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The Constitution

Introduction

You are a citizen in the brand new United States of America after the Revolutionary War. Now you have become frustrated by the inefficient new government in the United States. You have been invited to attend a constitutional convention in Philadelphia. Your concerns depend upon your age, wealth, occupation, geographical location, and past experiences with government.

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The Task

You will be in groups of six. In each group there will be a:

• veteran soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War,
• merchant, selling clothing in one of the cities
• a farmer,
• tavern/hotel owner,
• citizen who does not want another king and is fearful of any central government
• a banker who is concerned with the inability of the government to gather revenues.

You must represent your point of view in a group tri-fold display which will be presented to the class. The class will function as a state ratification assembly. Your presentation must demonstrate all of the attitudes and problems confronted at the convention in Philadelphia.

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Resources

Here are the sites you'll be analyzing:

• Articles of Confederation
• Virginia Plan
• 3/5 Compromise
• Great Compromise
• James Madison
• U.S. Constitution
• U.S. Bill of Rights 

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The Process

To accomplish the task, you'll work together in groups of six. Each of you must go through the following steps:

1. First you'll be assigned to a team of 6 citizens who have been invited to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
2. As a group you should number off 1 to 6; your responsibility will be that of the citizen corresponding to your number.
3. You must choose a state that you will represent at the Constitutional Convention. Each citizen in your group must be from a different state. Out of thirteen original states your group will represent the views of the citizens of six of the states. Special care should probably be taken to choose nearly an equal number of large states & small states; also there should probably be a geographical balance between northern states and southern states because of the issue of slavery.
4. Next you must begin your quest by studying the description of the citizen corresponding to your number. Use the links to gain extra insight into the views of your occupation in the state you have selected.
5. After researching the Articles of Confederation and reviewing the problems the new country has because of the weaknesses in the wartime government you must decide whether you will attend the convention or not. If you decide not to attend the convention you must record your decision in the spreadsheet and choose a new state to represent in which you will attend the convention.
6. Begin your Constitution Webquest.

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Evaluation

Your group members will work together to create a tri-fold presentation which you can use to present the issues of the Constitutional Convention to your state's ratification assembly. You want to convince your state to ratify the new Constitution. However you must be prepared to answer all of their concerns. The class will play the part of your state assembly. Each group member will present to the class his/her position regarding the important issues resolved which affected the particular state and its citizens.

Conclusion

The Constitution is the document upon which our freedoms are based and upon which our country's government operates. It is the document that unites all of the people and all of the states into one Union, one Culture.

We are Americans; we are also citizens of a state, city, community. Our understanding of the history of our Constitution and the conflicts that it resolves will make us more responsible citizens as we mature and become contributors to our society.