Constitution

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CONSTITUTION DAYSPECIAL SECTION • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

THE MAKING AND MEANINGOF THE

UNITED STATESOF THE

2PRELUDE TO A NATION

BREAKINGWITH

BRITAIN

THE AMAZING CONVENTION

CLEAROUTLINE

OF RIGHTS

A LIVING DOCUMENT

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A brief history from www.usconstitution.net, Library of Congress, National Archives

and the Daily Herald staff

SEPTEMBER 17, 1787-2008

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Persecuted Puritans∫ SEEDS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION were sown in 16th century Europe, a time of politi-cal, scientific and religious upheaval. Royalty

was on the rise, Copernicus demonstrated the relationship of Earth to heavenly bodies, and Martin Luther broke with the Catholic church, launch-ing the Reformation. John Calvin, more serious-minded than even Luther, launched a second wave of reform. Calvinists in England wanted to purify the political corrup-tions of the Church of Eng-land, which itself had broken with Rome under King Henry

VIII. The sternly pious reformers, called Puri-tans, experienced persecution, sometimes from official sources. Archbishop William Laud said he would “harry them out of the land.”

John Calvin

New World Refuge

Library of Congress

Detail from “An Accurate Map of North America from the Latest Discoveries,” circa 1750s.Library of Congress

Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock.

∫ NORTH AMERICA ATTRACTED English Puritans. There they could prove the correctness of their doctrines and return to Europe in triumph. “We shall be as a city upon a hill,” proclaimed their leader, John Winthrop. “The eyes of all people are upon us.” Many American ideals can be traced to Puritan values — their habits of thought, hard work, self-confidence and sense purpose and destiny.

In 1620, Puritans began arriving at what today is Plymouth, Mass., already English terri-tory. Fourteen years earlier, King James I had chartered the Virginia Companies and claimed land for commercial exploitation. Jamestown on the Virginia coast was founded in 1607. Subse-quent waves of immigrants, including French Calvinists, or Huguenots, settled from Florida to Canada. The colonial population swelled to 2.5 million by the time of the American Revolution.

∫ THOMAS PAINE was a firebrand, a scholar whose pamphlets — notably “Common Sense” — fanned the flames of revolution and inspired the Continen-tal army.

Published in January of 1776, “Com-mon Sense” called for independence and laid the colonies’ troubles at the feet of King George III. The 50-page pamphlet sold at least 120,000 copies.

Paine advocated small government, penning the words: “Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”

John Adams put Paine’s impact elo-quently: “Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain.” Thomas Paine

A Paineful Pen

Library of Congress

At the Boston Tea Party, ‘Mohawks’ dumped the tea.

∫ ON DEC. 16, 1773, the radical, super-secret Sons of Liberty, Boston residents organized by Samuel Adams, dressed as Mohawks, boarded three Brit-ish ships and dumped hundreds of crates of tea into the harbor. Colonists felt they were being overtaxed — without representa-

tion in the British Parliament. Why a tea party? The Tea Act

allowed an English company to sell tea to the colonies at lower prices than colonial merchants.

England retaliated with a se-ries of harsh laws — the Intoler-able Acts — which pushed the colonies closer to revolution.

A Wild Party in Boston

P rinter, scientist, inventor, ac-tivist and diplomat, Benjamin Franklin was perhaps the most

remarkable and respected man of his time.

A dynamo in public life well before the Revolution, Franklin published the hugely popular Penn-sylvania Gazette as well as Poor Richard’s Almanac, in which he wrote many of his famous maxims. He revamped the postal system,

launched the first public library, and started one of the country’s first fire departments.

It wasn’t long until he was drawn into the fight for independence. He sought early on to draw the colo-nies together, authoring the famous editorial cartoon of a divided snake with the caption “Join, or Die.”

His popularity increased as a result of his efforts, while envoy to England before the war, to repeal

the Stamp Act. In Europe during the Revolutionary War, Franklin was an unequaled diplomat, draw-ing in support for America’s cause, especially with the French, without whom the war would likely have been lost.

He was elected to the Second Continental Congress and was an important calming, unifying voice when the Constitutional Convention threatened to break up. His signa-

ture is on the Declaration of Inde-pendence and the Constitution.

William Pierce, a member of the Continental Congress, described Franklin this way:

“Dr. Franklin is well known to be the greatest philosopher of the pres-ent age; all the operation of nature he seems to understand — the very heavens obey him, and the Clouds yield up their Lightning to be impris-oned in his rod.”

∫ AS ENGLISH SUBJECTS, the colonists inherited a tradition that no person was above the law, not even the king. But King George III had to pay for one of his European Wars, and in 1763 he and Parliament began to squeeze money out of the colonies through questionable means.

As the taxes rose, so did colonists’ ire, and sometimes protests turned violent. Six colonists were killed in the so-called Boston Massacre in 1770, when British soldiers fired into an antago-nistic but unarmed mob.

The king tried to rein in the colonists with what became known as the “Intolerable Acts,” which

required room and board for British soldiers, took away governing rights of the people of Massachusetts, blocked colo-nial courts from trying British officials and closed the port of Boston until damage from the Tea Party was repaid. Many colonists arrived at a solution: revolution.

Samuel Adams, a brewer, is perhaps best known for firing up the mob for the Tea Party and leading an underground

resistance. He also was a member of the Conti-nental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence.

Those Intolerable Brits

Samuel Adams

2 —From Subjects to Rebels

1 — Prelude to a Nation

Benjamin Franklin

∫ ENGLAND’S SUCCESS at colonization arose from its use of charter companies, such as the Virginia Companies of London and Plymouth. These were groups of stockholders (usually merchants and wealthy landowners) who sought wealth and, perhaps, also wanted to advance England’s national goals. While the private sector financed the companies, the King gave each project a charter, or grant, con-ferring economic rights and political authority.

Because profits weren’t quick, the English investors often turned over their charters to the settlers. The political implications, though not realized at the time, were enormous. The colonists were left to build their own lives, their own communities, their own economy — in ef-fect, to start constructing the rudiments of a

new nation. By the mid-1700s, the New England colonies had developed a ship-building indus-try. Plantations in Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas grew tobacco, rice and indigo, often with slave labor. The middle colonies of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware shipped general crops and furs. Except for slaves, the standard of living was generally higher than in England itself.

By 1770, the colonies were ready, economi-cally and politically, for self-government. Dis-putes developed with England over taxation and other matters. Americans hoped for a modifica-tion of English taxes and regulations that would allow more self-government. Few thought the mounting quarrel would lead to all-out war and independence.

American Economics: Independence Sneaks Up

John Locke

FREEDOM: LOCKE IS THE KEY

The rise of modern phi-losophy in the 1600s, known as the Age of

Reason, led to the Enlighten-ment of the 1700s. English philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) was an empiricist whose ideas on the relation-ship of individuals to govern-ments were well known to the American founders — in-cluding the concept of checks and balances. He argued that a government could only be legitimate if it received the consent of the governed through a social contract that protected the natural rights of life, liberty and property. If such consent was not given, Locke said, then citizens had a right of rebellion.

Locke’s ideas had a major impact on the development of political philosophy. His writings, along with those of Scottish philosopher David Hume, Frenchman Jean-Jacques Rousseau and others influenced the writ-ten works of Thomas Jef-ferson, James Madison and other Founders of the United States.

Rousseau (1712-1778) outlined the basis for a le-gitimate political order in 1762. His thesis, “The Social Contract,” became one of the most influential works of political philosophy in the Western tradition.

hese are times that try men’s souls. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.”

JOLT OF GENIUS: THE AMAZING BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

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∫ He has refused his As-sent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

∫ He has made Judges de-pendent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their of-fices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

∫ He has erected a mul-titude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

∫ He has affected to ren-der the Military indepen-dent of and superior to the Civil power.

∫ For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

∫ For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

∫ For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

∫ For transporting us be-yond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

∫ He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and de-stroyed the lives of our people.

∫ He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Cap-tive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

3 — War & Independence

In April 1775, British forces and colonists skirmished in Lexington and Concord,

sparking the Revolutionary War. Nobody knows who fired the first shot, but it changed the world.

More than a year later the Declaration of Independence was signed, and it was several more years after that to war’s end.

Despite having a new com-mander-in-chief, Gen. George Washington, the American mili-tiamen were not well organized. The young country didn’t have an army or navy. Volunteers were overconfident, and many lacked any military training.

The British army pushed the Americans out of the major cit-ies during the brutal winters of the war. British troops were, however, unprepared for new tactics used by American rebels, who fought small skirmishes, retreated, and then turned to fight again.

Revolutionary War soldiers were citizen-soldiers — farm-ers who had families at home. Washington complained that large numbers would leave the ranks before or after battle. It was often hard to know the true strength of his army.

It wasn’t until the British defeat at Saratoga, New York, in October 1777 that France believed America could win the war and began to supply aid.

As foreign support and mili-tary confidence grew, the tide of the war turned against the British. In 1781, British general Charles Cornwallis surrendered to Washington, ending the war.

In Europe, envoys Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and John Ad-ams had already opened secret negotiations with the British. They eventually reached agree-ment on a formal treaty that recognized the colonies’ inde-pendence — the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783.

THE SHOT HEARD ’ROUND THE WORLD

George Washington

WASHINGTON LEARNED FAST

George Washington, a veteran of the French and Indian War, had the

confidence of Congress and was given command of the Continen-tal army in June 1775.

The tall and charismatic leader suffered early defeats but learned quickly. The tables began to turn on Christmas Day 1776 when he crossed the Dela-ware River and took an enemy force by surprise at Trenton, N.J.

Washington’s steadfastness during the war endeared him to the people. He saw his troops through harsh winters, success-fully prodded Congress and generally held the shaky Ameri-can raft together. With his later statesmanship, Washington was in a class of his own.

Many other commanders de-serve credit for their roles in the Revolutionary War. Nathanael Greene, for example, rose from private to general and was a su-perior tactician in the South.

Daniel Morgan’s untrained militia and 300 Continentals defeated a major British force at Cow Pens in North Carolina. And Benedict Arnold, now remembered as a traitor for plotting to sur-render West Point, was a hero first. He distinguished himself at Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 and is credited with winning the pivotal Battle of Saratoga in 1777, which stopped the British advance from the north.

Library of Congress

“Lexington,” engraved from a painting by Alonzo Chappell.

The Empire Strikes First; Minutemen Use Force∫ DURING THE NIGHT of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere and William Dawes made their famous ride from Boston to Lexington to warn of an advancing British force that had been ordered to seize a cache of colonists’ weapons at Concord, Mass.

The morning of April 19, British

infantry companies arrived at Lex-ington Square to find a small group of colonial militia, or Minutemen. The colonists were ordered to disperse, and seeing the well-armed British troops they began to do so. But a shot rang out — no one knows who fired first — and the British opened

fire, killing eight colonists and wounding 10 others.

When the British reached Concord, however, they faced a well prepared force. This time, the colonists shot back, inflicting heavy casualties and harassing the British all the way back to Boston. The war had begun.

∫ IN AUGUST OF 1781, George Washington fooled the British army occupying New York into thinking he was settling into his Hudson River camps. Instead, he slipped south with the bulk of his army to catch a large enemy force off-guard on the Virginia coast, where it had gone to secure a harbor for the British fleet. Washington’s 17,600 Continentals and French troops under the youthful Marquis de Lafayette, reached Yorktown where a British escape was cut off by the arrival of the French navy.

British general Charles Cornwallis surrendered his 8,300 troops on Oct. 19, 1781. It was the last major military action of the Revolutionary War and pushed the British government to recognize American inde-pendece, provisionally at first, then formally in 1783.

Now a strong political system was needed.

War Ends, Nation is Born∫ WASHINGTON CONTINUALLY REQUESTED support — food, clothing, equipment, ammunition, medicine, pay for soldiers — but the Continental Congress had little means to act and often left the troops destitute. During the winter of 1776-77 Washington was desper-ate for a victory to boost morale. He got one at Tren-ton, N.J., but little changed in the supply line. Then came a series of brutal winters, including 1777-78 at Valley Forge, which inflicted immense suffering and 2,000 deaths. As late as spring 1781 Washington was still desperate. Posterity, he wrote, would regard an American victory as “fiction” — the defeat of a profes-sional army “by numbers infinitely less, composed of men oftentimes half starved, always in rags, without pay, and experiencing, at times, every species of dis-tress which human nature is capable of undergoing.”

Cold Shoulders, and Winters

Complaints Against the KingSome of the “repeated injuries and usurpations” as found in the Declaration of Independence.AN IMMORTAL DECLARATION

Benedict Arnold

King George III

“... Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it...” – Thomas Jefferson

‘A DECENT RESPECT TO THE OPINIONS OF MANKIND’

∫ Proposal to Congress from Virginia, written by Richard Henry Lee and lifted verbatim by Thomas Jefferson:

“That these United Colo-nies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the Brit-ish Crown, and that all politi-cal connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

∫ Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason:

“That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their poster-ity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and pos-sessing property, and pursu-ing and obtaining happiness and safety.”

Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

∫ Other influences: Jefferson drew on ideas proposed by English philosopher John Locke and French philoso-pher Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

In June 1776, as Thomas Jefferson composed a draft of the Declaration of Independence, the largest invasion force

in British military history was headed for New York Harbor.

The Declaration announced to the world the separation of the 13 colonies from Great Britain and the establishment of the United States of Amer-ica. It explained the causes of this radical move with a long list of charges against the king. It asserted a universal truth about human rights in

words that have inspired the downtrodden through subse-quent centuries.

Jefferson was not aiming at originality. The Declaration articulates the highest ideals of the Revolution — beliefs in liberty, equality and the right

to self-determination. Ameri-cans embraced a view of the world in which a person’s position was determined not by birth, rank or title but by talent, ability and enterprise. It was a widely held view, circulated in newspapers,

pamphlets, sermons and schoolbooks; but it was Jef-ferson, the 33-year-old planter from Virginia, who cobbled the words together.

On July 4, 1776, Congress completed its editing of the document that reduced the text by 25 percent (“mutila-tions” is what Jefferson called the process) and formally ad-opted the Declaration.

John Hancock, the Presi-dent of Congress, was the first to sign; his signature is larger than any other on the page and directly centered below the text.

George MasonThomas Jefferson

Who Wrote the Declaration?

Richard Henry Lee

It was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and amended by Congress, but some important language originated with others.

John Locke

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A SPECIAL SECTION OF THE DAILY HERALDTHE MAKING AND MEANING OF THE CONSTITUTION4 —Making and Debating the ConstitutionWHY A CHANGE WAS NEEDED

Throwing off the Brit-ish monarchy on July 4, 1776, left the United

States with no central gov-ernment. It had to design and install one. With the distrac-tions of the war, the process took five years. But in 1781 America’s first constitution came into being — the Ar-ticles of Confederation. At a time when Americans had a deep-seated fear of a central authority and loyalty to the state in which they lived (of-ten referred to as their “coun-try”).

Ultimately, the Articles proved inadequate to resolv-ing important issues that faced the early states.They had trouble acting in concert on matters of common interest. The national gov-ernment was

often hobbled by lack of mon-ey because it had no power to tax, and states didn’t always pay their fair share. With no enforcement power, nothing could be done. Nor could the government effectively stop British and Spanish encroach-ments on U.S. territory.

Then there was Shay’s Rebellion in 1786, a small army of farmers angered by crushing debt and taxes, that terrorized Massachusetts. The government had little power to put down the revolt.

One of the most difficult problems was that the na-tonal government could not regulate commerce between states, which led to bitter disputes, particularly as an economic depression settled in after the war.

Amendments required the unanimous agreement of

every state, and several attempts were held up by a single vote.

FLAT-TIRE GOVERNMENTFirst Constitution Was a Weak One

The United States had some fundamental prob-lems in the late 1780s.

The virtually powerless feder-al government under the Ar-ticles of Confederation, made for a nation in which stability and security were constantly at risk.

So it was in September 1786 that a conference was called in Annapolis, Md., to discuss the condition of com-merce in the fledgling nation. The conference was called by Virginia, at the urging of one of its great minds, James Madison.

Madison had designs to do

more than just discuss com-merce, but his hopes were dashed when he arrived. Only five of the 13 states sent any delegates at all: Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Penn-sylvania and Virginia. And of those, only three — Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia — had enough delegates to speak for their states.

Congress approved a pro-posal to hold another, more sweeping, conference 1787. The wheels were now in mo-tion, though few had any inkling of the momentous changes that were about to come.

THEY CALLED A MEETING, BUT FEW SHOWED UP

∫ JAMES MADISON of Virginia has been called the Father of the Constitution. He arrived in Philadelphia two weeks early to plan. The delegates were coming to fix the Articles of Con-federation, but Madison had larger ambitions. His intent was to scrap the whole thing and start over, recasting the nation in an entirely different form — a full-blown national republic, as opposed to a weak confederation of states. In a republic, the people delegate their power to representatives. Madison’s vision included separate branches of na-tional government with cross-checking authority on each other, so that no one part could take too much con-trol — yet strong enough to curb the states. His notes of the debates in Philadelphia are a national treasure.

Madison’s Brilliant Gambit

∫ Balance of power — Nearly all delegates recognized that the Confederation needed to be strengthened. But they worried that a central government with too much power might destroy local government.

∫ Shape of legislature — How many legislative houses should there be? How would members be chosen? Would they answer to the people?

∫ Representation — The main debate centered here: How could small states maintain a fair balance of power against populous states, and how could a big state avoid being railroad-ed? Should slaves count?

∫ Weak or strong executive? With the power of a king still fresh on their minds, delegates were cautious about creating a potential new tyrant? Would he have veto power?

∫ Mode of election — How should leaders be chosen, by direct popular vote, by the leg-islatures, governors or some other scheme? Should there be more than one executive?

∫ The courts — The judiciary was a topic of little debate. Most agreed that judges would be appointed and have life terms. Judges were not posi-tioned as interpreters of the Constitution until 1803.

Points of DebateIt isn’t easy to design a country from scratch. Just try it sometime. You may find yourself discussing issues similar to these that were brought up at the Constitutional Convention.

GREAT COMPROMISE

THE NEAR-FATAL ARGUMENT

The Stain of Slavery

∫ TWO THINGS still needed doing after delegates to the Constitutional Convention finished their work:

RatificationBefore the Constitution

could become the law of the land, it would have to with-stand public scrutiny and be accepted by nine states as prescribed in Article VII.

Ratification was far from automatic. The Constitution had many opponents.

A monumental national dialogue ensued, and in 10 months the plan was ap-proved. First to ratify was Delaware, on Dec. 7, 1787, by a vote of 30-0. Virginia and New York were 10th and 11th to ratify, both on close votes in June and July 1788. While the required nine states had already been

secured, these two large, wealthy states were needed to make the plan work. The last hold-out, Rhode Island, ratified on May 29, 1790.

A bill of rightsThe new Constitution

had no bill of rights, a set of specific protections for indi-vidual liberties.

To the Federalists who promoted the new national structure, this seemed un-necessary since the federal government was limited in its powers and could not interfere with the retained rights of the people or states. Besides, most states had their own bills of rights.

But feelings were strong in many quarters, and assuranc-es that amendments would be added later helped ease the way for ratification.

Signed, But Not Sealed

∫ THE REVOLUTION’S IDEALS of liberty and equality existed side by side with the realities of slavery. The brutal prac-tice had become vital to the economy, especially in the South, and slaves made up 20 percent of the population.

Two furious debates swirled around the issue: how slaves were to be counted, and whether slavery should exist at all in the new nation.

Regarding representation, the Southern states wanted their slaves counted as whole persons because that would give them more representa-tives in Congress.

It was the Northern states’ greatest fear, since the South could increase its political clout by simply importing more slaves.

Roger Sherman first sug-gested the count include free men only, but this was quick-ly dismissed by the South.

James Wilson, knowing that the South was needed to create a strong Union, sug-gested that the Convention adopt the same standard as in the Articles of Confederation: Each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person.

And so a deal was struck. It may have made the differ-ence between having a Con-stitution and not having one.

While both sides agreed to the compromise for purposes of representation, the issue of slavery itself not left alone for the rest of the convention. The moral debate continued to rage.

Direct appeals for abolition were defeated, and it became clear as the Convention pro-gressed that the two sides would need to reach another compromise.

The North agreed that the government would keep its hands off slavery for 20 years — until Jan. 1, 1808. The South agreed that im-ported slaves would be tax-able during that time.

The ghosts of the Framers have been chastised often for not stopping slavery in its tracks at the Convention. But faced with the real possibility of fracturing the union, they made the compromises that kept the young country to-gether, leaving the matter for future generations. The solu-tion would emerge from the bloodiest war in U.S. history.

∫ OVERVIEW: The War for Independence had been won, but economic depression, social unrest, inter-state rivalries and foreign intrigue appeared to be unraveling the fragile confederation. In 1787, Con-gress called for a special convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. On Sept. 17, after four months of secret meetings, the delegates emerged with an entirely new plan of government.

In seven sections, or articles, they proposed a strong central government made up of three branch-es: legislative, executive, and judicial. Each would be kept from acquiring too much power by a sophisti-cated set of checks and balances.

The delegates compromised on slavery, leaving its final resolution to future generations. The plan wasn’t perfect, but it could be revised over time. It was put before the nation, and by May of 1790 all 13 states had ratified it.

KEY PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION (as amended):

I. Legislative branch“All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Represen-tatives. ...”

∫ Age requirements: Representatives must be at least 25 years of age; senators must be at least 30. ∫ Representation: States elect a number of represen-tatives based on their state’s population, so big states have more votes than small states in the House. In the Senate, however, states are represented equally, with two senators each. Slaves count as three-fifths of a person for purposes of figuring representation in the House.∫ Terms of office: Representatives serve for two-year terms; senators serve six years. ∫ Special duties: The vice-president of the United States sits as president of the Senate but may not vote except in case of a tie. ∫ Legislative sessions: Congress is required to meet at least once a year with a minimum number of members present. Members may be expelled. Proceedings must be recorded. Neither house can

adjourn without the permission of the other.∫ Rules of lawmaking. Any bill for raising money (such as taxes) must start out in the House, which was thought to be closest to the people. All bills must pass both houses of Congress with the same wording. A bill that passes both houses is sent to the president, whose signature makes it law. The presi-dent can sign or reject (veto) it. In the case of a veto, the bill is sent back to Congress where it must get more votes than before. If both houses pass it by a two-thirds majority, the bill becomes law despite the President’s veto. This is known as a veto override.∫ Powers of Congress. List includes the power to es-tablish and maintain an army and navy, to establish post offices, to create courts, to regulate commerce between the states, to declare war and to raise money. An “elastic clause” is included that allows Congress to pass any law necessary for the carrying out of its powers.∫ Limitations on Congress. Right of habeas cor-pus cannot be suspended except in dire emergency. Laws may not be written to punish past acts. No law can give preference to one state over another. Mon-ey may only be taken from the treasury via duly passed law. No title of nobility, such as King, Prince or Marquis, may be established.∫ Miscellaneous prohibitions on states: States may not make their own money, declare war, maintain a navy, make treaties or tax other states.∫ Slave trade: Congress may not pass restrictive leg-islation until 1808.

II. Executive branch“The executive Power shall be vested in a Presi-dent of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years ... together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term ...”

∫ General requirements: The president must be at least 35 years old and a natural-born citizen of the United States, not a naturalized immigrant. ∫ Terms of office: The president and vice-president each serve for four years. ∫ Mode of election: Presidents are elected not by the people at large but by the states through a system of

designated electors who represent the will of each state as determined by its voters. The number of electors is the total numer of that state’s senators and reprentatives. Originally, the person with the most votes became president; second-most became vice-president. This has changed. The two now run for office together.∫ Powers of president: The president, a civilian, is commander-in-chief of the military. He can pardon criminals and make treaties with other nations with the consent of two-thirds of the Senate. He nomi-nates federal judges, ambassadors and others with the “advice and consent” (approval) of the Senate.∫ State of the Union: The president must give an an-nual report to Congress.∫ Impeachment of government officers: Any civil officer may be removed from office by impeachment and conviction for “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” ∫ Overall mission: The president ensures that the laws of the United States are carried out. The presi-dent has a cabinet — a group of executive depart-ment heads — to assist him. Today’s cabinet includes heads of the departments of Jutice, State, Defense, Interior, Health and Human Services, Commerce, Education and others.

III. Judicial branch“The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time or-dain and establish. ...”

∫ Sweep of power: The judicial power “shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution ...” Jurisdiction includes disputes in which the United States is a party; disputes between two or more states; and between citizens of different states. The Supreme Court may hear appeals from lower courts, but does not have original jurisdiction in most cases. ∫ Treason defined, punishment limited: Treason means levying War against the United States, or giving aid and comfort to enemies. Congress is pro-hibited from blocking property inheritance rights to a traitor’s family, as was done in the case of Tories,

sympathizers with the British crown, after the War for Independence.

IV. The states∫ Interstate relations: States must honor official acts of other states. Full faith and credit given to a state’s acts, records and judicial proceedings.∫ Extradition: States are required to hand over criminals wanted in other states.∫ New states: Rules for geographical boundaries and entry to union are prescribed.∫ Federal guarantees: The national government promises to protect each state against invasion or domestic violence if a governor asks for help. It also guarantees a republican form of government.

V. AmendmentsAmendments to the Constitution may be made in one of two ways, both of which require ratifica-tion by three-fourths of the states:

∫ Congress, by a two-thirds vote of both houses may propose amendments to the states.∫ Two-thirds of the state legislatures may petition Congress for a constitutional convention, where amendments may be proposed. This method has nev-er been used. It worries some because it is so open-ended that it could lead to wholesale changes.

VI. Supremacy ∫ Debts under the Confederation remain valid.∫ Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and binding on judges in the states despite local law.∫ All government officers are bound to the Constitu-tion by oath or affirmation. But no religious test may be required as a qualification for office.

VII. Ratification∫ Constitution takes effect upon ratification by nine states — two-thirds of the 13 existing in 1787.

e the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the

general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. (PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION)

W

James Madison Edmund Randolph*George Washington

Faces of Noteworthy Delegates

Charles Pinckney Gouverneur MorrisAlexander Hamilton William LivingstonRobert Morris

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION — SUMMER OF 1787

EXECUTIVE

JUDICIAL

LEGIS

LATI

VE

A B

C

Elected

Elec

ted

Appointed by President

Approved by elected Senators

POW

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CHECK POWER CHECK

POWER CHECK

We thePeople

Checks and Balances

A The president nominates federal judges. Judges may rule on the

legality of presidential actions, trea-ties, etc. Chief Justice presides in impeachment trial of president.

B Congress passes laws that must be carried out by the Ex-

ecutive Branch; it may also override presidential vetoes. Senate must consent to presidential appoint-ments. Congress has power to re-move president or judge. Vice-presi-dent doubles as president of Senate.

C Judges interpret meanings of Constitution and laws. They may

strike laws that violate the Constitu-tion. Judges apply existing law, but legislators may write new laws or clarify old ones to push courts in a de-sired direction. Legislators may initiate amendments that bind judges.

Each branch of government can slow down, or “check,” the actions of the others. Some powers are shared.

“It was not, like the fabled Goddess of Wisdom, the offspring of a single brain. It ought to be regarded as the work of many heads and many hands.” — James Madison, 1834

Benjamin Franklin Elbridge Gerry* James Wilson Roger Sherman

*Among the four who refused to sign the final Consiti-tuon.

George Washington addressing the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, 1787. Detail of painting by Junius Brutus Searns, 1856. (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Online: www.vmfa.state.va.us/)

Most of the details of the Constitution could certainly be

worked out and were minor when compared to the really big issue facing the Conven-tion — representation and whether or not slaves would be included in a state’s popu-lation for purposes of calcu-lating seats in Congress.

The small states would never agree to a purely pro-portional form of representa-tion. They felt they would be bullied by the larger states. The Delaware delegation had even been instructed to leave the Convention if it could not secure equal votes.

On the other hand, large states felt that equal suffrage was unfair. Why should little tails wag the big dogs?

Looking back, this conflict between large and small states seems odd. Conflicts between states are now gen-erally regional and have little to do with size. But at the Convention, size (or antici-pated size) was important.

Roger Sherman of Con-necticut, a respected man who spoke more than any other except Madison during the Convention, suggested that Congress be composed of two houses, one with rep-resentation based on state population and the other with equal votes for all states.

The plan, rejected at first, was eventually agreed upon. It was followed by uncom-fortable debates on whether and how to count slaves in the representation formula.

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5 — Ratification & Revision

Alexander Hamilton

John Jay James Madison

Three Faces of PubliusRATIFICATION HANGS IN THE BALANCE

THE FEDERALIST PAPERS

The Constitutional Convention threw Congress a curve ball by proposing a new form of govern-ment rather than a simple revi-sion of the Articles of Confedera-

tion. James Madison and others worked furiously to answer objections raised by opponents in Congress and the states.

As the Constitution was printed and distributed to the public, ordinary people weighed in. John Adams called it “the greatest single effort of national delibera-tion that the world has ever seen.”

Two parties emerged. Supporters of the Constitution quickly and cleverly named

themselves Federalists, which irritated op-ponents for whom “federal” meant a fed-eration of sovereign states, not a powerful national government. Opponents blandly named themselves Anti-Federalists.

Two large states were crucial — Vir-ginia and New York. By the summer of 1788, the required nine states had ratified, but the Federalists knew that these two large, wealthy states were needed for the plan to succeed.

New York was home to Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, who would be-come the first chief justice of the Supreme Court. Hamilton had the idea to explain

the Constitution in the popular press, and he recruited Madison and Jay to help. In a series of 85 anonymous essays published in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788 under the pen name “Publius,” the three men brilliantly detailed the ideas behind the proposed new government. In July 1788 New York’s state convention ratified 30-27. Virginia ratified a month earlier.

Later collected and published as “The Federalist,” the essays of Hamilton, Madi-son and Jay have been cited frequently by the Supreme Court as an authoritative contemporary interpretation of the mean-ing of the Constitution.

Freedom of speech, free-dom of the press, freedom of assembly, the right to a fair and speedy trial — some of Americans’ most

treasured freedoms — were not ini-tially part of the U.S. Constitution.

At the Constitutional Conven-tion, the proposal to include a bill of rights was considered and de-feated. Virginia delegate George Mason, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, left the con-

vention bitterly disappointed and became a vocal opponent.

The omission sparked the most heated debates in the state ratifying process. Anti-Federalists feared that a strong cen-tral government would be espe-cially dangerous

without an explicit list of rights. To them, approval of the Constitution without one was unthinkable.

In a letter to James Madison in 1788, Thomas Jefferson wrote:

“I do not like ... the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly and without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction against monopo-lies, the eternal and unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury in all matters of the fact triable by the laws of the land and not by the law of Nations. ... Let me add that a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.”

Ultimately, this view prevailed. A number of crucial states, such as New York and Massachusetts, made it clear that they wanted a bill of rights to be added.

Individuals and state conven-tions made many suggestions for a bill of rights. Their proposals were ultimately merged by James Madi-son, and 10 were incorporated into the Constitution on Dec. 15, 1791.

John Marshall

JUDICIAL REVIEW

THE BILL OF RIGHTSSECURING THE CONSTITUTION

“A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.” — Thomas Jefferson

∫ ANONYMOUS PUBLICATION of essays, signed only as “PUBLIUS,” has led to some dispute over who wrote what. Some of “The Federalist” essays published today credit “Madison or Hamilton,” for example. A fair estimate by scholars is that Hamilton wrote 52 essays, James Madison wrote 28, and John Jay wrote five.

George Mason

∫ AFTER THE CONSTITUTION was rati-fied, some people continued to challenge federal power. John C. Calhoun of South Carolina preached that states could ignore — or nullify — any federal laws they thought unfair. When South Carolina threatened secession over the tariff acts of 1828 and 1832 (said to favor northern in-dustries over southern farmers), Congress authorized force. Sen. Henry Clay helped broker a compromise bill that slowly low-ered tariffs over the next decade, ending the nullification crisis. States’ rights would come up again, and lead to civil war.

Nullification Crisis: A Near Crash

CIVIL WAR: THE PRICE OF PROCRASTINATION

∫ Amendment I: Congress shall make no law respecting an establish-ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

∫ Amendment II: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

∫ Amendment III: No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

∫ Amendment IV: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and sei-zures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon prob-able cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

∫ Amendment V: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a wit-ness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

∫ Amendment VI: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

∫ Amendment VII: In suits at common law, where the value in contro-versy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be pre-served, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

∫ Amendment VIII: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

∫ Amendment IX: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

∫ Amendment X: 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.

In plain language, the First Amendment draws a line in the sand prohibiting interference with conscience and protest.

Disputed. Many say it protects gun ownership, as the bill of rights was written for the individual.

Private citizens cannot be forced to use their property to support the military. Possibly obsolete.

Police must have a warrant — an order signed by a judge — to search your home, car or other private place. A right of privacy is implied.

Only a special jury of citizens can call you to stand trial for a major crime. You can’t be forced to admit any wrongdoing; the state must prove its own case. The gov-ernment must follow established legal procedures. If it takes your property for public use, it must pay a fair price.

If accused of a crime, you have a right to a lawyer, regardless of your ability to pay. You also have a right to be tried by a jury, not a single judge. You are entitled to hear witnesses in court, and to get witnesses in your favor.

In a civil case, where you have been damaged in some way but no crime occurred, you can have a jury hear the facts. No higher court can take new testimony.

Fees to get out of jail, and all pun-ishments must be reasonable.

The Constitution protects certain rights, but it recognizes that it has not touched on all of them.

The government may only do what the Constitution says. It may not exercise powers not stated.

What It Says What It Means

The 75th anniversary of the sign-ing of the Constitution, Sept. 17, 1862, was the bloodiest day in

U.S. history. There were an estimated 23,100 Union and Confederate casual-ties at Antietam, Md., in a savage bat-tle a year and a half into the Civil War.

It was one day in a war that raged for four years and cost 623,000 lives. The national population in 1860 was only 27 million. By comparison, a proportional number of deaths today would be 6 million.

At stake in the Civil War was the survival of the United States of Amer-ica as a single nation. Eleven Southern states, invoking the spirit of 1776, se-

ceded from the Union in 1861 to form the Confederate States of America. They even borrowed words from the Declaration of Independence to justify their action.

In truth, it was the unfinished busi-ness of 1787 — slavery — that had come home to roost. Much of the South depended on free black labor, and slavery was extending westward.

The old nullification arguments were raised again. John C. Calhoun and oth-ers had argued that the Constitution was a loose compact, and if states could join, they could also withdraw. Abraham Lincoln settled that question, and slavery, on the battlefield.

Thomas Jefferson was elected in 1800 on a wave of public senti-

ment against the Federalist Party, which had passed the Alien and Sedition Acts prohibiting criticism of the government.

But outgoing Federalist president John Adams made a number of last-minute ap-pointments of judges. The new administration tried to block them by refusing to deliver formal written com-missions to the appointees. William Marbury sued Secre-tary of State James Madison to force him to deliver his commission as a justice of the peace.

The new chief justice, John Marshall, understood that if the court ordered the adminis-tration to comply, it would be ignored. This would weaken judicial authority. On the other hand, if the court refused to order the commissions deliv-ered, it would appear fearful. Either outcome would be bad for the rule of law.

Marshall’s decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803) has been hailed as a judicial tour de force. In essence, he declared that Madison should have delivered Marbury’s commission. But he also held that a section of law authoriz-ing the Supreme Court to en-ter such orders was unconsti-tutional, and so the court had no authority to enforce the commissions. The ruling chas-tised the new administration while agreeing with it. Jeffer-son, who opposed a strong Su-preme Court, called Marshall “the crafty chief judge.”

The critical importance of the Marbury case is that it established the principle of ju-dicial review, the authority of judges to declare acts of Con-gress and the president un-constitutional. By extension, the court became the Constitu-tion’s final interpreter.

Confederate dead after the battle of Antietam.

6

6 — A Living Document

1. Which future U.S. Presi-dent submitted a plan to change the Articles of Confederation, which led to creating the U.S. Con-stitution?

A. George WashingtonB. Thomas JeffersonC. James MadisonD. Abraham Lincoln

2. In the summer of 1787, 55 delegates gathered in Philadelphia for what pur-pose?

A. Write the Declaration of Independence

B. Amend the Articles of Confederation

C. Write the Pledge of Al-legiance

D. Abolish state laws

3. On what date did the Con-stitutional Convention sign the Constitution?

A. Sept. 17, 1787B. Oct. 17, 1800C. July 4, 1776D. Jan. 1, 1790

4. Which state was the first to ratify the Constitu-tion?

A. VirginiaB. DelawareC. FloridaD. California

5. The new Congress first conducted business under the Constitution on April 6, 1789. What also hap-pened on that day?

A. Capitol opened in D.C.B. Thomas Jefferson was

elected PresidentC. White House openedD. George Washington

was elected President

6. What is the name for the beginning of the Con-stitution?

A. PreambleB. The Bill of RightsC. IntroductionD. Article 3

7. Which party in 1787 and 1788 feared a strong na-tional government?

A. FederalistB. Anti-FederalistC. WhigD. Democrat

8. The ______ are called the Bill of Rights

A. First Ten Amendments to the Constitution

B. Last Ten Amendments to the Constitution

C. The first paragraph of the Constitution

D. The main ideas in the Declaration of Indepen-dence

9. How many states must ratify an amendment to the Constitution?

A. One halfB. Two thirdsC. Three fourthsD. All of them

10. The Constitution di-vides the government into three branches. Which one of these is not a branch?

A. LegislativeB. ExecutiveC. JudicialD. Commercial

11. What was the pen name used by the authors of The Federalist?

A. AnonymousB. PubliusC. ProteusD. Brutus

12. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are guaranteed by the Consti-tution:

A. TrueB. False

Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Daily Herald

ANSWERS: 1. C; 2. B; 3. A; 4. B; 5. D; 6. A; 7. B; 8. A; 9. C; 10. D; 11. B; 12. B.

∫ June 23, 2005 — Government can take private property for commercial development. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court sided with New London, Conn., in seiz-ing private homes and land. The city plans to develop a commercial shop-ping complex. Many were horrified, and numerous states moved quickly to limit the power of municipal governments.

∫ Sept. 26, 2005 — New chief justice of the Supreme Court is confirmed.In a 78-22 vote, the Senate gave its “advice and consent” as required by the Constitution, to the appointment of John G. Roberts as the 17th chief jus-tice of the Supreme Court.

∫ May 22 — Police may enter a home without a warrant to stop a fight.The Fourth Amendment does not apply when police have an "objective reason-able basis" for believing that someone is in physical danger, the Supreme Court ruled.

∫ June 27 — Flag amendment barely short of two-thirds.Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch has pushed for an amendment that would prohibit the expression of political opinions through the burning of an American flag. It would have been the first time an amendment directly challenged one of the Bill of Rights. A majority of senators voted for the amendment, but the vote fell one short of the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution.

∫ July 19 — President Bush veto.President Bush used his veto pen for the first time in his presidency, reject-ing a bill that would have permitted couples who had banked embryos for fertilization treatments to donate un-used biological materials to research-ers to create new lines of stem cells for genetic research.

∫ Aug. 17 — NSA wiretapping program ruled unconstitutional.In a blow to the Bush Administration’s anti-terrorist program, a federal district court judge ruled that a National Se-curity Agency surveillance program is unconstitutional because one end of NSA’s wiretapping is in the U.S. The case is being appealed.

PopQuizTest Your Knowledge

Current Events: Constitution Alive and WellEach year, many disputes arise that involve constitutional principles, and the courts are often called to enter judgments. The Supreme Court is the highest authority — the court of last resort. If the government applied a law unfairly in a particular case, for example, the injured party may ask for relief. Constitutional principles are also seen in the routine operations of government, such as a presidential veto or signing of a bill into law. Here are a few recent examples:

DOUG MILLS/Associated Press

Six weeks after terrorist attacks in Sept. 2001, President Bush signed the anti-terrorism bill into law. The law expanded police authority to search people’s homes and business records to catch terrorists.

Amendments to the Constitution

∫ IT’S NOT EASY TO ENACT AN AMENDMENT to the Constitution. The founders wanted it that way so that the Constitution would be less sub-ject to political winds.

Amendments are most often started in Congress, where both houses must approve by two-thirds majorities. Then the amendment is sent to the states for consideration. Three-fourths of them must approve before the amendment becomes part of the Constitution.

Many amendments are proposed every year. Most never get out of congressional committees.

Following are summaries of all the amend-ments enacted to date:

11— 1795. STATE DISPUTES. When the Supreme Court took jurisdiction in a

lawsuit against a state by a citizen of another state, it provoked angry and swift action to amend Article III of the Constitution. Citizens

objected to a state’s being sub-jected to lawsuits in federal courts. Since then, the 11th Amendment has been applied inconsistently, though it continues to be impor-tant in holding state officers to constitutional standards.

12— 1804. PRESIDENT/VICE-PRESIDENT. This amendment

changed the way the president and vice-president are determined. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied in electoral col-lege votes, thus throwing presi-dential selection to the House of Representatives, despite the fact that the electors had intended Jef-ferson to be president and Burr to be vice-president. This amendment separates the votes by electors for president and vice-president, respectively. This was modified in 1933 by the 20th Amendment.

13— 1865. SLAVERY ENDS. After the bloody Civil War, this amendment ended all

slavery in the United States.

14— 1868. EQUAL PROTECTION. Put in place to choke off state action to limit the

rights of the recently freed slaves, it requires “equal protection” under the law. It also elimi-nates the three-fifths of a person standard ad-opted in 1789 for counting population toward seats in Congress, and establishes the right of citizenship by soil (that is, if you were born in the United States, you are automatically a citizen). Finally, it immunizes the United States against any debts incurred to aid the Confeder-acy, and business or personal losses resulting from the elimination of slavery.

15 — 1870. VOTING RIGHTS FOR ALL. This was the last of the post-Civil War civil

rights amendments, it guarantees the right to vote regardless of race or color, or whether a person had once been a slave.

16 — 1913. INCOME TAX. Allows federal government to collect taxes on indi-

vidual income. Before this amendment, it was only allowed to levy taxes on each state based on population.

17— 1913. ELECTION OF SENATORS. Changes

mode of filling the Senate from appointment by state legisla-tures to direct vote of the people in a given state. This eliminated many disputes in which seats were left vacant for extended periods.

18 — 1919. PROHIBITION. Under the argument that

prohibition would reduce crime and improve health, this amend-ment banned the manufacture, sale or transportation of in-toxicating liquors in the United States. It was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933, with Utah providing the winning vote.

19 — 1920. WOMEN’S VOTE. Women’s right to vote is acknowledged. Led by the

likes of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, women across the country had spent a century fighting for suffrage.

20— 1933. LAME-DUCKS. This amendment reduced the time that “lame duck” legis-

lators, those who fail to win re-election but re-main in office until the end of the current term, would have to pass laws.

21 — 1933. PROHIBITION REPEALED. Prohibi-tion of alcohol is the only amendment

(18th) to be repealed. The 21st Amendment was passed because it was felt that prohibition had failed.

22 — 1951. PRESIDENTIAL TERM LIMIT. George Washington’s self-imposed two-

term limit as president became a tradition that was followed voluntarily until the 1940s when Franklin D. Roosevelt went for a third and fourth term. This amendment limits presidents to two four-year terms.

23 — 1961. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. Before this, citizens of the District of Columbia

had the responsibilities of citizens but no rep-resentation in Congress. Now they would be allowed to vote in national elections and were given three electoral votes.

24 — 1964. NO POLL TAX. Though stopping some-

one from voting because of his or her race was prohibited by the 15th Amendment, many Southern states found ways around the rule, such as charg-ing a poll tax to prevent low-income citizens from voting. This amendment outlawed poll taxes.

25 — 1967. VICE-PRESIDENT. On the heels of President

John F. Kennedy’s assassina-tion and Lyndon Johnson’s rise to the presidency, this amend-ment allows a new president to

choose his own vice president, with approval of Congress.

26 — 1971. VOTING AGE. Lowered the voting age to 18 from 21. During the

Vietnam war, many questioned the fairness of sending young soldiers to war but not allow-ing them to vote.

27 — 1992. CONGRESSIONAL PAY. Origi-nally proposed in 1789, this amend-

ment wasn’t ratified for another 203 years. It requires that pay raises cannot go into effect until the next election, allowing the voters to weigh in.

DESIGNED TO CHANGE

A suffragist makes her point with a crowd of males at a 1914 demonstration.

Illegal liquor is dumped into a New York sewer.

Mulling the paperwork required for income tax.

T E A C H E R ’ S R E S O U R C E G U I D E∫ www.usconstitution.net — A comprehensive Constitution site. Includes activities and lessons for various ages. ∫ http://bensguide.gpo.gov, www.gpoaccess.gov — U.S. Government Printing Office. Ben’s Guide includes grade-specific lessons. GPO site has historical documents, analysis, pictures. Site links to major government search engine, FirstGov.gov.∫ www.ushistory.org — Independence Hall Association supports mission to educate the public about early U.S. history.∫ www.archives.gov — Huge collection of National Archives, with large amounts of public-domain material, images, maps.∫ www.constitution.org — The Constitution Society is a private non-profit organization dedicated to research and public education. ∫ www.historyguide.org — A guide for high school and undergraduate history students.∫ www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm — A large compilation of documents compiled by the Yale University Avalon Project.∫ edsitement.neh.gov/lesson_index.asp — Excellent site includes lesson plans for all grade levels.∫ www.annenbergclassroom.org — Interactive online learning for all grade levels.∫ www.archives.gov/education/lessons/constitution-day/index.html — National Archives site designed for Constitution Day.∫ www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/charters.html — Excellent interactive site from National Archives∫ www.loc.gov/rr/print/pphome.html — Search prints and photographs from the Library of Congress.∫ www.loc.gov/index.html — Library of Congress collection. Subsections on American history. Prints, maps, audio, film.∫ wikipedia.org — The largest reference site on the Internet. Free content written collaboratively. Users should confirm data.

CREDITS: The Daily Herald thanks all who generously allowed us to draw from their work to produ which provided core material; and to Frank W. Fox, author of “The American Founding,” who all sources in t Graphic design: Lauren Hastings. Editors: Randy Wright and Joe Pyrah, Daily Herald.

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