Activity 1

Introduction: As you know today citizens respect the Constitution of the United States and marvel at the ability of the founding fathers to create such a powerful document that has prevailed for more than two hundred years. However not everyone immediately favored the Constitution when it was first published.

 

Task: Find out who the Federalist and AntiFederalist were and who the leaders of each group were. Find out the main argument of the Federalist and AntiFederalist.

 

Process: Check your text for what the Federalist wanted and what the Antifederalist wanted. Then read the text of "The Federalist" number 69, contributed by Alexander Hamilton. Write a summary of Hamilton's main arguement. Discuss the following questions:

 

• What complaints relating to the powers of the President was Hamilton trying to defend?
• Hamilton compared the President to another political office, why?

   

  Resouces:

  • Magruder's American Government, McClenaghan, William N.
  • URL: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/fed/fedpapers.html
  • URL: http://phschool.com

   

  How you will be graded:

  • Assignment will be graded on how well the student summarized the key points of the essay.

     

  Conclusion: After completing this assignment the student will have a more thorough understanding of the struggle of the adaptation of the US Constitution, and the Federalist and AntiFederalist point of view.

  • A more thorough understanding of the compromises required to adopt the US Constitution.

   

   

  US Government

  US Government 2

  US Government3