The Bill of Rights: the battle over the ratification of the U

WebQuest

Adapting Project Legal

Ms. Montano

The Frederick Douglass Academy

American Political Theory/U.S. History

INTRODUCTION:

It is 1787 and the country is in crisis.

George Washington fears that this experimental new nation may cease to exist if it can not resolve the current domestic problems. Farmers are uprising; there is great unrest throughout the countryside. Due to the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the worsening economic situation, delegates from around the nation meet in Philadelphia to revise the Articles and save the nation.

Inadvertently, the convention leads to the creation of a brand new plan of government based on the principle of federalism (strengthening the federal government). This controversial plan is agreed upon after many discussions, arguments, and compromises. It is then submitted to the public for approval. The various state delegations have to ratify the new Constitution (at least 9 of the 13) in order for the Constitution to be formally accepted.

The ratification process, however, has already raised many concerns. Two sides have formed: the Federalists (who support the Constitution) and Anti-Federalists (who are critical of the Constitution). The Anti-Federalists argue that the new Constitution gives the federal government excessive power and does not protect individual and states rights. They do not want to ratify the Constitution as it is. How would individuals be protected from a potentially abusive government? How would individuals be able to be secure that their government does not overstep its authority? Would a strong federalist government inevitably exploit its power over states and individuals? How can states rights and individual rights be protected? Public policy decisions made at this time, would affect Americans for generations!!!!

You are part of a group of New York State representatives who are skeptical about this proposed constitution for the country. You are being asked to review the recently written U.S. Constitution and either ratify or reject this new plan of government. You have to decide on possible amendments to this Constitution that would address the various conflicts in the ratification debate.

In this webquest, you and your group will intervene in this policy discussion and propose a solution to problems of the “Critical Period.” Your group will create its own proposed Bill of Rights to resolve the concerns of the Anti-Federalists.

TASK:

Each team/group will be studying the problems presented by the new Constitution and analyzing the arguments of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Each group will prepare a document that reflects 8-10 amendments of the Bill of Rights and a 10 minute oral presentation that presents not only the group’s view of the Bill of Rights, but analyzes its creation using the AHPPA

PROCESS:

Step 1: The class will be divided into groups of four to five students. Each group member will have an assigned role, in some cases more than one role will be assigned per member. There must be three researchers, at least one recorder, one Bill of Rights draft preparer, and at least two presenters. The group members will decide their particular roles.

Step 2: Each group will prepare a document that reflects 8-10 amendments of the Bill of Rights and a 10 minute oral presentation that presents not only the group’s view of the Bill of Rights, but analyzes its creation using the AHPPA.

· Each group must use the American History Public Policy Analysis format (see resources below) to analyze how the ratification debates led to the addition of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution.

· Each group must refer to the U.S. Constitution and the Federalists papers and/or at least two other primary source documents from the time period that are related to the conflict in the ratification process (see resources below).

· Each Bill of Rights document must be neat and completed in a professional manner. It must also have a proper heading with all group members listed.

Step 3: Each presentation must summarize the major issues, causes, and solutions to each problem using the AHPPA format. Your group’s solution to particular concerns of the time period should be clear in its choice of amendments for its Bill of Rights. Visual aids are encouraged. Your oral presentation is the basis for arguing for your own Bill of Rights.

Step 4: Students will evaluate their own group as well as their classmates’ groups. Using all the information from the various presentations, groups will briefly debate which Bill of Rights is the best in resolving the conflicts of the time period over individual rights in the new Constitution.

Step 5: Each group will coordinate the oral presentation, create the script, write a comparative analysis of current issues addressed in the Bill of Rights and possibly create visual aids as well as acquire detailed knowledge of the sources used. The group presenters MUST use all the steps in the AHPPA as well as step 5 in the GHPPA

Step 6 You must use specific citations from the primary source documents (listed under resources), as well as those listed below, in your script. Using your resources you must complete all the worksheets for the AHPPA as well as step 5 in the GHPPA

Step # 1: Identify Problem related to either federalism or individual rights
Step # 2: Gather the Evidence related to the Federalists debate, the ratification process, and the proposed Bill of Rights
Step # 3: Determine Causes for the various amendments proposed in the Bill of Rights. In other words, why are there specific freedoms and protections listed?
Step # 4: Evaluate the Policy Was the Bill of Rights sufficient in resolving all of the conflicts in the Federalists debate?
Step # 5 of the GHPPA: Doing a Comparative Analysis In this process you compare one of the issues dealt with in a Bill of Rights amendment with a modern day public problem you have chosen and researched. Most likely this will involve a civil liberties question.

Step 7: After completing the research, your group should be ready to write its own “Bill of Rights”. You may have up to 10 amendments, with a minimum of 8 listed. You should copy the language of the original document.

Step 8: Each group will present, in 10 minutes, the conflicts of the ratification process following the AHPPA steps and how the Bill of Rights the group created resolves the conflict.

Step 9: Each group will evaluate its own work and every other groups’. Debate will follow to decide the best Bill of Rights created.

RESOURCES:

Search Engines

https://www.google.com/

http://www.yahoo.com/

AHPPA Websites

Identify Problem

Gather the Evidence

Determine Causes:

Evaluate Policy:

The Constitutional Convention

http://www.constitution.org/dfc/dfc_0000.htm

Papers of George Washington

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mgwquery.html

Works of James Madison

http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/main_pages/madison_archives/constit_confed/rights/rights.htm

http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/main_pages/madison_archives/constit_confed/rights/jmproposal/jmproposal.htm

http://www.constitution.org/dfc/dfc_0000.htm

The Constitution

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution.html

The Bill of Rights

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/bill_of_rights.html

The Federalists papers

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=10

The Anti-Federalists papers

http://www.constitution.org/afp/afp.htm

http://www.pinzler.com/ushistory/argantfedsupp.html

Constitutional Resources

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/constpap.htm

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/constitution-day/ratification.html

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/constitution/ratifying.htm

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution_history.html

EVALUTION:

Group Bill of Rights and Oral Presentation

CATEGORY	4 EXCELLENT	3 VERY GOOD	2 SATISFACTORY	1 UNACEPTABLE
Research	Group researched the subject and integrated 3 or more primary sources (inc. the Federalists papers and U.S. Constitution) from their research into their presentation.	Group researched the subject and integrated 3 primary sources (inc. the Federalists papers or the U.S. Constitution) from their research into their presentation.	Group researched the subject and integrated only 2 (inc. the Federalists papers) from their research into their newscast.	Either no research was done or it was not clear that the group used it in the presentation.
Accuracy of Facts and Clarity of Argument	All supportive facts are reported accurately. Argument for group Bill of Rights addresses real historical concerns of the time period.	Almost all facts are reported accurately. Argument for group Bill of Rights addresses real historical concerns of the time period.	Only a few facts are reported inaccurately. Argument for group Bill of Rights addresses many of the real historical concerns of the time period.	Almost no facts are reported accurately. Argument does not address concerns of the time period.
Speaks clearly	Speaks clearly and distinctly all of the time and mispronounces no words.	Speaks clearly and distinctly all of the time but mispronounces 1 or more words.	Speaks clearly and distinctly most of the time and mispronounces no words.	Does NOT speak clearly and distinctly most of the time AND/OR mispronounces more than 1 word.
Group Work	The group functioned exceptionally well. All members listened to, shared with and supported the efforts of others. The group (all members) was almost always on task!	The group functioned pretty well. Most members listened to, shared with and supported the efforts of others. The group (all members) was almost always on task!	The group functioned fairly well but was dominated by one or two members. The group (all members) was almost always on task!	Some members of the group were often off task AND/OR were overtly disrespectful to others in the group AND/OR were typically disregarded by other group members.
USE OF PPA	Uses AHPPA extensively in oral presentation	Uses AHPPA in many parts of the presentation	Uses AHPPA but inaccurately and sporadically	Shows no use of the AHPPA model

Grading

A = 18-20

B = 16-17

C = 14-15

D = 13

F = less than 13

CONCLUSION:

In early U.S. history, a loose political coalition of popular politicians known as Anti-Federalists unsuccessfully opposed the strong central government envisioned in the U.S. Constitution of 1787. It was their agitations, however, that led to the addition of a Bill of Rights. They feared the excessive authority of a single national government could become abusive and that these concerns were not addressed in the original Constitution. The final ratification of the Constitution was contingent upon the acceptance of a Bill of Rights, the policy amendments that protected states’ and individuals’ rights. The founders of the country, by recognizing this problem, ended up creating one of the most liberal and the longest standing constitution in history.

STANDARDS:

This web quest addresses the following social studies standards:

New York State American History Standards Website

Standard #1 History of the United States and New York

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York

Standard #5 Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the U.S. Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

English Language Arts Standards

Standard #1 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas, discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard #3 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.