Introduction
The essential question for this lesson is: "What were the causes, course, and consequences of the founding principles of our nation?" Your goal while completing this webquest is to understand the topics that are going to be covered and to also answer the essential question. After completing the webquest, you should be able to understand how the these standards relate to one another.
Task
To complete the webquest you must click the links that are located above the questions, read the articles and analyze each article as you go. Answer the questions below each section on a piece of paper. Every section has its own link. Also, answers should be written in complete sentences. *Make sure the paper has your name and period on the top right side!
Process
1. Analyze the picture - What is the title of the picture? What are the names of the people in the picture?
2. What was the first governing document and original constitution of the U.S. called?
3. Use the internet! What does sovereignty mean?
4. How many drafts of the Articles of Confederation were prepared?
5. How long did the Articles of Confederation last (how long were they effective for - from what year to what year)?
6. According to the paragraph under the heading Articles of Confederation - Colonies to States, what did the Articles of Confederation serve as?
Articles of Confederation - Why State Constitutions limited the power of Congress
7. In your own words - What were the three main points emphasized by state constitutions (read the points and put it in your own words!)?
Articles of Confederation - Establishing the Government
8. Who led the committee that wrote the Articles of Confederation?
9. What did the Articles of Confederation establish?
Summary of the Articles of Confederation
10. Analyze the summary - why do you think the colonists limited so much of the national government's power in the Articles of Confederation?
Government under the Articles of Confederation
What problems and issues were found under the Articles of Confederation? (list at least 3 that stand out to you).
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
11. List at least two strengths and at least two weaknesses found in the Articles of Confederation.
From the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution
12. What two convention were called to revise the Articles of Confederation? Which convention was more successful? Why was it successful?
Google Search! Use Google to look up information about the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan to answer the following questions:
1. Who drafted the Virginia Plan?
2. What did the Virginia Plan propose?
3. Who introduced the New Jersey Plan?
4. What did the New Jersey Plan propose?
US Constitution
Part A:
Background info
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution is referred to as our government’s instruction manual; it declares what the government can and cannot do! The founding fathers wanted a limited government where citizen’s rights were promised. They wanted a democratic style of government where a harsh ruler could not rise up and treat people unfairly.
The Constitution comes with three parts: the Preamble, seven articles, and amendments. The first 10 amendments are the Bill of Rights. The first three Articles of the Constitution establish the three branches of the federal government with checks and balances to support a separation of powers: a legislature, the bicameral Congress; an executive branch led by the President; and a federal judiciary headed by the Supreme Court. The last four Articles frame the principle of federalism. The Tenth Amendment confirms its federal characteristics.
The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ratified by conventions in eleven states. The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution has been amended seventeen times (for a total of 27 amendments) and its principles are applied in courts of law by judicial review. Many people can confuse the Constitution, Articles of Confederation, and Declaration of Independence because they were three important and complex documents. In brief, the Declaration was just a formal letter declaring a separation of America from Great Britain’s control in 1776.Once the colonists had become an independent nation, they formed a new government and their first formal written constitution was called the Articles of Confederation. This constitution had many problems so the founding fathers made appropriate adjustments and created our Constitution that we use today!
The goals of the Constitution are stated in the preamble
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The Constitution guides American society in law and political culture. It is the oldest charter of supreme law in continuous use, and it influenced later international figures establishing national constitutions. Recent impulses for reform center on concerns for extending democracy and balancing the Federal budget
Questions
1. What was the purpose for the founding fathers to write a Constitution?
2. What are the 3 main sections of the Constitution?
3. What are articles I, II, & III about?
4. Which one of the six goals mentioned in the preamble of the Constitution is the most important in your opinion? Why?
Part B:
Watch this 3 minute video clip:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_foQoCHQq8
Questions
- What do they 3 rings represent?
- What is the difference between separation of powers and checks & balances?(hint: look this up online)
Part C:
Bill of Rights
www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/bill-of-rights.html
Questions
- Why is the Bill of Rights so important for citizens of the U.S.?
- What is the purpose of the Bill of Rights?
Part D:
Go to the following websites, take the fun quizzes to test your Constitution knowledge
www.funtrivia.com/newflash/trivia.cfm?qid=7689
www.msroachesplace.com/civicsreviewa.swf
Part E:
Go to the following websites and play the “I have a right” game dealing with the Bill or Rights
www.icivics.org/games/do-i-have-right
Evaluation
Once completed, submit your paper. These will be analyzed for completion and accuracy, and redistributed to use for the next quiz!
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Articles of Confederation, while weak, had strengths that led the newly formed government to create a new Constitution.