Student Learning Expectations

Module VI examines the postwar period in which the colonies struggled to unite. It focuses on the Constitutional Convention and the creation of a government. At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• describe Washington's view of himself and his future as he surrendered his sword to the Continental Congress and refused another position in the government.

• state the meaning of the phrase "thirteen little republics" and what this meant in the context of the political conditions in America immediately after the war.

• state at least three of the positive changes that occurred within the former colonies as a result of the United States winning the war.

• describe at least four effects losing the war had on the Loyalists who had lived in the colonies.

• state a definition of national vision and describe how Alexander Hamilton's ideas for the future of the states would be an example of a national vision.

• state at least four of Alexander Hamilton's reasons why a United States under a strong central government would one day become a world power.

• state a reason why Noah Webster's American English dictionary contributed to building the American culture independent of its former ties with Britain.

• define sovereignty.

• explain the advantages and disadvantages to each state if each had remained independent and sovereign nations within a confederation.

• describe at least four problems that the government under the Articles of Confederation had in trying to govern the confederation.

• describe the cause of Shay's Rebellion.

• state at least two reasons why people like Noah Webster, after hearing of Shay's Rebellion, might have changed their minds about government by popular democracy.

• state at least three reasons why Americans in 1785-87 might have supported the return to a powerful monarchy and national Parliament.

• state the original reasons for the May 1787 Philadelphia convention of representatives from the states.

• state two important reasons why the members of the 1787 Philadelphia convention voted to keep their deliberations secret.

• state a reason why Patrick Henry, after hearing the news that the delegates in Philadelphia were working in secret, said, "I smell a rat."

• state the major problem that James Madison said had to be solved by the delegates to the Philadelphia convention.

• state at least two important consequences of the Philadelphia convention.

• describe James Madison's major concerns about a government that did not control the will of the majority.

• describe the immediate reactions of the majority of the people to the proposal that came out of the Philadelphia convention.

• state the advantages and disadvantages to each state if each were to give up much of its independence and sovereignty to a strong central and national government.

• state at least four reasons that people had to support the proposed new Constitution over the government under the Articles of Confederation.

• state at least four criticisms that people had against the government under the proposed new Constitution.

• state several Federalist ideas in support of the government under the proposed Constitution.

• state several Anti-Federalist ideas against the government under the proposed Constitution.

• describe how Samuel Adams's request for more time may have contributed to the Massachusetts convention's decision to accept the new Constitution.

• describe the one issue that eventually made it possible for a number of critics to support the proposed Constitution.

• state a definition of a bill of rights and the Bill of Rights.

• state the reasons why the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution.

• state at least two reasons why the Bill of Rights was important to the people of today.

• state at least one reason why some people did not consider the American Revolution to be a revolution.

• state a definition of liberty and describe at least one way that the new Constitution with its Bill of Rights was likely to protect liberty for Americans.

Suggested Enrichment Activities

The activities below may be used to complement students' inquiry into this video and its content.

1. Ask students to examine the Articles of Confederation and imagine the government system that is established. Have them consider this system of government in terms of its strengths and weaknesses relative to protecting the sovereignty of each state. Have them consider this same governmental system in terms of its strengths and weaknesses relative to protecting the sovereignty of the united, independent states.

2. Have students examine the advantages and disadvantages of a confederation of any kind. Ask them to list what each colony was trying to avoid happening to its sovereignty after the war. They could then construct a list of the benefits for leaving a confederation or for staying in one and giving up sovereignty to a more powerful central government.

3. Ask students to investigate the Federalist and Antifederalist positions. In preparation for a debate, divide the class into two teams. Have each team make a list of the Antifederalists' arguments with the counter-arguments by the Federalist next to each one. Then have them do the same for the Federalists' arguments and Antifederalist counter-arguments. (This process helps them understand both sides of the issue and can better anticipate their opponents' arguments.) They may want to focus their arguments around issues such as liberty, freedom and rights. Have them prioritize their strongest arguments.

4. To study the contributions of the Founding Fathers, break the students into small groups or pairs. Have each one choose a Founding Father. Each then should make a list of their person's most important ideas about government and, in particular, the new government system. Then the groups can present a summary of their findings to the class. Finally, the class may want to create a continuum which shows whether these individuals were very favorable to a new constitution or very opposed to it.

5. In preparation of study of the new Constitution, ask students to define the concepts of liberty, freedom, rights, sovereignty and authority. (They may want to consult the vocabulary list in this guide.) With these concepts in mind, have them then examine the government established under the new Constitution. Have them decide the extent to which the new Constitution provided for each of these. As an additional project, they could repeat this exercise for the Bill of Rights.

6. Ask students to examine some of the speeches, essays and statements by leaders of the colonial resister prior to April 1775. Have them summarize the main ideas in each of these documents. Then have them examine the U.S. Constitution to see whether or not each of these ideas was addressed. Have them make a chart of their findings. For the items not addressed, they could add a column for explanations of the probable reasons why the Constitution does not respond to them.

7. Ask students to investigate the various interpretations of the American Revolution. Have them summarize their findings by making a list of the authors, a summary of their interpretations and reasons for their interpretations. Then have them develop their own interpretation of the American Revolution. They could do this in the form of a comparison or contrast paper. Or they could write an argumentative essay using their findings as evidence.

Additional Questions for Discussion

Below are questions for classroom discussion.

1. Washington surrendered his sword to the Continental Congress and refused another position in the government. Why did he do this? What was his view of himself and his future?

2. What does the phrase "thirteen little republics" mean?

3. Many positive changes occurred within the former colonies as a result of the United States' winning the war. What were at least three of these changes?

4. Explain several of the effects that losing the war had on the hundreds of thousands of Loyalists who lived in the colonies.

5. Alexander Hamilton argued that a United States under a strong central government would one day become a world power. Give several of his reasons to support this position.

6. What did Noah Webster's American English dictionary contribute to the building of an American culture, independent of its British ties?

7. Define sovereignty.

8. Why did the United States under the confederation go bankrupt? Why did it not have much hope of getting out of its bankruptcy?

9. What was the central issue of Shay's Rebellion?

10. After hearing of Shay's Rebellion, many people, including Noah Webster, changed their minds about government by popular democracy. Why did they become more concerned about popular democracy?

11. What were at least two advantages and two disadvantages of each state remaining independent, sovereign nations within a confederation?

12. Why did some Americans in 1785-87 support a return to a powerful monarchy and national Parliament?

13. Why did the members of the 1787 Philadelphia convention vote to keep their deliberations secret? Give at least two reasons.

14. After hearing the news that the delegates in Philadelphia were working in secret, many people were concerned with what was going on in these meetings. Patrick Henry's reaction was "I smell a rat." What might have been his reasons for this reaction?

15. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of each state giving up its sovereignty to a strong central and national government?

16. What were Federalists' main arguments in support of the government proposed under the Constitution?

17. What were the Antifederalists' main arguments against the government proposed under the Constitution?

18. What were at least two consequences of the Philadelphia convention?

19. How did Samuel Adams's request for more time contribute to the Massachusetts convention's decision to accept the Constitution?

20. What were at least two reasons why the Bill of Rights was important to people in the 1780s?

21. Many people were convinced that the Bill of Rights would help ensure that their liberty and rights would be protected by a strong central government. Why did they think this would be true?

22. What is the meaning of the phrase "We the people"?

Student Resources

• 6-A. Questions to Focus Inquiry: Are We to Be a Nation? - This exercise focuses students' attention on essential facts in these chapters of the video.

• 6-B. Content and Overview: Are We to Be a Nation? - This activity provides contextual background for the period after the Revolutionary War to the ratification of the Constitution in 1788. This information helps students construct a better sense of the perceptions, conditions and attitudes emphasized in the video.

• 6-C. Noteworthy Quotations: Are We to Be a Nation? - This exercise provides a number of quotations illustrative of the various moods and feelings during the period just before and after the Constitutional Convention of 1787.