The Beginning of Our Nation
Enduring Understanding:
To understand the present and make plans for their future, you must first understand the
past.
Essential Question:
What role did compromise and cooperation play in resolving conflict and the development of the new nation?
Core Content 2.3.2
Guiding Questions:
1. Why do we need a Constitution?
2. What are strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
v How did these weaknesses result in conflict?
v Shay’s Rebellion
v Money
v How did the strengths resolve conflicts?
v Northwest Ordinance
3. What is compromise? Why compromise?
v Why is compromise needed?
v If you pick up your room, you ______.
v What happens when we don’t compromise?
4. What role did compromise play in the development of the US Constitution?
v 3/5ths Compromise
v New Jersey Plan
v Virginia Plan
v Great Compromise
5. How did the Enlightenment philosophers influence the blueprint of our nation?
v Are we influenced by the ideas of others?
v How did different ideas shape and mold our way of life?
v Philosophers and the ideas behind the writing of the Constitution
6. Why have the checks and balances system?
v What is the checks and balances system?
v How do they work?
v What was the purpose?
v Is it imbalanced at times? Does it swing more toward one branch than the others?
v Is it always in perfect balance?
v During war – President; in the beginning – Supreme Court had more power.
7. How did ratification of the Constitution bring about both cooperation and conflict?
v Conflict: development of Federalist and Anti-Federalist
v Cooperation: 9 out of 13 had to ratify before it became a living document
The Beginning of Our Nation
Enduring Understanding:
To understand the present and make plans for their future, you must first understand the
past.
Essential Question:
What role did compromise and cooperation play in resolving conflict and the development of the new nation?
Core Content 2.3.2
Guiding Questions:
1. Why do we need a Constitution?
2. What are strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
- How did these weaknesses result in conflict?
- How did the strengths resolve conflicts?
3. What is compromise? Why compromise?
v Why is compromise needed?
v What happens when we don’t compromise?
4. What role did compromise play in the development of the US Constitution?
5. How did the Enlightenment philosophers influence the blueprint of our nation?
v Are we influenced by the ideas of others?
v How did different ideas shape and mold our way of life?
6. Why have the checks and balances system?
v What is the checks and balances system?
v How do they work?
v What was the purpose?
v Is it imbalanced at times? Does it swing more toward one branch than the others?
v Is it always in perfect balance?
7. How did ratification of the Constitution bring about both cooperation and conflict?
The Beginning of Our Nation
Enduring Understanding:
To understand the present and make plans for their future, you must first understand the
past.
Essential Question:
What role did compromise and cooperation play in resolving conflict and the development of the new nation?
Core Content 2.3.2
Guiding Questions:
1. Why do we need a Constitution?
- We need it to provide a basic plan for government. It explains our laws and how things are done. Without it, we wouldn’t have order. We know our freedoms and what we can or can not do.
2. What are strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
Weaknesses:
- no means to enforce the law
- no way to raise money to provide defense or pay off war debt
- no court system
- no way to settle disputes
- didn’t coin money
- no way to change the Articles
- representation wasn’t based on population
Strengths:
- 9 out of 13 had to agreed to pass laws
- Each state had equal representation
- Had power to declare war and raise an army
- Could make treaties
- Land Ordinance of 1785 and Northwest Ordinance of 1787
- Set up a postal system
- How did these weaknesses result in conflict?
Shays Rebellion
- How did the strengths resolve conflicts?
Each had equal say in representation, provided an orderly manner to settling the Northwest Territory and providing a government there
3. What is compromise? Why compromise?
- An agreement in order to settle disputes where both sides agreed to give up something to make peace
- Without compromise, there would be disagreements and maybe even war.
v Why is compromise needed?
To settle disagreements
v What happens when we don’t compromise?
War, people don’t work together for the common good, states would break away from the union
4. What role did compromise play in the development of the US Constitution?
Shays Rebellion was an example of why the Articles of Confederation were not working. It showed that they were weak and that they needed to be revised. When our founding fathers came together to revise the Articles and realized that they couldn’t so they started fresh with a new document.
5. How did the Enlightenment philosophers influence the blueprint of our nation?
John Locke – natural rights (life, liberty, and property), contract between a gov’t and its people
Baron de Montesquieu – powers of gov’t should be separated and balanced against each other; powers should be clearly defined and limited to prevent abues
v Are we influenced by the ideas of others?
Yes
v How did different ideas shape and mold our way of life?
Religious freedom, philosophers, traditions and customs
The US has such a diverse history that everyone has brought a little something from their homeland and integrated it into our society.
6. Why have the checks and balances system?
To ensure that one branch doesn’t have more power than another and thus create a dictator
v What is the checks and balances system?
Each branch has roles that check or limit the others so that no single branch can dominate the gov’t.
v How do they work?
E.g.- Congress passes a bill but President has to sign it to become a law.
v What was the purpose?
above
v Is it imbalanced at times? Does it swing more toward one branch than the others?
v Is it always in perfect balance?
7. How did ratification of the Constitution bring about both cooperation and conflict?
It settled disputes and allowed for it be changed over time.
The Beginning of Our Nation Open Response
Compromise and cooperation played a vital role in the development of the new nation.
A. Identify two specific situations where compromise played a vital role in the development of our nation?
B. Explain each of the compromises and how both helped to resolve conflict.