Constitution Assignment - AWOL

Constitution Assignment to Post On Your Blog

Part A:
You've done - mostly in class - a longer assignment regarding the first chunk of the Constitution (listed below). Please post the following parts.

• Paraphrase preamble and list powers and responsibilities of the 3 branches of the federal government.
• Please describe your feelings while reading and taking notes on the Constitution - awe, excitement, boredom, frustration?
• Pick 5 of your best insights and questions from the 10 you constructed about the Preamble and first 3 articles.

Part B (Post separately from A):

• Select 2 of your responses to the questions regarding Articles 4-7. Develop each to become a brief but sharp and interesting 2 paragraph essay.
• Select 2 of your responses to the Bill of Rights. Develop each to become a brief but sharp and interesting 2-3 paragraph essay.

Part C (Post separately from A & B)

• Select 2 of your responses to the questions regarding the 12-15th amendments. Develop each into a brief but sharp and interesting 2-3 paragraph essay.
• Describe the amendment from the rest of the list (16-27) that you find most significant and make an argument for why we should consider it especially important.

Part D (Post separately from A, B, and C)

• Post your further-developed thoughts on question 1 in a 2-4 paragraph mini-essay.
• Post your further developed thoughts on question 4 in a 2-5 paragraph essay.
• Post your further developed thoughts on question 5 in a 3-7 paragraph essay.

Consider the habits of mind to start your thinking and writing process. What is the main point? What are other ways of seeing this - where might there be controversy? Why does this matter? What does this connect to? Then make a brainstorm list of topics or a concept map. Then write a rough draft. Print it out and add and change. Make a new draft. Share with someone smart and get them to make comments. Post the 3rd draft.

Post online the above. Do not post the below, which is just here to make a record of the original class assignments.

Deeper In the Constitution
A: Part 1: Preamble:

• Memorize Preamble – use chunking and sequencing techniques. Chunking - “we the people” – “in order to FORM a more perfect union” “ESTABLISH justice” – Sequencing - FEIPPSoe
• Paraphrase Preamble Effectively – look up words you don’t know. Read the blue ink. Write it down.
• Be able to explain various goals listed in Preamble to each other and instructor.
• Critical thinking about preamble – what isn’t listed? What is a lie or a distortion or spin? Think it through and write down a few ideas, a few skeptical questions.

Part 2: Articles 1-3 of the Constitution:

• Read through each article and take notes on each.
• List powers and responsibilities and facts about each branch in your notes
• Read explanations by textbook editors (blue ink) for each section
• Read crossed out (amended) parts.
• Create 10 questions or interesting analyses/ideas about the 1st 3 sections and the Preamble.

B: Part 3: Articles 4-7

• Read and paraphrase the “Full Faith & Credit” provision in Article 4. What does that mean for gay marriage? Explain.
• Read through the rest of Article 4 – Paraphrase the amended portion that begins, “No person held to … may be due.” Why does this matter?
• Article 5 – Please make a flow chart of the two processes for amending the Constitution. What is the one rule which can’t be amended? What would the Convention route look like today?
• Article 6: What is the Supreme Law of the Land? What is the significance, in your opinion, of the “No religious test” clause.
• Article 7: What was necessary for the ratification of the Constitution? Why “Conventions” not “State Legislatures?” Why 9? Does this seem like a fair process to you? Why or why not?

Part 4: The Bill of Rights

• Read and paraphrase in writing the first 10 amendments.
• Please draw all the things that the government can’t block, because of the 1st amendment – one image for each of the 6 clauses.
• Does the 2nd Amendment seem to you to allow “well-organized militias” to have guns, or to allow all people to have guns? Make an argument
• Is the 4th Amendment contradicted by MTA, library, and/or airport searches?
• What do the 6th & 7th Amendments show about US fears of a bad government which would use its powers to unfairly arrest and convict innocent people?
• Do “lethal injection” and/or the “electric chair” contradict the 8th amendment? Why/why not?
• What do the 9th remind us about where rights ultimately come from? Are they given by government? What are some of the “others retained by the people” in your opinion? Is abortion one of them?
• What does the 10th Amendment say about the national government’s powers? Can the federal government take over the public school system? Can the Congress pass a law allowing gay marriage or denying it?

C: Part 5

• What does Amendment 11 indicate about the relative power of the federal government versus state governments (a question which 65 years later led to the US Civil War)?
• Amendments 12, 13, 14, & 15 are often referred to as a major turning point in US government policy. Explain the importance of these amendments.
• Why do you suppose these amendments were passed when they were - given how popular white supremacy has been in the US?
• Does the 14th combine with the earlier "no religious test" clause to guarantee a vision of a diverse and equitable society with no government discrimination?
• Why do you suppose the US government betrayed these ideals so frequently and so deeply from 1868 to 2008? Provide 3 of these betrayals or, if you prefer, of times when the US government realized these promises during difficult times.
• Does the 14th amendment seem to you to require the US government to overrule state government laws against gay marriage? Should the US government also step in to protect fetuses - as "persons" - from states that allow abortions? What about stepping in to guarantee women's right to the liberty of control of their own body and reproductive choices? What do your answers to the gay marriage, fetus-as-person, and reproductive rights questions suggest to you about the potential and problems in enforcing the 14th amendment? Specifically consider the following section - "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Part 6: The rest of the Constitution

• Please read the rest of the amendments and write a sentence or two summarizing the meaning of each. If you get stuck check out some help from the textbook or wikipedia.
• Evaluate Amendments 11-27 - which are the most powerful? Which are the most important?

D: Part 7: Thinking Further

1. Given the distinction between a constitutional amendment and a law - if you had the influence how would you amend the constitution?
2. Is the Constitution a possibly divinely inspired document that provides a nearly perfect structure of freedom and responsibility to the US government? Describe 2-3 aspects of the Constitution and Amendments that could support this argument.
3. Is the Constitution an elaborate sham - a fake-out - a big founding fathers PSYYYCH!? Identify 2-3 aspects of the Constitution and Amendments that could support this argument.
4. What is the general tendency of the Constitution and Amendments in your view - general and steady expansion of human freedom and decency? Reverses and contradictions in no particular direction? Ever increasing betrayal of democratic ideals by corrupt officials? A record of an eternal battle between the evil and good sides of humanity? Explain your fundamental perspective regarding the Constitution and provide a few arguments (including some citations of the Constitution itself) that support your position.
   
5. How does the Constitution, as amended, create/constrain/shape the American Way of Life?