Alexander Hamilton	James Madison	John Jay

 

A. Have you studied the Constitution ever before? If yes, where and when?  (For example, please tell us whether you studied the constitution in high school, and the year of that study).

B. Whether you have or have not studied the constitution, how familiar are you with what is contained in that document, and within the Bill of Rights?

1. I am VERY familiar with the contents of the Constitution, and could identify each of the first 10 amendments
2. I am somewhat familiar with the contents of the Constitution, and could identify parts of some of the first 10 amendments
3. I am only partly familiar with the Constitution, and would not be able to identify much in the Bill of Rights.
4. I am really not at all familiar with the contents of the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, but I know they exist and are important.

Class Reading & Discussion Outline

For Friday 10/3: Discussion led by Julie Segedy

• Read the Constitution and Bill of Rights (Amendments 1 -10); discuss what rights people think they have, and whether they are really protected by the constitution.
   
• Do the Survey questions on the Bill of Rights, available online at: http://www.webcoast.com/chs/gov/wksht/situat.html
  

Small Group:  Discuss the Bill of Rights.  Weekend writing assignment - take one of the rights described in the Bill of Rights and explain why it is personally important to you.

 For Monday 10/6: The Constitution vs. The Articles of Confederation (Discussion led by Scott Hildreth)

1. Read the Introduction, pages 12 - 28, to learn about the Articles of the Confederation and some of the problems experienced by the states after the Revolutionary War.Read Federalist Paper 1 as an Introduction to the work. Continue reading Papers 2-7.
   
   
2. Read Federalist Paper 15. Discuss the Articles of the Confederacy and the flaws in those articles that prompted the creation of the Constitution. What are Hamilton's solutions to these flaws?

Small Group: Review Bill of Rights writing assignment.  Discuss persuasive writing techniques seen in the Federalist Papers. Take a paragraph in Papers 2 - 7 and distill it to a single theme or thought.  Also possible: Review Anti-Federalist Papers  corresponding to #s 1-7 and 15.  Do a point/counterpoint in groups.

For Wednesday, 10/8: Dealing with Opposition in a Democracy; Taxation (Discussion led by Scott Hildreth & Julie Segedy)

1. Read Federalist Papers 9 and 10.  In Madison's opinion, opposing factions must be controlled.  What are the problems that these opposing factions generate, and how can their worst tendencies be curbed?
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2. Read Federalist Papers 30, 31, 32 for Large Group Why should the national government have unlimited powers of taxation?  Do you agree or disagree?  Why?
    
3. Read Papers 33, 34, & 35.
   

Small Group: Review Papers 30 - 35.  Paraphrase writing activity by group or individual, shared with the class.

For Friday 10/10: The Nature of our Government (Discussion led by Scott Hildreth)

1. Read Federalist Papers 37, 38, & 39.  What was the "plan" proposed in the convention?  What were the republican principles identified by Madison?  What distinctions are made between national and federal powers?
   
   
2. Read Federalist Papers 47, 48, 49, 50 & 51.  Describe the roles of the different parts of the government.
   
   
3. Read Federalist Paper 78, about the Judicial Branch.  What was the purpose of judicial review?
   

Small Group: Read Paper 84, about the Bill of Rights.  Discuss the Bill of Rights again, and suggest ways to generate greater popular participation today in our government. Writing activity: Take one of the assigned papers from this morning and rewrite it, attempting to be concise and persuasive.

Online Versions of the Federalist Papers:

• The Constitution Society, http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa00.htm
  
• University of Oklahoma Law Center, http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/federalist/
   
• The Avalon Project at Yale Law School.1996-2002, http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed.htm
   
• Emory University School of Law. April 2003, http://www.law.emory.edu/FEDERAL/federalist/

The "Anti-Federalist Papers"

The Constitution Society:  http://www.constitution.org/afp/brutus01.htm

WEPIN: http://www.wepin.com/articles/afp/index.htm

Online resources and Links of Interest

Timeline of the Federalist & Anti-Federalist Papers: http://www.constitution.org/afp/afpchron.htm

Timeline of events surrounding the Federalist Papers: http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/federalist/htimeline.html

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): http://www.aclu.org/

Oyez: US Supreme Court Multimedia online: http://www.oyez.org/oyez/frontpage:

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Generation: US Congressional Documents and Debates: 1774-1875. The Library of Congress: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html

US Senate Home Page (including organization chart to identify the current President Pro Tem, Committee Chairs, Majority and Minority Whips, etc. http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/e_one_section_no_teasers/org_chart.htm