Bell Work: Sit and think to yourself for a minute. If I had a large statement written on the board or on a piece of paper that said "Effective September 17, 2015, schools will close every year in honor of Constitution Day" would you want to sign it? If you choose yes, go on and sign the statement I have up!... Class Discussion Points:
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Signing a statement that you agree with or believe in is a willingness to take a stand and risk your reputation. When the delegates of the 1787 Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution, they were taking a stand and risking their own reputations. Citizens today do the same thing when they sign a petition.
Creating the Constitution Video --> WATCH HERE!
Creating the Constitution Video --> WATCH HERE!
Task I: Review Article VII of the Constitution on Pg. 157 in your Text Books
- Write a translation for this Article in your Journal or Notes Section of your Binder
- Ratify: sign or give formal consent to (a treaty, contract, or agreement), making it officially valid.
- Just because you signed the statement about schools closing for Constitution Day, doesn’t make it true. There must be a process of ratification. Article VII says that nine of the states needed to vote in favor of ratification of the Constitution. By signing, the delegates were deciding whether or not they believed the Constitution should be made official or ratified by the people.
Task III: Read the handout provided with your shoulder partner
Task IV: Answer the following questions in your journal in full sentences, use textual evidence:
- What is the strongest reason John Jay gave for signing the Constitution?
- What is the strongest reason Elbridge Gerry gave for not signing the Constitution?
- Which delegate do you agree with? Why?
It's important to note:There’s really no winner in this debate. If the Federalists hadn’t won, we wouldn’t have a Constitution. But if the Anti-Federalists hadn’t disagreed and presented their point of view, the Constitution wouldn’t have had a Bill of Rights.
Conclusion: One of the most important ideas of the Constitution is the idea of popular sovereignty, which is government of the people and by the people. When the Constitution was written, other countries were run by kings and emperors, who ruled over everyone and everything- they had complete final say. The framers of the Constitution imagined a government where the final authority was in the hands of the citizens. This was a new and amazing idea at the time!
Test Your Knowledge: If you finish early- you can review your knowledge through the iCivics reading and fill out the activity to test your knowledge. Answers are provided here to help you :) Homework:
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