U.S.+Constitution+Project

﻿10/20/10

__** AP Constitution Assignment **__
 * What are the key principles of the U.S. Constitution? **

Project on the Constitution of the United States of America: Individual work. You may talk with classmates to discuss key info, ask questions, clarify thoughts, etc, but project work is to be done individually.


 * Create a presentation of the key principles of the U.S. Constitution that includes: **


 * 1) Important background info / context of the creation of the Constitution
 * 2) At least one Wordle that analyzes the most often used/important words used in the Constitutio n
 * 3) The key princip les of the U.S. Constitution (this is the theory part)
 * 4) The importance of the Constitution
 * 5) Application of the key principles in historical context (important events and issues related to the key principles (this is the practice part) examples: Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, Declaration of War vs Japan in WWII, Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, etc.
 * 6) Make sure that your presentation includes key terms, people, images, examples, and analysis
 * 7) Keep track of and site your sources

How the Constitution came to be
America declared its independence from British control through the Declaration of Independence. It became an independent nation on July 4th, 1776 with the Articles of Confederation as the first constitution. The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments. The Congress was responsible for conducting foreign affairs, declaring war or peace, maintaining an army, navy, and a variety of other lesser functions. But the Articles denied Congress the power to collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce, and enforce laws. The need for a stronger Federal government soon became apparent. During 1780's, the wealthiest and most powerful groups in the country began to protest for a stronger national government capable of handling the nation's problems. This desire for a stronger national government eventually led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in the Philadelphia State house. Fifty-five men from all states except Rhode Island came to the meeting and became known as the Founding Fathers. Edmund Randolph of Virginia proposed the idea of the national government having a supreme Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary. He then described The Virginia Plan, used to be known as Madison's Plan, which was replaced by the Great Compromise on July 16, 1787. The Great Compromise solved the issue that dealt with representation; where the lower house was where each state was represented based on their population & each slave counted as 3/5 of a free man. On the upper house, each state had two Representatives. Their government still lacked several things such as the absence of a list of individual rights, which would, in a way, restrain the national government from having too much power. But before forming an effective national government, two questions were brought up by James Madison: "How could both the national government and the state governments exercise sovereignty at the same time? Where did ultimate sovereignty lie?" The answer to this, was that power would come ultimately from the people. The present United States Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation on March 4th, 1789.

Preview of the Constitution using WORDLE
media type="custom" key="7252349" width="150" height="150" align="center"

**__Words used most often and their relevance & meaning: __**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">﻿ **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">State(s): **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Comes after United because it's part of the name United States; where the Constitution applied; was given power and representation <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**United:** Always comes before States since it's the part of the name United States; the constitution tried to make the states "united" under a national government; wanted all of the citizens united and working together to form a good government structure; untied people meant improvements and no rebellions or chaos. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Representative: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Representatives were important because they represented their state; they were the voice of their states' people **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">President: ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">holds the office of head of state of the United States government  **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Con ** **gress**: the legislature of the United States government; a meeting of elected or appointed representatives **Law**: needed to keep order; the collection of rules imposed by authority; **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Person: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">a human being; was responsible for giving power to the government **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Office: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">being in power  **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Senate: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">the upper house of the Congress; had high legislative powers  **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">May: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">meant that people could choose, rather than everything being imposed on them by saying "must"

= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">The Constitution =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Constitution** - Created on September 17, 1787 and was ratified on June 21, 1788.The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. It has 27 amendments; the first ten are known as the Bill of Rights. It created the three cranches of the government which are Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches. Empowered with the sovereign authority of the people by the framers and the consent of the legislatures of the states, it is the source of all government powers, and also provides important limitations on the government that protect the fundamental rights of United States citizens. It prevented any one person from having too much power and becoming tyrannical.



<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">**Bill of Rights** - The first ten amendments to the Constitution which gives citizens of America rights such as freedom of speech and religion.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 160%;">The key principles of the U.S. Constitution **
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Separations of powers-- government was split into 3 branches: legislative, judicial, and executive branch
 * <span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">checks and balances -- so that not one branch would be more powerful than the other-- limited
 * <span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Congress 1. (Senate) 2. (house of representatives) both would have to agree before a law could be passed -- president had power to veto acts of congress -- judges / justices serve for life) ( find jobs of branches).
 * <span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Constitution was ulitimatley to protect new nation from a tryannical government.
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">added two new branches to the US government, the executive and judiciary
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">states delegated and restricted powers
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">power to: tax, regulate commerce, control currency, pass laws that were proper
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Bill of Rights established individual rights
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">house of representatives was picked by the people
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">states how government sovereignty comes from the people
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">outlines system of federalism in which state and national government powers are separated/shared
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">discusses how to make ammendments if necessary
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">includes the Elastic Clause--Necessary and Proper Clause--that gives Congress the right to use loose construction to bend and fit a situation.circumstance
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">outlines rules of who is eligible to be in each branch - discusses elections and impeachment
 * <span style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">separates church and state



=<span style="font-size: 1.4em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">**<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;">Importance of the Constitution ** =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">The Constitution is important because it puts limits on the government. It's like a contract between the government and the people. The people who 'serve' in the government take an oath that they will support and defend the constitution. Which means that they will obey the constitution and the spirit and intent of it; and will not do anything to a person that is prohibited by the constitution. It's a form of government where the people rule, and not one person has too much power. Therefore, having this Constitution prevents U.S. from having a tyrranical leader. It is supposed to limit the behavior of those in office to do harm to the citizens, using the power of their office, while they serve in office. If it works and if those in office are honest, then the importance to each individual is a high level of personal freedom.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">The Constitution also allows American government to function properly through shared power. For example, the separation of powers (Legislative, Executive, Judicial Branch) prevented one branch from having too much power and becoming tyrannical. It makes the federal and state governments happy because states still had rights. The 10th Amendment states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

= = =<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 22px;">Application of the key principles in historical context ** =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%; font-weight: normal;">**McCulloch v Maryland (1819)** -- In 1816, Congress chartered The Second Bank of the United States. In 1818, the state of Maryland passed legislation to impose taxes on the bank. James W. McCulloch, the cashier of the Baltimore branch of the bank, refused to pay the tax. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">The Court summoned the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution which allowed the Federal government to pass laws not expressly provided for in the Constitution's list of express powers provided those laws are in useful furtherance of the express powers of Congress under the Constitution.In a unanimous decision, the Court held that Congress had the power to incorporate the bank and that Maryland could not tax instruments of the national government employed in the execution of constitutional powers. Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Marshall noted that Congress possessed unenumerated powers not explicitly outlined in the Constitution. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%; font-weight: normal;">**Scott v. Sandford (1857)** -- Dred Scott was a Missouri slave was transported from a slave state to a free state and had lived at the free state. Scott sued Emerson's widow after Emerson for his freedom in the Missouri supreme court, saying that he's a free man because he had lived on "free soil". After defeat in State courts, Scott brought suit in a local federal court. Eleven years after Scott's initial suit, the case came before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court ruled that persons of African descent cannot be, nor were ever intended to be, citizens under the U.S. Const. The Property Clause is only applicable to lands possessed at the time of ratification (1787). Therefore, Congress cannot ban slavery in the territories. So the Missouri Compromise is unconstitutional. With the Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment prohibits the federal government from freeing slaves brought into federal territories. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%; font-weight: normal;">**Brown v Board (1954)** -- The 14th Amendment includes the Equal Protection Clause which requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people within itsjurisdiction. In Brown v Board, Black children were denied admission to public schools attended by white children under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to the races. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Despite the equalization of the schools by "objective" factors, intangible issues foster and maintain inequality. Therefore the Board decided that the segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race deprive the minority children of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. Racial segregation in public education has a damaging effect on minority children because it is interpreted as a sign of inferiority. The long-held doctrine that separate facilities were permissible provided they were equal was rejected. Separate but equal is inherently unequal in the context of public education. The unanimous opinion sounded the death-knell for all forms of state-maintained racial separation. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%; font-weight: normal;">**Miranda v Arizona (1996)** -- Ernesto Miranda was arrested after a crime victim identified him, but police officers questioning him did not inform him of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, or of his Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of an attorney; <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: normal;">the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, and the right to an appointed attorney if they are unable to afford counsel - prior to conducting a custodial interrogation <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: normal;">. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">While he confessed to the crime, his attorney later argued that his confession should have been excluded from trial. The Supreme Court agreed, deciding that the police had not taken proper steps to inform Miranda of his rights. The justices concluded that “the very fact of custodial interrogation exacts a heavy toll on individual liberty, and trades on the weakness of individuals.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">**Roper v. Simmons (2005)** -- On the Constitution, the 8th Amendment prohibits the federal gov't from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments.The 14th Amendment includes the Equal Protection Clause which requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people within its jurisdiction. In 1993,Christopher Simmons was sentenced to death when he was only 17. In 2002, the Missouri Supreme Court stayed Simmon's execution while the U.S. Supreme Court decided Atkins v. Virginia, a case that dealt with the execution of the mentally ill. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing the mentally ill violated the Eighth and 14th Amendment prohibitions on cruel and unusual punishment because a majority of Americans found it cruel and unusual, the Missouri Supreme Court decided to reconsider Simmons' case.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">PEOPLE:

1) belief   2) leaders/imp. people 3) general supporters ||  1) Supporters of Constitution 2) · Thomas Jefferson   (spokesman)    · James Madison    3) small property owners - mostly in rural areas in South + West  ||  1) Supporters of Constitution    2) · James Madison · John Dickinson · Alexander Hamilton · Ben Franklin 3) Educated and wealthy (majority)   Elite Businessmen (in commercial centers)  ||  1) Opponents of Constitution 2) · Samuel Adams   · Patrick Henry    · Henry Lee    · George Madison    · Robert Yates    3) Veterans  || 2.) Thought they did need Bill of Rights along with strong national gov’t   3) Believed in same things as Federalists, but believed more in representing the peoples best interests, not just their supporters  ||  1) Supported    2) Thought it was necessary for republic survival a stronger national gov’t 3) Thought it was a needed gov’t that would end chaos ||  1) Opposed 2) Thought they only needed a stronger Articles of Confederation   3) Thought the supposed to be revised A of C was all they needed  || 2) centralized (national) power ||  1) Split/separation of powers 2) centralized (national) power ||  1) Would only cause tyranny & argued over president Rights, # of congressional rep & senatorial terms 2) decentralized (state) power ||
 * **CATEGORY** ||  **REPUBLICANS**  ||  **FEDERALISTS**  ||  **ANTI FEDERALISTS**  ||
 * **WHO?**
 * **VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION** ||  1.) Supported + Bill of Rights
 * **OPINION ON THE ROLE OF THE NATIONAL GOV’T** ||  1) split/separation of powers (that would be in the nation’s best interest)
 * **PLANS** ||  1) Did not have a plan like Hamilton Plan  ||  1) created Hamilton Plan  ||  1) Did not have a plan like Hamilton Plan  ||

SITES:

[] -- wordle [] -- for the Constitution used in the Wordle [] -- how the constitution came to be [] -- events that dealt with the constitution [] -- Articles of Confederation [] -- key principles [] -- Dred Scott v. Sanford [] -- Roper v. Simmons [] -- Marbury v. Madison [] -- the Constitution