproduction of the joint resolution of Congress that proposed the 10th amendment. This copy of the proposed amendment prqvides your class on August 6 the first printed draft of the Constitu- with an opportunity to explore the Framers' reasons tion was submitted by the Committee of Detail for a constitutional amendment process. Ask your The reproduction on the front of your poster is students what might have happened if the Framers Washington's copy of thi! first page of that draft. The had not provided some way to amend the Constitu- unfamiliar preamble and Washington's notations re- tion. Later generations might have been tempted to veal the extensive revision process that took place in abandon the Constitution, but the Framers had the Convention and in its Committee of Style and created a living document by creating an amendment Arrangement from August 6 to September 15. process that respected the wisdom and progress of the Gouverneur Morris, a member of the committee, was future. the chief architect of the final document. As your class examines page 1 of Washington's copy and compares What is the National Archives? it to a copy of the finished product, they will discover that one of Gouverneur Morris's most important contributions to our present Constitution was his Established in 1934, the National Archives helps revision of the preamble. This change was necessi- preserve our nation's history by serving as the tated by the decision of August 31 that the new repository for all federal records of enduring value. It government should go into operation only upon thus serves the federal government, researchers of ratification by nine states. At that time, no one could many topics, and the American public. Because the predict which states would ratify and which would stall federal records reflect and document more than 200 or even refuse to join, so Morris sensibly chose to years of American development, the records in the eliminate any mention of individual states. Thus, National Archives holdings are great in number, somewhat fortuitously, "We the People of the United diverse in character, and rich in information. States" became the sovereign source of the Constitu- Before your students participate in a tour or a tion. 1 workshcp, they should be familiar with the mission of The history of the Constitutional Convention pre- the National Archives. We recommend that you sents a fitting opportunity to discuss with your class present your students with the following vocabulary the importance in a healthy democratic society of words and questions: toleration for opposing political viewpoints and the ability to compromise. While to those involved the Please define Archives, Archivist, Document, Rec- Convention process may have often seemed unneces- ord, Preservation. sarily erratic and a waste of time, students can see that it was the best way in which representatives of a free Why do you and your family save documents? Why people could have formed a set of operational rules of are they important? government while, at the same time, settling their 7 he US. government keeps its records in the outstanding political differences. Each delegate's re- National Archives. spect for the views of his colleagues and his ability to Why does the government save its records? compromise when those views differed is perhaps the most important legacy of the Convention. What kinds of records might the U.S. government want to save? What fanous documents are at the National Ar- The 19th Amendment chives? The United States Constitution has become the You will be called by the National Archives docent assigned to your class about a week before the date of oldest national constitution in the world, fulfilling your tour or workshop. If the workshop will be held in Chief Justice John Marshall's vision that it was "meant your classroom, then please be prepared to relay to endure for ages to come, and to meet the various information concerning directions, parking, and crises of human affairs:' This longevity is due in large school check-in procedures. measure to the Constitution's ability, through the Whether it is our Behind-the-Scenes Tour or one of amendment process, to solve "the various crises" it our Primary Document Workshops, we are confident has confronted over the past two centuries. For that the experience will provide an exciting new look example, under the Constitution property qualifica- at history. In order to assess our performance, we tions once limited the right to vote, whereas the would appreciate your cooperation in completing the franchise today is open to all citizens at the age of 18. enclosed evaluation form and returning it in the self- The Founding Fathers regarded suffrage as a privi- addressed stamped envelope provided. lege; Americans today consider it a right. But this If you have any additional questions regarding your interpretation obscures long periods throughout tour or workshop, please contact the Volunteer and which various groups such as women and black men Tour Office Staff at 202-501-5205. were disenfranchised. Indeed, if there is any recur- ring theme in the constitutional amendments since the Bill of Rights in 1791; it is the enlargement of the franchise. 4 WASHINGTON, DC 20108 OFFICE. OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS PRODUCED BY THE STAFF OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES TOUR OFFICE Etcercise Copy of the First Printed Draft of the Constitution, Washington's first page. Compare and contrast page 1 of the first printed draft of the Constitution with a present copy of the Constitution. 1. How is the preamble in George Washington's copy different from the preamble we have today? 2. How was the basis of our national government changed when "We the People of the United States" replaced the list of individual states in the first draft? 3. Define "Posterity?' What kind of Constitution would secure the "Blessings of Liberty" for the Framers' "Posterity"? 4. Article I, section 4, of the present Constitution is similar to which one of Washington's notations? What amendment changed this provision? 5. Article IV, sections 3 and 6, of Washington's copy are similar to which section of Article I of your current copy of the Constitution? Define impeachment. 6. Which states would have disapproved of Article IV, section 5, in the first draft of the Constitution? Why would they have wanted it "struck out"? 5 Exercise II: 19th Amendment The Read Article V of the Constitution, and then examine the copy of the 19th amendment. 1, How is the Constitution amended? 2. Can amendments be proposed and ratified without the Congress? 3. How many times has the Constitution been amended? President at the time? 4. What is the date on the copy of the 19th amendment? Who was the office does the 5. Who was the Speaker of the House? Who was the Vice President? What other Vice President hold? 6. Define "suffrage' Why were women denied the "right of suffrage"? 7. How did the 19th amendment redefine "the People" in the Constitution's preamble? People"? 8. What other amendments have also redefined "the the years? 9. Do you think the amendment process has successfully handled new challenges over Why or why not? 6 8 1 o . 1 e a s l . n - l 1 c 4 . l a e a b 1 0 4 y e a 1 o . n 1 0 l c 1 r l M , I h . a n 4 L e h f f 4 1 l 0 d . s e . I c . . n , . o 4 1 y . c . 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