1. U.S. Constitutional Convention
McGuire
Honors US History

2. Questions
Who benefited most (and the least) from the American Revolution?
Who wrote and ratified the Constitution for the new nation?
Who benefited most (and the least) from the Constitution?

3. Objectives/Goals:
To learn about the social forces active during and immediately following the American Revolution.
To explore two burning questions that confronted the new American nation: slavery and suffrage.
To develop strong oral presentation skills, including both persuasive and argumentative skills.
To develop critical skills of examining arguments and social reality.

4. Howard Chandler Christy’s depiction
Created in April of 1940
Depicting the event that happened on Sept 17, 1787
Currently in the House of Representatives building in the capitol

5. List your observations

6. Our own Constitutional Convention
We will invite groups of people not present at the original event
Southern slave owners
Northern merchants
White indentured servants
Women of different nationalities and social classes
Free African Americans
Enslaved African Americans
Iroquois

7. Pick your top three… Iroquois Northern merchants and bankers
Male southern plantation owners
White women
Free African Americans
Enslaved African Americans
White indentured servants

8. Vocabulary terms Unfair Just Justice Wealthy Property Merchant Trader
Suffrage
Constitution
Plantation owner
Abolitionist
Fugitive
Convention
Bill of Rights
Taxes
Abolish
Prohibit
Resolve
Indentured servant
Iroquois

9. Get out your homework, please.
January 30
Entry Task:
Get out your homework, please.

10. Collaboration vs Collusion
Working together to achieve a goal
Working in a joint intellectual effort
Teamwork
Ms. McGuire likes this!!!
Secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose
Conspiracy
Cheating

11. Vocabulary terms—COLLABORATE Are there any definitions that you could refine or make better by molding it with another person’s definition?
Unfair
Just
Justice
Wealthy
Property
Merchant
Trader
Suffrage
Constitution
Plantation owner
Abolitionist
Fugitive
Convention
Bill of Rights
Taxes
Abolish
Prohibit
Resolve
Indentured servant
Iroquois

12. Please get out your journal/vocab lists
January 31: To understand one of the social groups represented post-Rev War
Please get out your journal/vocab lists
Announcements: vocab quiz tomorrow

13. Objectives/Goals:
To learn about the social forces active during and immediately following the American Revolution.
To explore two burning questions that confronted the new American nation: slavery and suffrage.
To develop strong oral presentation skills, including both persuasive and argumentative skills.
To develop critical skills of examining arguments and social reality.

14. Monumental Occasion
This was the first time in recorded history that a revolution had been won with the sole purpose of having the governed—or at least some of them—involved in determining how they were to be governed.
Not an easy task
Citation: Bob Peterson, Rethinking the U.S. Constitutional Convention—Zinn Education Project

15. Slavery Suffrage Where can/should slavery exist?
Should the slave trade continue in the U.S.?
What happens when a piece of property (a slave) gets “lost”?
Who should be allowed to vote?

16. Interior Monologue
What’s going on inside of your head as a Free African American? (or Iroquois, Northern merchant, woman, etc.)
Answer the following questions in a journal-entry type format.
What are your hopes for the Constitution?
What are your fears for this new government?

17. Burning Issues For each question, you MUST propose a resolution
These may change later after you talk with other groups
“Be it resolved that…”
Be it resolved that slavery should be abolished in the United States.
Put an asterisk (*) next to the resolutions that are most important to you/your role

18. Format of our Convention
Each person gets one vote on the issues we address
Therefore, all groups are important
Parliamentary Procedure—handout tomorrow
Individual speeches addressing our two questions
Should slavery be abolished?
Who should have the right to vote?

19. Building Alliances
Meant to sharpen your arguments and thinking skills.
Strategize within your social group
What are you willing to compromise on?
What are you NOT willing to compromise on?
For example, white women might support allowing fugitive slaves to stay in the North in exchange for enslaved African Americans supporting women’s suffrage.
Have 1 or 2 “traveling negotiators” who go to the other groups to negotiate
Make a sign with your social groups name
Make sure you meet with groups that would most likely support the resolutions you have an asterisk (*) next to

20. Developing counter arguments
As a social group, come up with questions you still have for each of the other social groups.
The point of these questions is to:
Understand their viewpoint more
Point out weak points in their arguments
Show the strengths of your arguments
Come up with some questions other groups will ask you

21. Group Brainstorm Each person’s role—real or fictional
George Washington (southern plantation owner—real)
Joe Smith (Indentured servant—fictional)
Finalize any questions you have about your group’s perspective

22. Preparing Individual Speeches
Introduce yourself (real or fictional character)
Little bit about yourself and your perspective
Present your arguments about both of the issues
Should slavery be abolished?
Who should have the right to vote?
Utilize the reading you have and the monologue you wrote
Prepare yourself for possible questions and counter statements

23. Convention
Everyone come to class tomorrow with your final draft of your speech to turn in.
Handwritten or typed is acceptable
That means you need 2 copies--one for yourself, one to turn in
We will randomly choose one person from each social group to give their speech.
After the initial speeches, we will open it up for questions.
Reps who did NOT give a speech will answer questions first.
You will rotate through your group members so that everyone answers a question.

24. Individual speech writing time
Introduce yourself (real or fictional character)
Little bit about yourself and your perspective
Present your arguments about both of the issues
Should slavery be abolished?
Who should have the right to vote?
Utilize the reading you have and the monologue you wrote
Prepare yourself for possible questions and counter statements

25. Where should slavery exist in our country?
Burning Questions
Where should slavery exist in our country?
Should the slave trade continue?
Should escaped slaves be returned to their owners?
Who should be allowed to vote in our new nation?

26. 1st period Constitution
Be it resolved that slavery is abolished in the United States.
Be it resolved that the slave trade is abolished in the United States.
Be it resolved that freed slaves and indentured servants who want to go back to their homeland can, and those that want to stay will be given jobs on plantations or find safe haven with the Iroquois.
Be it resolved that all adults (16 and over) without a criminal record will be allowed to vote in the United States.

27. 2nd period Constitution
Be it resolved that slavery is abolished in United States. Slaves become indentured servants under a contract.
Be it resolved that the slave trade is abolished in the United States.
Be it resolved that fugitive/runaway indentured servants must be returned to their employers. As punishment, pay is taken away (10%) each time.
Be it resolved that all free persons, 18 and over, who pass a literacy test can vote. Natives will be given reservations. They can vote for their own officials in each tribe and those officials will represent them within Congress.

28. 4th period Constitution
Be it resolved that slavery is abolished. Slaves become migrant workers on contracts.
Be it resolved that the slave trade is abolished in the United States.
Be it resolved that migrant workers who run away are not to go back to their employer, but they can be hired elsewhere.
Be it resolved that anyone who lives permanently in the U.S., 18 and over without felonies, may vote, no matter what gender or ethnicity.

29. 5th period Constitution
Be it resolved that slavery is abolished in the United States.
Be it resolved that the slave trade is abolished in the United States.
Be it resolved that fugitive slaves no longer exist in the United States.
Be it resolved that citizens (including men, women, former indentured servants, and freed slaves) 18 and older may vote and be provided with a reader to help. This is after being 3 years a citizen, after 2 years of freedom from being a slave, or 1 year of freedom from indentured servitude. This excludes Iroquois, land-owning Southerners and Northerners.

30. Convention Reflection
Write an interior monologue from your individual’s perspective telling your feelings about the outcome of Constitutional Convention.
In what ways was our class Convention unrealistic? In what ways was it realistic?
Which social groups made alliances with each other? Do you think that similar alliances were made in real life?
Which social groups had absolutely conflicting interests—where no compromise was possible?

31. Convention Reflection Continued Who Wrote the Constitution?
Prompt: Were these individuals broadly representative of the entirety of U.S. society at the time?
Read through the document (10 minutes)
Write in your journal as many questions as you can. You don’t have to be able to answer them. Just ASK!
Write a response to the prompt (15 min) using the doc and your experience from the mock convention

32. Constitution Activity Find the answers to the following questions in the Constitution:
What branches of government are created by the Constitution?
Provide 2 examples of how each branch has power over another branch.
How can Congress remove the President from office?
What is the longest time a President elected today can stay in office?
How long do members of the House of Representatives serve? Senators?
How old do you have to be to be a Representative? A Senator? A federal judge?
How old do you have to be to be President? Vice President?
How many states had to ratify the Constitution to put it into effect?
How many states have to ratify an amendment to make it part of the Constitution?