ED 278 598

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INSTITUTION

SPONS AGENCY

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Patrick, John J.; And OthersEducation on the Constitution in Secondary Schools:Teaching Strategies and Materials for theBicentennial and Beyond.ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social ScienceEducation, Bloomington, IN.; Indiana Univ.,Bloomington. Social Studies Development Center.Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED),Washington, DC.86400-86-002084p.Publications Manager, The Social Studies DevelopmentCenter, Indiana University, 2805 East Tenth Street,Bloomington, IN 47405 ($10.00 plus postage).Guides - Classroom Use Guides (For Taachers) (052)-- Historical Materials (060)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Citizenship Education; *Constitutional History;

Course Content; Curriculum Guides; EducationalResources; Instructional Materials; LearningActivities; Secondary Education; *Secondary SchoolCurriculum; *Social Studies; *Teaching Methods;United States Government (Course); United StatesHistory

IDENTIFIERS Bicentennial; *United States Constitution

ABSTRACTEducation for citizenship in a free society has long

been a primary goal of social studies education. Knowledge of theConstitution, its principles, values, history, and application tocontemporary American Life is an essential of citizenship educationand this book is intended to stimulate interest and improvement inteaching practices on the Constitution. The book is organized intothree chapters. Chapter 1 assesses the status of the Constitution inthe current secondary school curriculum; Chapter 2 presents severaltypes of lessons and teaching strategies that have been usedsuccessfully in secondary school courses on American history,government, and civics; and Chapter 3 reviews current projects andlearning materials developed especially for the Bicentennial.Appendixes, which make up more than half the volume, present sevenmodel lessons which exemplify teaching strategies discussed inchapter 2. Also provided is an extensive select bibliography whichincludes ERIC resources on teaching about the Constitution, books onconstitutional history and principles of government, and computersoftware for teaching about the Constitution. (KWL)

************************************************************************ Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made ** from the original document. *

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Education on the Co stitutio

)0co

Sec nd Sch 1Teaching Strategies and Materials

for theBicentennial and Beyond

John J. PatrickRichard C. RemyMary Jane Turner

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and Improvement

.4EDU TIONAL RESOURCES IWORMATIOtsCENTER (ERIC)

&.' This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizaliororiginating it

C Minor chanGes have been made to improvereproduction duality.

Points of view or opinions stated in this dacu-merit ao not necessarily represent official0E111 position or policy.

"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THISMATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC).'

Social Studies Development Center MIERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education E RI kite

2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE

EDUC ION ON TCONSTITUTION

SECONDARY SCH OLS:EACHING STRATEGIES

AN MATERIALSR T E BICENTENNI/

AND BEYON

by

John J. PatrickRichard C. RemyMary Jane Turner

Social Studies Development CenterERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education

Indiana UniversityBloomington, Indiana

1986

3

ORDERING INFORMATIONThis publication is available from:

Publications ManagerThe Social Studies, Development CenterIndiana University2805 East Tenth StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405

This publication was developed for the ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social ScienceEducation at Indiana University, and published in 1986.

Mr of EducatiralResearch and Improvemea

This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research andImprovement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. 400-86-0020. The opinionsexpressed do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or ED.

4

CONTENTSABOUT THE AUTHORS ivACKNOWLEDGMENTSINTRODUCTION vi

1. THE CONSTITUTION IN THE CURRICULUM 1

What Are Schools Expected to Teach? 1

What Is Taught About the Constitution? 3What Do Youths Know and Believe About the Constitution? 6Summary and Recommendations 0 8Notes 9

2. TEACHING ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION: LESSONS AND STRATEGIES 11

Springboard Lessons: A Strategy for Launching Study 11

Concept Learning Lessons: A Rule-Example-Application Strategy of Teaching 12Civic Decision Making Lessons: The Decision Tree Strategy 13Supreme Court Case Study Lessons: A Strategy for Analysis of Judicial Decisions 14Judicial Decision Making Simulation Lessons: A Discovery Learning Strategy 15Historical Inquiry Lessons: A Strategy for Interpreting Primary Sources on a Constitutional Issue, 16Summary and Recommendations 16Notes 17

3. BICENTENNIAL PROGRAMS AND MATERIALS 19Overview of Bicentennial Programs and Materials For Use in Secondary Schools 19American Bar Association Youth Bicentennial Initiative 20Center for Civic Education 22Jefferson Foundation 22National Archives 23Project '87 24Summary and Recommendations 25Notes 25

APPENDIXES 27Appendix A: What Does the Constitution Say About Federalism?An Exemplar of a Springboard Lesson 29Appendix B: The Principle of Federalism.An Exemplar of A Concept Learning Lesson 33Appendix C: Washington's Decision To Attend the Constitutional Convention,An Exemplar of a Civic Decisbn Making Lesson 45Appendix D: Stretching the Constitution: Jefferson's Decision to Purchase Louisiana,An Exemplar of a Civic Decision Making Lesson 53Appendix E: The Limits of Presidential Power: Truman's Decision to Seize (he Steel Mills,An Exemplar of a Supreme Court Case Study Lesson 61Appendix F: You Be The Judge,An Exemplar of a Judicial Decision Making Simulation Lesson 67Appendix G: Two Responses To A Constitutional Crisis: Decisions of Buchanan and Lincoln AboutSecession, An Exemplar of an Historical Inquiry Lesson 75

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 85ERIC Resources on Teaching About the Constitution

0 85Books on Constitutional History and Principles of Government in the Constilution 86Computer Software for Teaching About the Constitution 88

5ii

ABOUT THE AUTHORSJohn J. Patrick is Professor of Education at Indiana University and Director of the Social Studies Develop-

ment Center and the ERIC Clearinghouse for Social icudies/Social Science Education. Dr. Patrick has con-

ducted curriculum studies in civic education and written curriculum materials and textbooks for secondary school

courses on history, government, and civics.

Richard C. Remy is Director of the Citizenship Development Program of the Mershon Center at The Ohio

State University, where he also holds appointments in the Department of Political Science and the College of

Education. Dr. Rerny has conducted curricu!um studies in civic education and written curriculum materials andtextbooks for secondary school courses on government and civics.

Mary Jane Turner is Associate Director of the Center for Civic Education at Calabasas, Caiifornia, where she

is also Director of thil, National Training and Disserrnation Project. Dr. Turner has conducted research andevaluation studies in !aw-related education and civic education and written textbooks and curriculum materialsfor secondary school courses on govel nment and civics.

6iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe authors wish to thank Sheilah Mann, Director of Project '87, for granting permission to reprint the seven

exemplar lessons in the Appendixes, A-G, which are taken from Lessons on the Constitution: Supplements toHigh School Courses in American History, Government, and Civics by John J. Patrick and Richard C. Remy.Development of the Lessons was supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities toProject '87, a joint effort of the American Historical Association and the American Political Science Association.Lessons on the Constitution includes a total of sixty lessons.

The authors are grateful to Charles S. White, Assistant Professor of Education at George Mason University,for preparing the annotated listing of computer software for teaching about the Constitution, which appears atthe end of the Select Bibliography.

7

INTRODUCTION

Education for citizenship in a free society has beena primary goal of the social studies. Knowledge ofthe Constitution, its principles, values, history, andapplication to contemporary American life, is a nec-esSary element of citizenship education. However,education on the Constitution, although establishedfirmly in the curriculum of secondary schools, hassuffered from neglect and routine treatment in his-tory, government, and civics courses. Furthermore,the connection of education for citizenship and stud-ies of the Constitution is not as secure or obvious inthe secondary school curriculum as it has been orshould be. The bicentennial of the Constitution in1987 provides a unique opportunity to improve edu-cation about core concepts and values of citizenshipand government in a free society and to celebrateone of the most important legacies Americans have.

We Americans can be proud that the UnitedStates, one of the world's youngest nation-states,has the oldest written Constitution. There are morethan 160 written constitutions in today's world, andnearly two-thirds of them have been adopted or fun-damentally revised since 1970. Only eleven of theworld's constitution's pre-date 1945. In 1787, Ameri-cans were the original constitution-makers of themodern worldthe first to hold a convention for thesingle purpose of deliberating and deciding upontheir frame of government. Americans were also in-ventors of the ratifying convention, a means forelected representatives of the people to meet solelyto examine a proposed Constitution and to decide inthe name of the people, by majority vote to ratify orreject it. Thus, our Constitution was established asthe supreme law of the land through popular acts ofdeliberate and uncoerced consent. Alexander Hamil-ton noted, in the first essay of The Federalist, thecritical importance of the constitutional choice facingAmericans in 1787: "It has been frequently remarkedthat it seems to have been reserved to the people ofthis country, by their conduct and example, to decidethe important question, whether societies of men are

vi

really capable or not of establishing good govern-ment from reflection and choice, or whether they areforever destined to depend for their political constitu-tions on accident and force."

Hamilton's observation will always be relevant inthe American constitutional democracy, becauseevery generation of citizens must reaffirm commit-ment to core concepts and values of its frame ofgovernment. If not, the Constitution would becomelittle more than words on paper without vital meaningin the lives of citizens or the operations of govern-ment. Thus, the Constitution is a people's document,which the people must be able to irterpret in order tointelligently consent to it, and resolve issues about itthat affect them. Of cours 3, intelligent popular con .sent to the Constitution, and application of it to civicaffairs, requires sound education about core con-cepts and values of our frame of government.

In line with the preceding assumptions about con-stitutional choice and citizenship in a free society,this volume is intended to stimulate interest and im-provement in secondary school education on theConstitution for the bicentennial and beyond. Thus,we have (1) assessed the status of the Constitutionin the curriculum of secondary schools, (2) presentedexemplary lessons and teaching strategies on theConstitution for use in secondary school courses onAmerican history, governmetn, and civics, and (3) re-viewed current projects ard learning materials devel-oped especially for the bicentennial. An extensiveselect bibliography has been prepared for teachers,which includes ERIC resources on teaching aboutthe Constitution, books on constitutional history andprinciples of government, and computer software onthe Constitution. We hope that this work will assisteducators to renew and revitalize teaching about theConstitution. Furthermore, we hope to spark andsustain interest in and commitment to education oncore concepts and values in the Constitution duringthe bicentennial and the years afterward.

John J. PatrickDirector, ERIC Clearinghouse forSocial Studies/Social Science EducationandDirector, Social Studies Development Center

1. THE CONSTITUTION INTHE CURRICULUM

THE BICENTENNIAL of 1987, the 200th anniver-sary of the American Constitution, is a grand occa-sion for renewal and improvement of education aboutcore values a:ld concepts of a free government. Thisis a special opportunity to encourage teaching andlearning about the Constitution as a symbol of na-tional unity, continuity, and values and as a practicalinstrument of popular government. Americans whodo not understand the Constitution, as both a symbolof nationhood and means of governance, are unableto appreciate their civic culture and to act effectivelyas citizens of a free society.'

Curriculum guides and textbooks for courses inAmerican history, government, and civics treat theorigins, development, and main concepts of the Con-stitution. However, recent studies have indicated theneed to improve education on the Constitution insecondary schools.2 In this chapter, we consider thestatus of the Constitution in the curriculum. Whathave our schools been expected to teach about theConstitution? What is currently being taught in sec-ondary American history, government, and civicscourses? What knowledge and attitudes are studentsdeveloping regarding the Corstitution? What needsfor improvement of education on the Constitution areindicated by findings about the status of the Constitu-tion in the curriculum?

What Are Schools Expected to Teach?The depth and extent of the schools' responsibili-

ties for teaching about the Constitution are shaped inpart by societal expectations. In our democratic sys-tem of education, the curriculum of public schools ul-timately reflects societal judgments about whatshould and should not be taught. However, "society"is not monolithic and various individuals and groupswithin society may want quite different things fromthe schools at the same time.

Consideration of society's expectations for teach-ing about the Constitution represent one perspective,a top-down view of the place ot the Constitution inthe curriculum. What have been society's expecta-tions for instruction in the schools about the Constitu-tion? What mandates are in force today for teachingthe Constitution in secondary schools? What are typ-ical goals of education on the Constitution in Ameri-can secondary schools?

Expectations Have Varied. From the 1790s untiltoday, education about the Constitution h:s been aconcern of American secondary schools. R. FreemanButts, however, has clearly documented that empha-sis on the importance of teaching the Constitutionhas varied considerably throughout American his-

1

tory.3 Such variations have reflected important trendsand events in the development of American society.

During our first hundred years, great importancewas attached to education about the Constitution, re-flecting the need for the new republic to develop acommon symbol of political identity and legitimacy.Teaching strategies consisted primarily of questionand answer methods that involved rote memorizationand clause-by-clause explication of the text of thedocument. No attention was given to contemporaryconstitutional issues or changing interpretations ofthe meaning of the Constitution.

A prize winning essay on the best system of liberaleducation for the new nation captures the flavor ofthis era. Writing in 1796, Samuel Harrison Smith pro-posed that secondary school students had the duty"to commit to memory and frequently repeat theConstitution and the fundamental laws of the UnitedStates ."4

During the last decade of the 19th century and atthe Flart of the 20th, attention to the Constitution insecoi Oary schools declined dramatically. Progressiveeducators reduced the constitutional concerns ofcivic education in favor of a "problem approach" toteach citizens to deal with state and local socialproblems. This development was clearly reflected inthe National Education Association's influential 1918report, Cardinal Principles of Secondwy Education.The report and the contributing work of the NEA'sCommittee on the Social Studies, in effect, divorcededucation for good citizenship from teaching aboutthe Constitution in the social studies curriculum. Thereport stated:

While all subjects should contribute to good citizen-ship, the social studiesgeography, history, civics andeconomicsshould have this as their dominant aim.Too frequently, however, does mere information, con-ventional in value and remote in its bearing, make upthe content of the social studies. . . . Civics should con-cern itself less with constitutional questions and remotegovernmental functions and should dirsct attention tosocial agencies close at hand and to the informal activi-ties of daily life that regard and seek the commongood.5

Diane Ravitch notes that, in the decades followingthe NEA report, the social studies curriculum moved"decisively toward current events, relevant issuesand pupil-centered courses."6 By the 1960s and1970s, the study of constitutional government hadcome to compete for attention in the social studieswith an increasingly diverse set of topics related toconcerns about current social issues and problems.These tcpics included energy education, environ-me gun control education, future stud-

ismer education, free enterprise education,and global education among others.7

9

During the 1960s and 1970s, a "new social his-tory" dominated scholarship and teaching of univer-sity historians. Political history, includingconstitutional history, was displaced from its centralposition in the curriculum. The study of women,blacks, workers, ethnic groups, and so forth oversha-dowed personalities, ideas, and events in constitu-tional history. Michael Kammen concludes, in hisstudy of contemporary historical scholarship in theUnited States, that "political history is no longer thefocal point for historical scholarship." Kammen be-lieves that "during the decades following 1965, thehistory of politics became a distasteful subject tomany."8 Hazel Hertzberg's study of history teachingin secondary schools supports Kammen's conclu-sions about the decline of political and constitutionalhistory and the prominence of socially relevant topicsin the curriculum.8

During these same decades (1960s and 1970s) alaw-related education movement developed whichcaptured the "liberal impulses" of the period by ad-vocating attention to individual rights and civil liber-ties as the essential core of teaching about theConstitution.10 The law-related education movementhas grown rapidly across the United States and hasemphasized concerns of many segments of societythat teaching about the Constitution should attend toconstitutional conflicts and controversies associatedwith current social issues. Butts cbserves that "noother movement in social studies h-,,s given as muchexplicit eThntion to ihe rights and liberties related tothe constitutional concepts and meanings.""

What seems to have been missing in curriculumdevelopment and teaching is a satisfactory blendingof social history and constitutional history, of currentsocial issues and enduring principles of constitutionalgovernment. Kammen emphasizes the need to"strike a balance" of social and political (consfitu-tional) history. He argues that "successful integrationof these two types of historical 'events' is surely amajor challenge to historical scholarship during thedecades ahead."12

The bicentennial of the Constitution has providedan occasion to respond to Kammen's challenge. Dur-ing the past five years, there has been a great re-surgence of interest among scholars and teachersabout the history and principles of American constitu-tional government. Project '87 of the American His-torical Association and American Political ScienceAssociation has sponsored conferences, researchprojects, and curriculum development activities aboutconstitutional history and principles of government inthe Constitution.13 Leading historians, such as For-rcst McDonald, Richard Morris, and Michael Kam-men have produced new books on the Constitution."

2

Educational reforms in secondary schools also arecontributing to greater concern about the Constitutionin the general education of citizens. In the 1980s, nu-merous national commissions and reports havealerted the public to deficiencies in school programsand needs for improvement in curriculum and teach-ing.18 Some of the proposals for reform have directimplications for teaching about the Constitution. Re-formers, for example, have pointed to the need tobring coherence and integrity to curricula that WK..,

disordered ana overextended during the 1970sthrough proliferation of new courses and excessiveaddition of trendy topics to old courses. Some havecalled for core content, essential subjects that all stu-dents should learn, which would include knowledgefrom the basic academic disciplines of history, oeog-raphy, political science, and economics. These de-velopments, coupled with heightened publicawareness of the importance of the Constitutionprompted by the bicentennial, would seem to providea favorable climate for efforts to strengthen teachingabout the Constitution.

Current Mandates and Goats on the Constitu-tion. State governments have primary responsibilityfor establishing what shall be taught in the 16,000 lo-cal school districts across the nation. An examinationof state mandates provides another perspective onthe nature of the society's expectations for educationon the Constitution. Th6 American Bar Associationhas undertaken the most comprehensive review ofstate mandates related to the Constitution.18 TheABA found state level mandates to teach the Consti-tution to be nearly universal. Statutes in forty-threestates prescribe the study of the U.S. Constitution.The remaining states usually require such instructionthrough regulations passed by state boards of edu-cation or state departments of education. Thesemandates to teach the Constitution almost alwayscomplement mandates that require the study of U.S.history, civics, and governmental systems.

Most statutes simply require attention to the Con-stitution in general terms while leaving specifics as tothe content and emphasis of instrudon to state de-partments of education and local districts. For exam-ple, the Ohio statute requires, "Basic instructionin ... the Declaration of Independence, the UnitedStates Constitution and the Constitution of the Stateof Ohio...."17 The Virginia statute states: "An outlineshall likewise be given of the Constitution of theUnited States and the general principles of tha Con-stitution shall be carefully explained."18

At the same time, approximately eighty percent ofthese laws identify specific values and attitudes thatshould be promoted. According to the ABA study,most of these codes stress "the duties, responsibili-ties, and obligations of citizenship much more often

1 0

than they enumerate the rights of citizens." The stat-utes stress "love of country," "patriotism," "loyalty,"or "devotion to American institutions and ideals."19

Noticeably absent from state level mandates areany specification of citizenship skills related to theConstitution. State mandates, for example, havenothing to say about the importance of civic decision-making skills in regard to basic constitutional issues.

While the direct impact of state mandates on dailyclassroom instruction is problematic, most states doprovide sanctions for non-compliance. Sanctions maybe aimed at students through graduation or promo-tion requirements. Thirteen states, for instance, re-quire students to pass a Constitution test forgraduation. In many states, sanctions are directed atteachers or administrators who may be fined, dis-missed, or lose their certificates ior non-compliance.

Educational goals related to state mandates revealthat constitutional history and government are estab-lished parts of the curriculum. Curriculum guides ofstate education departments include ample lists ofconcepts about American constitutional governmentand topics in constitutional history. These lists ofgoals reveal that students are expected to learnabout federalism, separation of powers with checksand balances, judicial review, civil rights and liberties,and various constitutional changes from 1789 to thepresent.2° However, these curriculum guides also lisnumerous other desirable outcomes of education inthe social studies pertaining to a broad range of con-cerns from environmental issues and global perspec-tives to social change and futuristic studies. Theeducational agenda is cluttered, and priorities oftenare unclear. In many school districts, goals on theConstitution may be viewed as no more importantthan a vast array of competing purposes of educationin the social studies. The consequence may be anunderemphasis on education about the Constitutionrelative to other topics of lesser importance in gen-eral education for citizenship in a free society.

Conclusions. The UnVed States Constitution is avital, contemporary document in American self-gov-ernment. Current legal mandates, curriculum guides,and societal expectations recognize the importameot the Constitution to our nation's daily workings andto the life of every citizen of the United States. It isclear that the Constitution has an established placein the secondary school curriculum. It i also clearthat recent trends in scholarship and teaching haveclouded or diminished education on the Constitutionas a central or fundamental purpose in secondaryschools. However, the bicentennial of 1987 has stim-ulated a resurgence of interest in improving educa-tion about American constitutional history andgovernment. Current curriculum studies and reportshave even recommended the "teaching of United

1.1

States history with a constitutional focus."21 It seemsthat there is a solid foundation for renewed efforts tostrengthen the place of the Constitution in the curric-ulum of secondary schools.

What Is Taught About the Constitution?Societal expectations, state mandates, and lists of

goals in curriculum guides provide one view of thestatus of the Constitution in the secondary schoolcurriculum. Another perspective is provided by exam-ination of constitutional content actually presented tostudents across the nation. In the secondary gradesthe Constitution is usually taught as part of thesecourses: eighth-grade American history (2-3 millionstudents), ninth-grade civics (about 3/4 million stu-dents), eleventh-grade American history (3-4 millionstudents), and twelfth-grade government (1-1 1/2 mil-lion students).22

Basal textbooks are a significant indicator of whatstudents actually study about the Constitution inthese core courses. The textbook is the dominant in-structional tool in teaching secondary school socialstudies. Teachers tend to rely on a single text as thecentral instrument of their classroom instruction andas a key source of knowledge.23 Furthermore, inmost schools textbooks are main sources of curricu-lum planning, course objectives, and daily lessonplanning.24 Approximately 80 percent of all curriculumdecisions in the nation's schools are made on thebasis of a textbook.25

Project '87 of the American Histoncal Associationand the American Political Science Association hassponsored comprehensive analyses of the qualityand scope of textbook treatments of the COnstitution.These studies, along with a 1985 review of textbooktreatments of federalism, present a detailed picture ofthe status of instruction about the Constitution in sec-ondary schools.

Treatment in History Textbooks. John Patrickanalyzed ten widely used American history text-books.26 Five books were designed for the eighth-grade history courses, and five were published forthe eleventh-grade course. The Patrick study focusedon three main questions: (1) What is the extent atextbook coverage of constitutional topics? (2) How isthe constitutional period (1776-1789) treated in thetextbooks? (3) How is the development of the Consti-tution (1789-1980) treated in the textbooks?

All the textbooks reviewed included a copy of theConstitutionwith annotations and other instructionalaids. As to coverage of constitutional topics, lessthan 12 percent of the content of the books studiedpertained directly to instruction about the Constitu-tionits origins, development, and content. The elev-enth-grade books devoted from nine percent toeleven percent of their content to the Constitution

and the eighth-grade books spent from seven per-cent to eleven percent. These findings led Patrick toconclude that "coverage of constitutional topics is notexcessive. Teachers and students who rely on thesetextbooks will not receive an overdose of constitu-tional history."21

How is the constitutional period treated in historytextbooks? Both eighth-and eleventh-grade booksdescribe the creation and content of the Articles ofConfederation, the weaknessee of the Articles, andthe problems confronting the young nation which ledto the Constitutional Convention. These books de-scribe the Convention, with emphasis on the variouscompromises. Further, the textbooks treat the strug-gle over the ratification of the Constitution. The num-ber of pages devoted to these topics ranged from 9to 23 in the eighth-grade books and 9 to 30 in theeleventh-grade books.29

Treatment of the Constitutional Convention wasvery brief in the books Patrick reviewed. Only four ofthe ten history textbooks had more than four pageson the topic. The delegates were portrayed as menof good will who sought to resolve crucial politicalproblems that threatened the life of the republic. Allthe books failed to discuss the ambiguous division ofpowers between the national government and thestates resulting from the Constitutional Convention.Nor did these texts connect ambiguity about the lo-cus of sovereignty within the federal union to devel-opment of critical constitutional issues thatthreatened national stability and unity during thenineteenth century.

How do history textbooks treat the development ofthe Constitution over time through formal and infor-mal changes? All the textbooks Patrick analyzed in-cluded discussion of constitutional amendments,judicial interpretations of the Constitution, and adap-tation of the Constitution through custom and usage.Issues related to the meaning of federalism, separa-tion of powers, civil rights, and judicial review weretreated within the texts' chronological framework.

Treatment of these topics, however, was often verythin. There was scanty coverage of amendments;from three to five pages the eleventh-grade booksand from two to seven pages in the eighth-gradebooks. And there was little or no discussion of the is-sues and political actions of contending groups inter-ested in supporting or opposing proposedamendments.

As for judicial interpretations of the Constitution,both eighth-and eleventh-grade books treated theconcept of judicial review superficially, allocating, inthe case of four books, only two or three sentencesto the concept. In addition, Supreme Court caseswere treated very sketchily, dissenting opinions werenot mentioned, and some landmark decisions were

4

not included in the texts. Only three of the ten books,for example, mentioned ex parte Milligan.

More importantly, the history textbooks Patrickanalyzed failed to show connections between Su-preme Court decisions of different eras. None of theeighth-grade textbooks, for exampie, mentioned thePlessy case in their descriptions of the 1954 Browndecision. Without supplemental instruction from theteacher, students using these texts would not learnabout the connection between the Supreme Courtdecision that buttressed the "separate but equal doc-trine" and the case that overturned the legal basis forseparate schools. Such failure to show liokages be-tween certain cases could limit students' comprehen-sion of bases for continuities and change in themeaning of the Constitution.

Patrick also tound that history textbooks at bothgrade levels lacked descriptions of the developmentof the Supreme Court's powers and duties vis-a-visthe President and Congress. None of the textsshowed how Supreme Court dictum only graduallycame to be accepted as the final word upon constitu-tional questions. Thus, students relying on thesetextbooks would not learn that in the decades be-tween 1790 and the Civil War congressional debatEwere a major source of constitutional doctrine. Norwould they learn how and why the federal judiciary'sauthority grew as it did after 1860.

Numerous aspects of our constitutional systemhave been modified through custom and usage. Allthe history textbooks discuss major political events ofAmerican history that have shaped informal constitu-tional development, such as the Louisiana Purchaseor President Lincoln's assumption of extraordinarypowers during the Civil War. However, the texts didnot connect such significant political events to theConstitution. As a result, students who rely on suchtextbooks would not be likely to learn how actions ofimportant political leaders have led to informal andlasting changes in the meaning of the Constaution.

In 1985, Ellis Katz analyzed the treatment of feder-alism in high school history eld government text-books.29 Katz reviewed five, h;gh school history texts.Two were new editions of those reviewed by Patrick;two were not in the Patrick review; one was thesame as in the Patrick review.

Katz found the history textbooks presented ade-quate discussions on the meaning of federalism aspart of their descriptions of the framing of the Consti-tution. Some of these discussions were "quite so-phisticated" and Katz concluded that "these providethe teacher with ample information for a useful dis-cussion of .ederalism."3° Similarly, these texts recog-nized the ,mportance of federalism in theirdescriptions of American politics through the CivilWar. However, the history textbooks largely ignored

12

the role of federalism in American political historyafter the Civil War. Katz concluded that thesetextb000ks "seem to suggest that federalism hasbeen irrelevant to the development of the UnitedStates over the past 120 years."31

Treatment in Civics and Government Text-books. Richard Remy analyzed five widely usedtwelfth-grade American government textbooks andfive ninth-grade civics textbooks.32 Four questionsguided the Remy study: (1) What is the extent ofextbook coverage of constitutional topics? (2) How is

the content and development of the Constitutiont; Elated in the textbooks? (3) How is the constitutionalperiod (1776-1789) treated in the textbooks? (4) Howare major constitutional principles such as separationof powers treated in the textbooks?

As to the extent of coverage of constitutional top-ics, less than one-quarter of the content in any of thebooks reviewed was devoted directly to instructionabout constitutional topics. Government textbooksdevoted from 12 to 23 percent of their content toconstitutional coverage; civics textbooks ranged from13 percent to 21 percent.33 Even allowing for differ-ences in publishing technology, this stands in greatcontrast to the textbooks for courses in "civil govern-ment" one hundred years earlier. Butts has notedthat earlier texts devoted from 70 to 85 percent oftheir pages to the Constitution and national govern-ment.34

How do government and civics texts present theConstitution and its development? While all the textsreviewed contained copies of the Constitution, nonedid a very good job of presenting the document inways that facilitated students' reading the Constitu-tion with meaning. Three of the government texts didnot annotate the Constitution, and in most otherbooks the annotations were quite limited.

Surprisingly, the government textbooks did notclearly define the concept of constitution. Further,both the government and civics textbooks neglectedcompletely to define, explain, and demonstrate theConstitution's pervasive role in our political system.None of these books, for example, attempted to de-velop for stu&nts ideas about the purposes servedby the Constiti.iiion as both symbol of the Americannation and ar: F daily instrument of government. Inshort, these texts largely overlooked the impact ofthe Constitution for both our personal and our collec-tive national life.

As for development of the Constitution, all thebooks reviewed by Remy presented brief descrip-tions of the formal procedures to amend the Consti-tution while ignoring the politics associated with suchprocedures. None of these books, for example, dis-cussed the critical role Congress plays in the politicalgive and Wee of the formal amendment process nor

did they describe the role of interest groups, lobbyingin state legislatures, and public opinion in theamendment process Descriptions of informal meansof changing the Constitution were very limited in thegovernment texts and ignored i~ the civics books.

How do textbooks treat the constitutional period(1776-1789)? Government and civics textbooks ex-amined in the Remy study contained some materialon the Articles of Confederation, the ConstitutionalConvention, and the struggle for ratification. None ofthe books reviewed devoted more than three percentof its content to the constitutional period. Govern-ment and civics books tend to leave detailed discus-sions of this topic to history books and courses, andthey typically offer only brief sketches of the key is-sues and events of the constitutional period in orderto establish some basis for their subsequent detaileddescriptions of government and politics.

The textbooks present brief descriptions of theConstitutional Convention. All the government textsin the Remy study mentioned the conflict betweenlarge and small states in terms of the New Jerseyand Virginia Plans, and all at least summarized themajor compromises. Neither government nor civicstexts portrayed the Convention as a dynamic politicalevent. Teachers and their students would 'lave to gobeyond these textbooks to gain an appreciation ofthe Framers as skilled politicians who, "drawing ontheir vast collective political experience, utilizingevery weapon in the politicians arsenal, looking con-stantly over their shoulders at their constituents .. .

put together a Constitution."36The Constitution embodies principles of govern-

mental organization that establisn the character ofthe American system of government. Scholars oftenidentify separation of powers, federalism, judicial re-view, and limited government as major constitutionalprinciples.36 How do government and civics textbookstreat such principles?

Discussion of constitutional principles usually ap-pears early in these books either in a chapter on theConstitution or in a chapter on its origins. None ofthe government or civics books in the Remy studytreated major constitutional principles as conceptswhich students couid learn and then use in their fur-ther study of national government and American poli-tics. Instead, after initial definition, the principlesrarely appeared again in the textbooks reviewed.Thus, students were not being asked to use a princi-ple to organize information or help explain some as-pect of government. Nor was subsequent materialoften presented as an illustration of a constitutionalprinciple.

Both government and civics texts analyzed byRemy confined their treatment of federalism primarilyto describing the constitutional allocation of powers

5 13

between the national and state governments. Thesedescriptions were usually based on the familiar clas-sifications of delegated, implied, inherent, reserved,and concurrent powers. The dynamics of the federalsystem and important aspects o federalism's role inAmerican politics were omitted.

Results from Katz's study of federalism in five gov-ernment textbooks are congruent with Remy's find-ings. Katz reviewed two books published after theRemy study, later editions of two books analyzed byRemy, and one that was the same. Katz's findingswere similar to those in the Remy study. In addition,Katz concluded that th../ "authors tend to view feder-alism as simply another constitutional device to ob-struct governmental action, rather than as anunderlying principle designed to foster power-sharingarrangements."37

The Supreme Court and judicial review play a keyrole in applying the Constitution to contemporary po-litical life. Yet the text' in the Remy study gave littleattention to judicial review, with coverage rangingfrom one page to six pages. The civics texts ana-lyzed gave even less attention to this principle. Theprinciple of separation of powers received similarlybrief treatments.

The government textbooks analyzed by Remy de-voted more attention to limited government than anyother constitutional principle. On the whole, thesetexts taught about the First Amendment and therights of the accused by summarizing relevant Su-preme Court cases. Unfortunately, cases were usu-ally summarized in an abrupt manner, and theconstitutional bases of the decisions were not elabo-rated; in many instances they were not mentioned.Most of the civics books in the Remy study confinedtheir brief discussions to the First Amendment.39

Conclusions. These tex:book studies revealcommon deficiencies in textbook treatments of theConstitution, which include shallow treatment of basicconstitutional principles, lack of historical continuity intreating issues, inadequate descriptions of SupremeCourt decisions, lack of attention to political dynam-ics associated with processes of constitutionalchoice, and insufficient attention to connections be-tween constitutionally relevant issues and events.Critical comments, however, should not be inter-preted as a denigration of secondary school Ameri-can history, government, and civics textbooks. Manyof the texts provide adequate, if limited, factual de-scriptions of constitutional material. The better text-books can be very effective means to attain certainobjectives, such as transmission of information anddevelopment of specialized vocabulary.

In addition, textbooks can and do change. Sincethe Patrick and Remy studies, several new textbookshave been published, and several of those reviewed

6

have been revised. Some of these textbooks displayreal, if incremental, improvements in the quality andextent of treatments of constitutional topics. Further-more, activity books and teacher resource books,which publishers produce to supplement their text-books, are more likely today, than in the recent pail,to include worksheets and learning activities aboutconstitutional topics. Finally, several publishers haverecently produced special resource books or hand-books on the Constitution. The increased attention ofpublishers to the Constitution undoubtedly is relatedto the bicentennial of 1987; it will be sustained andenhanced only if teachers and other members oftextbook selection committees demand ample, highquality treatments of the Constitution in these educa-tional materials.

However, the proportion of textbook space that canbe given to constitutional topics is limited, given othertopics that need to be covered. Furthermore, text-books are only one medium of instruction available toa teacher; they should be combined with other mediato create a comprehensive system of instruction,which is managed by the teacher. That system canalso include supplementary books, readings andpupil exercises, and a wide array of audiovisual ma-terials. Good teaching that creatively uses such re-sources can build on textbook strengths as well ascorrect for textbook gaps and weaknesses.

What Do Youths Know and BelieveAbout the Constitution?

Findings about the political knowledge and atti-tudes of teenagers provide an additional perspectiveon the status of the Constitution in the curriculum.Since more than 90 percent of today's 17- and 18-year-oids graduate from high school, such findingsare one measure of the impact of teaching about theConstitution on student learning.

Several assessments of citizenship and socialstudies by the National Assessment of EducationalProgress (NAEP) constitute a source of national dataon secondary school students orientations toward theConstitution. NAEP surveyed 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds in 1969/70, 1971/72, 1976, and 1982.39 ThePurdue Youth Opinion Poll conducted by H. H. Rem-mers and colleagues from the mid 1940s until wellinto the 1960s, along with a 1984 replication, provideadditional data as do several political socializationstudies.

Knowledge About the Constitution. What dostudents know about the Constitution? No major na-tional study has focused directly on this question.However, existing findings allow us to gauge studentknowledge with respect to these topics relevant tothe Constitution: comprehension of democracy, the

14

structure of government, constitutional rights, andrecognition of government officials.

What do students understand about the meaningof democracy? NAEP results show that a large num-ber of students, especially 9- and 13-year-olds, havegreat difficulty describing what is meant by "democ-racy" on an open-ended question. While about three-fourths of 17-year-olds could give some descriptionof democracy, only 42 percer of the 13-year-oldsand two percent of the 9-year-olds provided accept-able answers in the 1976 assessment."

A study of the political involvement of 1,000 Penn-sylvania high school seniors by Roberta Sigel andMarilyn Hoskin revealed similar results. Forty-fourpercent of the students gave "simplistic" definitionsof democracy, and another 14 percent gave no defi-nition or an incorrect one.4' Sigel and Hoskin con-cluded, "most students exhibit some cognizance ofdemocratic principles, but it is not at all clear whetherthey comprehend their meaning and implications. Attimes one cannot help but think that these principlesare only slogans to the students."42

What is the level of student knowledge about thestructure of government under the Constitution? Amajority of 13- and 17-year-olds in NAEP assess-ments display knowledge of the obvious features ofAmerican governmental institutions. By the time theygraduate from high school most adolescents knowbasic facts about government, such as that Congressis composed of two houses, that the power of publicofficials is limited by law, that certain public officialsate elected to office while others are appointed, andthat responsibilities for providing various public ser-vices are divided or shared by federal and state gov-ernments."

Political knowledge scores among teenagers haveshown some improvement in recent years. Scores forboth 13- and 17-year-olds on questions related to thestructure and function of government improved byabout 2.5 percentage points between the 1976 and1982 assessments. Black students showed greaterknowledge gains than white students, and studentswhose parents had higher levels of education."

The knowledge gains registered by NAEP werealso reflected in a more modest national survey ofhigh school seniors conducted in 1984 by StanleyElam. Elam replicated nine knowledge items used in1951 by the Purdue Poll. Today's students scoredbetter on all nine questions with the greatest gainshown on a question regarding the 19th Amendment,which asked the date when "women gained the rightto vote." Thirty-eight percent of the Class of 1951answered correctly while 91 percent of the Class of1984 responded correctly."

Most American youngsters appear to be aware ofthe purpose of basic rights included in the Constitu-

tion. Large majorities of 13- and 17-year-olds in the1970 and 1976 NAEP assessments recognized theright to privacy, freedom of religion, and freedom ofexpressionas rights granted by the Constitution."Similarly, in the 1982 assessment, for example, 62percent of the 17-year-olds correctly identified theprotection against double jeopardy.47 For many stu-dents, awareness of rights is the key component intheir concept of democracy. Thus, when defining de-mocracy, 48 percent of the students in the Sigel andHoskin study referred to some aspect of individualfreedom (religion, speech, travel, career choice)."

Morris Janowitz's recent study of civic education inAmerican schools points to excessive emphasis onindividual and minority group rights and lack of atten-tion to community obligations and responsibilities. Healso claims that core civic values, which encouragenational cohesion, have been slighted."

Both younger and older adolescents score poorlyon recognition of Key public officials and politicalleaders. Although most teenagers can name thePresident and Vice-President, many have difficultynaming their senators, members ot Congress, orgovernor. Most do not know the names of nationalpolitical leaders such as the Senate Majority Leader,the Speaker of the House, or the Secretary ofState.5°

Survey research on adults reflects the findings onyouth, particularly with respect to recognition of gov-ernment leaders. Less than 40 percent of adults inone national survey compieted for the U.S. Senateprofessed to be well informed about government orcurrent political events.5' Less than half the respond-ents could name both of their Senators or the Repre-sentatives to Congress from their district. Fewer thantwo-thirds knew that Congress is made up of theHouse of Representatives and the Senate, while 20percent stated Congress consisted of the House,Senate, and Supreme Court.

Beliefs About the Constitution. Findings fromassessment data and polls on student attitudes to-ward the Bill of Rights and respect for others shedslight on student beliefs about democratic principlesembodied in the Constitution.

In the 1950s, the Purdue Youth Opinion Pollsfound youth to be more "authoritarian" than "demo-cratic" in their attitudes toward the Bill of Rights.While students in the 1950s did support some rightssuch as trial by jury and protection against arrestwithout ,rmal charges, they were less supportive ofmany u,lier aspects of the Bill of Rights. Teenagersof the day endorsed censorship of books, newspa-pers, magazines, and other media as "protection ofthe public against improper ideas." Many studentsalso thought wiretapping should be used by the po-lice to scrutinize behavior. Sixty percent of the stu-

7 15

dents in a 1952 Purdue poll thought, "the police orFBI may sometimes be right in giving a man the'third degree' to make him talk."52

In his 1983 study, Elam gave students the same15 statements about various aspects of the Bill ofRights used in the 1952 Purdue Poll. An evengreater proportion of today's students, displayed anti-democratic attitudes on 8 of the 15 items than didstudents in 1952. For example, a larger percentageof today's students were willing to allow a policesearch without a warrant, to deny legal counsel tocriminals, and to accept restrictions on religious free-dom.53

On several other items, while the Class of 1984was slightly more democratic than the Class of 1952,the number of "uncertain" responses also increased.Elam found it "discouraging to see so many young-sters uncertain of so many traditional freedoms."54

Both the 1950 Purdue Polls and the Elam replica-tion found a positive correlation between high knowl-edge scores and "democratic" responses tostatements about constitutional issues. In short, thehigher students scored on the knowledge test, themore likely they were to hold pro-democratic atti-tudes. These findings are supported by a largeamount of research on adults which clearly showsthat education is the most powerful predictor of civilliberties tolerance and support for other democraticprinciples embodied in the Constitution.55

American youth are more willing to accept generalstatements about the rights of minorities than to ap-ply such rights in particular cases.56 This tendency,developed in youth, has been clearly documented innumerous studies of the political attitudes of adults.Herbert McClosky and Alida Brill conclude that,"many Americans, though endorsing civil liberties inthe abstract, reject them in their concrete applica-tions."57

Students' attitudes toward civil liberties do not ap-pear to be improving significantly. The NAEP datashow a slight decline in constitutional rights perform-ance between the assessments in the early 1970sand the 1976 assessrr 3nt. The 1982 assessmentfound that on items measuring respect for the rightsof others, performance of both 13- and 17-year-oldsremained at the 1976 levels; students knowledge of,and support for, constitutional rights improved at age13, but did not change at age 17.58

The 1982 NAEP study found some important raceand sex differences regarding constitutional rightsand respect for others. On items measuring respectfor the rights of others, females outscored males bynine percentage points at age 13 and eight percent-age points at age 17. Blacks and disadvantaged ur-ban students, who were typically farthest below thenation on items measuring knowledge of the struc-

ture and function of government, closed the gap onmeasures of respect for the rights of others.59

Conclusions. Various survey studies indicateAmerican youths are learning rudimentary factsabout the structure of government and their constitu-tional rights while gaining only a shallow understand-ing, at best, of the concept of democracy, whichinvolves majority rule with protection of minorityrights. There has been no research that directlymeasures either student comprehension of basicprinciples of government embOdied in the Constitu-tion or student knowledge of key features of the ori-gins and development of the document.

Results regarding beliefs about the Constitutionare not encouraging. Large numbers of American ad-olescents are failing to develop attitudes and valuessupportive of constitutional democracy. Furthermore,there seems to be little improvement over the lastthree decades in student acceptance of such atti-tudes. Education on the Constitution has not beensuccessful in stimulating widespread adherence tobasic democratic values embodied in the Constitu-tion.

Summary and RecommendationsThe Constitution is anchored in the curriculum of

American secondary schools. State mandates, publicexpectations, and educational traditions indicate thesecure place of constitutional saidies in the generaleducation of citizens. However, despite its unques-tioned establishment in the curriculum, education onthe Constitution has suffered from routine treatmentand occasional neglect. This traditional subject hasall too often been overshadowed by trendy topicsand curriculum fads. A consequence of perfunctoryor superficial teaching about the Constitution is shal-low public understanding of and commitment to corevalues and concepts of our constitutional democracy.Too many Americans are insufficiently educatedabout their excellent frame of government.

Michael Kammen discusses public ignorance andmisunderstanding of the Constitution in his recentstudy, A Machine That Would Go Of Itself. He notesthat Americans tend to have great pride in the Con-stitution, but this veneration is not accompanied byample knowledge and deep thought. Kammen la-ments "the ongoing reality that most of us do not ad-equately understand the Constitution." Furthermore,he claims: "The Constitution is too often neglected orpoorly taught in American schools."6°

The bicentennial of 1987 is an occasion for Ameri-cans to revitalize education on the Constitution byaddressing these needs:

(1) Blend social and constitutional themes in sec-ondary school American history courses.

(2) Integrate socio-political and constitutionalstudies in secondary school courses onAmerican government and civics.

(3) Connect education on the Constitution firmlyto citizenship education in secondary schools.

(4) Supplement b-aef or shallow textbook treat-ments of the Constitution with exemplarylearning materials 'that provide detailed les-sons on core concepts, values, and issues.

(5) Promote improvement of the quantity andquality of education on the Constitution insecondary school courses on history, govern-ment, and cMcs.

(6) Sustain the resurgence of interest in high-quality education on the Constitution duringthe years following the bicentennial of 1987.

NOTES1. Edward S. Corwin, "The Constitution as Instrument

and as Symbol," American Political Science Review30 (December 1936): 1071-1085.

2. Needs for improvement of education on the Constar-tion are based on assessments of textbooks, supp'e-mentary curriculum materials, and knowledge andattitudes of learners, which were done for Pioject '87and reported in H. Mehlinger, editor, Teaching Aboutthe Constitution in American Secondary Schools(Washington, D.C.: Project '87 of the American Histori-cal Association and American Political Science Associ-atbn, 1981), 1-27.

3. R. Freeman Butts, "Society's Expectations for SchoolInstruction About the Constitution: An Historical Over-view," in Teaching About the Constitution in AmericanSecondary Schools, 1-27.

4. Quoted in Butts, "Society's Expectations," 3.5. National Education Association, Commission on the

Reorganization of Secondary Education, Cardinal Prin-ciples of Secondary Education (Washington, D.C.:Government Printing Office, 1918), 14.

6. Diane Ravitch, "Decline and Fall of Teaching History,"New York Times Magazine (17 November 1985), 56.

7. Morris Janowitz, The Reconstruction of Patriotism:Education for Civic Consciousness (Chicago: The Uni-versity of Chicago Press, 1983), 145-169.

8. Michael Kammen, "The Historian's Vocation and theState of the Discipline in the United States," in ThePast Before Us: Contemporary Historical Writing in theUnited States, edited by Michael Kammen (Ithaca,New York: Cornell University Press, 1980), 35.

9. Hazel Whitman Hertzberg, "The Teaching of History,"in The Past Before Us: Contemporary Historical Writ-ing in the United States, edited by Michael Kammen(Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1980),474-504.

10. Butts, "Society's Expectations," 21-22.11. Ibid., 22.12. Kammen, "The Historian's Vocation and the State of

the Discipline in the United States," 39.

13. Project '87 is directed by Sheilah Mann, 1527 NewHamoshire kvenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

14. Forrest McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intel-lectual Origins of the Constitution (Lawrence: Univer-sity of Kansas Press, 1985; Richard B. Morris,Witnesses at the Creation: Hamilton, Madison, Jayand the Constitution (New York: Holt, Rinehart andWinston, 1985); Michael Kammen, A Machine ThatWould Go Of Itself: The Constitution in American Cul-ture (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1986).

15. See, for example, ASCD Task Force on IncreasedHigh School Graduation Requirements, With Conse-quences For All (Alexandria, Virginia: Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development, 1985); E.T.Boyer, High School: A Report on Secondary Educa-tion in America (New York: Harper and Row Publish-ers, 1983); C. Finn, Jr., D. Ravitch, and R. Fancher,editors, Against Mediocrity: The Humanities in Ameri-can High Schools (New York: Holmes & Meier,1984).

16. Joel F. Henning, et. al., Mandate for Change. TheImpact of Law on Educational Innovation (Chicago:American Bar Association, 1979).

17. Charles J. White, "Mandates on the Curriculum," inH. Mehlinger, editor, Teaching About the Constitutionin Secondary Schools, 72.

18. Ibid.19. Ibid., 65.20. Social Studies Curriculum Development Task Force,

A Guide to Curriculum Planning in Social StudiesEducation (Madison, Wisconsin Department of PublicInstruction, 1986), 87-103. The Wisconsin state cur-riculum guide includes representative examples ofeducational goals that are found in similar curriculumguides published by other state departments of edu-cation.

21. John T. Hyland, Teaching United States History WithA Constitutional Focus. This paper was precented toan institute on the teaching of United States historysponsored by the California State University of LosAngeles and Region G, Los Angeles City UnifiedSchool District, August 4, 1986.

22. Richard E. Gross, "The Status of Social Studies inthe Public Schools of the United States," Social Edu-cation 41 (March, 1979), 194-20n Some students(less than 1/4 million) take a short course-less thana semester-on the Constitution. This course is of-fered in a variety of grades.

23. J. P. Shaver, 0. L. Davis, Jr. and S. W. Helburn,"The Status of Social Studies Education: Implicationsfrom Three NSF Studies," Social Education 43 (Feb-ruary 1979), 151.

24. Karen B. Wiley, The Status of Pre-College Science,Mathematics and Social Science Education: 1955-1975, Vol. 3 (Boulder, Colorado: Social Science Edu-cation Consortium, 1977), 80-81.

25. John J. Patrick and Sherry! Hawke, "Curriculum Ma-terials," in The Current State of the Social Studies,edited by t le Staff of Project SPAN (Boulder, Colo-rado: Social Science Education Consortium, 1982),105-110.

9 17

26. John .9. Patrick, "Treatment of the Constitution inSecondary Level American History Textbooks,' inTeaching About the Constitution in American Sec-ondary Schools, 89-106.

77. Ibid., 101.28. Ibid., 93-94.29. Ellis Katz, "Federalism in Secondary School Ameri-

can History and Government Textbooks," in leachingAbout American Federal CE--,mocracy, edited by S. L.Schecter (Philadelphia: The Center for the Study ofFederalism, 1985), 91-98.

30. Ibid., 96.31. Ibid., 97.32. Richard C. Remy, "Treatment of the Constitution in

Civics and Government Textbooks," in TeachingAbout the Ccnstitution in American SecondarySchools, 107-128.

33. Ibid., 112-113.34. Butts, "Societys Expectations," 7.35. John P. Roche, "The Founding Fathers: A Reform

Caucus n Action," American Political Science Re-view 55 (December 1961), 36, 779 and 812.

36. Peltason, Understanding the Constitution, 50.37. Katz, "Federalism in Secondary School Textbooks,"

94.38. Remy, "Treatment in Civics and Government Text-

books," 122-123.39. National Assessment of Educational Progress, Politi-

cal Knowledge and Attitudes 1971-1972, Report 03-SS-01, (Denver: Educaiion Commission of the States,1973); National Assessment of Educational Progress,The First Social Studies Assessment: An Overview,Report 03-SS-00 (Denver: Education Commission ofthe States, 1974); National Assessment of Educa-tional Progress, Education for Citizenship: A Bicen-tennial Survey, Report 07-CS-01 (Denver: EducationCommission of the States, 1976); National Assess-ment of Educational Progress, Changes in PoliticalKnowledge and Attitudes, 1969-1976, Report 07-CS-02 (Denver: Education Commission of the States,1978); National Assessment of Educational Progress,Citizenship and Social Studies Achievement ofYoung Americans: 1981-82 Performance andChahges Between 1976 and 1982, Report 13-CS-01(Denver: Education Commission of the States, 1983).

40. NAEP, Changes in Political Knowledge and Atti-tudes, 1969-1976, 23.

41. Roberta Sige'l and Marilyn B. Hoskin, The Political In-volvement of Adolescents (New Brunswick, New Jer-sey: Rutgers University Press, 1981).

42. Ibid., 117.43. NAEP, Political Knowledge and Attitudes 1971-1972

and NAEP, Citizenship v d Social Studies Achieve-ment of Young Amencans: 1981-82.

44. NAEP, Citizenship and Social Studies Achievementof Young Americarr' 1981-82, 27-28.

45. Stanley M. Elam, "Anti-Democratic Attitudes of HighSchool Seniors in the Orwell Year," Phi Delta Kappan(January 1984), 32.

46. NAEP, Changes in Political Knowledge and Atti-tudes, 1969-1976, 8.

10

47. NAEP, Citizenship and Social Studies Achievement ofYoung Americans: 1981-82, 14.

48. Sigel and Hoskin, Political Involvement of Adoles-cents, 115.

49. Morris Janowitz, The Reconstruction of Patriotism.Education for Civic ConscioJsness, 1-14 and 145-166.

50. NAEP, Political Knowledge and Attitudes 1971-1972,19-27 and 43-47.

51. Lou Harris, Confidence and Concern: Citizens ViewAmerican Government (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Gov-ernment Printing Office, 1973), 77.

52. Elam, "Anti-Democratic Attitudes of High School Sen-iors," 329.

53. Ibid.54. Ibid.55. Camuel A. Stouffer, Communism, Conformity and

Civil Liberties (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 19E5),Chapter 2; Herbert McClosky, "Consensus and Ideal-ogy in American Politics," American Political ScienceReview 58 (1954), 361-367; C. Z. Nunn, "Support ofCivil Liberties Among College Students:' Social Prob-lems 20 (1973), 300-310.

56. Gail L. Zellman and David 0. Sears, "Childhood Ori-gins of Toleration for Dissent," Journal of Social Is-sues 27 (1971), 109-136.

57. Herbert McClosky and Alida Brill, Dimensions of Tol-erance: What Americans Believe About Civil Liberties(New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1983), 417.

58. NAEP, Citizenship and Social Studies Achievementsof Young Americans: 1981-82, 3.

59. Ibid., 28.60. Michael Kammen, A Machine That Would Go Of It-

self: The Constitution in American Culture, xviii; 24.

18

2. TEACHING ABOUT THECONSTITUTION: LESSONS

AND STRATEGIESWhat kinds of lessons and strategies should teach-

ers use in secondary school classrooms to improveeducation on the Constitution? In this chapter, wediscuss several types of lessons and teaching strate-gies that have been used successfully in secondaryschool courses on American hiskiry, government,and civics. Each type of lesson and strategy is de-fined, described, and justified as a successful meansof teaching about the Consti:ution. Exemplars that fiteach type of lesson and strategy discussed in thischapter, and that have been used successfully manytimes in secondary school classrooms, are includedin the Appendixes (A-G). These exemplary materialswere developed for Project '87 of the American His-torical Association and American Po Kim! ScienceAssociation with support from the National Endow-ment for the Humanities. The materials have beenreviewed by scholars and field tested by secondaryschool teachers of Americln history, government,and civics.'

Teachers are encouraged to use these lessons toextend and enrich textbook content on constitutionalhistory and principles of government in the Constitu-tion. Although the lessons are sound as designed,teachers should not hesitate to modify them to suittheir courses and students. Furthermore, teachersare encouraged to use the exemplar lessons asmodels for creating their own lessons on the Consti-tu'fion.

The following types of lessons and strategies areincluded in this chapter:

Springboard Lessons: A Strategy for Launch-ing Study.Concept Learning Lessons: A Rule-Example-Application Strategy of Teaching.Civic Decision Making Lessons: The DecisionTree Strategy.Supreme Court Case Study LesGons: A Strat-egy for Analysis of Judicial Decisions.Judicial Decision Making Simulation Lessons:A Discovery Learning Strategy.Historical Inquiry Lessons: A Strategy for In-terpreting Primary Sources on a Constitu-tional Issue

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

Springboard !...essons: A Strategy forLaunching Study

As the name suggests, a "springboard lesson"launches student investigation of an issue, question,or topic. An effective "springboard" focuses attentionof learners on certain educational objectives, arouses

11

interest in the objectives, raises questions aboutthem, and motivates students to purposeful, subse-quent study to achieve the objectives. Learning ac-tivities that follow the "springF)oa.d" presumably aremore meaningful to students because of the captivat-ing lesson that initiated their studies.

One example of a "springboard lesson" involvesuse at public opinion polls to study civil liberties.2Teachers oper the lesson by asking students to"agree" or "disagree" with a series of items, such asthese:

1. Citizens should have the right to print anypoint of view they want to print, as long as it istrue.

2. A citizen should have the right to voice anyopinion ha/she favors, which does not slanderor include intentional lies.

3. Citizens should have the right to hold publicmeetings to express ideas.

4. Police and other civic officials have sometimesbanned or censored certain books and moviesin their cities. They should have power to dothis for the good of the community.

5. The American Nazi Party wants to have amarch and rally in our town, but town officialsshould not allow this to happen.

6. Newspapers that preach revolution should bebanned.

7. Atheists should be allowed to give speecheson public radio or television.

8. Books that support Communism or Nazismshould be removed from pubfic libraries.

9. A woman should have the right to speak at apublic school program urging that a law bepassed that would limit the number of childrena family can have.

These nine items pertain to rights of individuals orminorities to express ideas freely and limits on theserights on behalf of the community. After studentshave responded to the opinion poll, the teacher tabu-lates the results and displays frequencies and per-centages of "agree" and "disagree" answers to eachitem. Next, there is class discussion of the re-sponses, and the teacher asks students to identifyand interpret patterns of responses. For example,nearly all students respond positively to items 1, 2,and 3 which represent agreement, in principle, withfreedom of speech, press, and assembly. Hov.,ever,there usually are sharp disagreements about most ofthe other items, which pertain to application ot a. con-stitutional principle to various specific cases. Stu-dents will learn that abstract ideals, such as majorityrule and minority rights and freedom, which virtuallyall Americans agree with, generate sharp clashes ofopinion when they are applied to certain instances.Discussion of these instances will raise questions

19

and issues about the constitutional rights of individu-als and minorities and limits that should be imposedon freedom of expression on behalf of majority ruleand community needs. Students' attention is likely tobe fixed on the main point of the lessonongoingtensions in a tree society between majority rule andminority rights or between individual rights and limita-tions on those rights that reflect broad communityconcerns. Questions will be raised about constitu-tional rights and justified limits upon those rights,which can be examined in subsequent lessons.

Another example of a "springboard lesson" is in-cluded in Appendix A and is titled, "What Dees TheConstitution Say About Federalisn?"3 Students areasked to read ten ;--latements that describe hypotheti-cal actions of individuals, groups, and officials ofstate and national governments. Students are askedto decide whether each statement describes a situa-'don in which the government officials comply with theConstitution. They are required to back up decisionsabout each of the ten items with references to spe-cific parts of the Constitution, such as Article IV Sec-tion 3, Clause 1; Article VI, Clause 2; or AmendmentX. Thio lesson requires students to ldentify and readpurposefully parts of the Constitution that are rele-vant o points raised in this lesson. After completingresponses to the ten items in this lesson, studentsare asked to express and defend their answers inclass discussion. During this classroom discussionthe teacher continually challenges students to givereasons for their answers and encourages studentsto ask one another to justify responses with interpre-tations of the meaning of certain parts of the Consti-tution. This discussion tends to be lively and to sparkinterest in numerous significant questions on themeaning of federalism as part of constitutional gov-ernment and its application to the daily conc?rns ofAmericans. This lesson focuses attention of studentson federalism and compels them to read pointedlythe parts of the Constitution that treat federal-staterelations. In this way, the lesson is a "springboard"to examination of certain parts of the Constitution. Itcan also be use to initiate detailed study of themeaning of federalism and issues about it, becausethis lesson is likely to raise intriguing questions thatstudents can be assigned to investigate in subse-quent reading assignments. This type of "spring-board lesson" can be used to teach about anyconcept of American constitutional government.

Concept Learning Lessons: A Rule-Example-Application Strategy ofTeaching

Education on the Constitution involves basic ideasof government, such as federalism, separation ofpowers, and judicial review. Too often, however,

12

teaching and learning of these core concepts beginsand ends with definitions,, which are presented by theteacher and the textbook and repeated by studentsas evidence of achievemen'. Too rarely is there de-tafled examination of phenomena implied by the defi-nition that involves use of it to organize and interpretinformation, which i5 a true test of concept learning.How can core concepts on the Constitution be taughteffentively? The first step is recognizing that a con-cept can be viewed as a definition or criterion for as-signing phei.omena to a category. The criterion, or aset of criteria, is used as a rule for deciding whichphenomena do or do not belong to a category. Byusing a definition as a rule for categorizing data, stu-dents gain ability to distinguish examples that de ordo not belong in a category. Students who learn theconcept of federalism, for example, can use a defini-tion as a rule to distinguish examples of governmentsthat fit the rule, such as the United States of Americaand India, from examples of unitary systems likeFrance and Egypt.

The preceding view of concepts and conceptarning provides a context for using a teaching strat-

egy referred to as "rule-example-application."4 Howmight a teacher use this strategy? Suppose the ob-jective is to teach the concept of constitutional de-mocracy. First, inform students that the main point ofthe lesson is to learn the meaning of constitutionaldemocracy and how to use this idea to interpret factsabout government and politics in the United Statesand elsewhere. Second, state a definition of the con-cept, constitutional democracy: government of themany (majority rule) restricted in scope and means toprotect the rights of individuals and minorities.5 Indi-cate that this definition is a rule for determining in-stances and non-instances of the concept. Third,present examples of governments that are, and arenot, constitutional democracies to illustrate the defini-tion or rule by which instances are distinguished fromnon-instances of the concept. Fourth, require appli-cation of the rule to new examples to determinewhether students can use the concE pt to organizeand interpret fresh data. In this case, students shouldbe able to use the definition of constitutional democ-racy to identify the governments of Canada andFrance as examples of the rule and the governmentsof Iran and Uganda as non-examples. Through cor-rect use of the rule to distinguish examples from non-examples of the concept, students demonstrate thatthey are learning the concept. The fifth and final stepin this strategy is providing more opportunities forstudents to use the concept, such as requiring themto generate new examples of it or use it to analyzecase studies of decision making in government.

In Appendix B, there is a lesson on the concept offederalism, which uses the rule-example-application

20

strategy; the title is, "The PrinciplecI Mderalism."8Students are taught a definition ot fec .-aralism that re-fers to divison of power between two levels of gov-ernment, state and national, and the unclear andchanging line between the use of national and stategovernment power in the past and present. Studentsare first taught to distinguish federalism from unitaryand confederate forms of government and then arerequired to use their definition of federalism to iden-tify examples and non-examples of it. Next, studentsare taught how powers are divided in the Americanfederal system. They are shown examples of powersgranted and denied to national and state govern-ments and examples of concurrent or shared powers.Then they are challenged to use these categoriesabout division and sharing of powers to classify sev-eral examples about the American federal system. Inconclusion, students are confronted with several ac-tivities, including analysis of a case study on an is-sue about division of powers, which tests their abilityto use the concept of federalism to organize and in-terpret information. This type of lesson, involving arule-example-application teaching strategy, can beused to systematically present other core concepts ofthe American Constitution, such as judicial review,civil liberties separation of powers with checks andbalances, popular sovereignty, limited governmentand the rule of law, and so forth.

Civic Decision Making Lessons: TheDecision Tree Strategy

Citizens in a constitutional democracy are free toassess alternatives and participate in civic deci-sions--choices about various kinds of public issues.Who should be elected to positions of leadership ingovernment? What public policies should the leadersmake? How should the frame of government be in-terpreted by policy makers? How should the Consti-tution be amended by representatives of the people?Indeed, the quality of government depends uponabilities of citizens to make and communicatechoices to representatives in government. Therefore,the highest priority in civic education is developmentof civic decision making skills?

How can civic decision making be taught effec-tively through lessons about the Constitution? Onestrategy involves case studies of policy decisions thathave fundamerally affected the Constitution, suchas President Jefferson's decision to purchase Louisi-ana or President Lincoln's decision to oppose seces-sion of slave states. Cases of civic decision makingmay emphasize the executive and legislativebranches of government, or they may be aboutchoices of citizens involved in making or amending aconstitution. Cases about the making of state consti-tutions in the "founding period" and modern times

are excellent vehicles for teaching about civic deci-sion making, as are cases about the ratification de-bates on the Constitution in 1787-88 and aboutcertain amendments to the Constitution during thepast two hundred years. Teachers can use thesekinds of case studies to sharpen students' abilities toframe issues, clarify and elaborate upon alternatives,make connections between alternatives and theirlikely consequences, use values to rate alternativesas more or less positive or negative, and judge a de-cision as more or less desirable.

The decision tree is an analytical tool that teacherscan use to nelp students analyze the civic decisionsof others as well as make and defend their ownchoices. It is based on a problem solving procedurethat involves mapping of alternatives and conse-quences in an occasion for decision.8 How do stu-dents use a decision tree?

An example of a lesson that uses the decisiontree"Washington's Decision to Attend the Constitu-tional Cf.livention"--is in Appendix C. This lesson isdesigned as a simple and direct introduction of thedecision tree to secondary school students, and itshows graphically essential elements of a civic deci-sion, which are discussed briefly below with refer-ence to the exemplar lesson on the decision ofWashington to attend the Constitutional Convention.8

1. Ccnfrontation with the need for choice, an oc-casion for decision. An occasion for decision in-volves a problem or issue where the solution is notobvious. For example, George Washington, an advo-cate of a strong central government, was invited toattend the Constitutional Convention. This invitationwas an occasion fcr decision, because Washingtonfaced cross-pressures about whether or not to go. Adecision to attend the Convention involved seriouspolitical risks. Furthermore, Washington felt pres-sured to stay home to deal with serious personalproblems. However, he wanteo to be part of any sig-nificant moves to strengthen the government of theUnited States.

2. Identification of alternatives. The quality of adecision depends upon identification and clarificationof all reasonable alternatives. In this case, the op-tions were very clear: should Washington go to theConvention or stay home?

3. Assessment of consequences associated withalternatives. Options have consequences, whichmay be judged as more or less desirable. For exam-ple, a decision to attend the convention could lead toneglect of personal and family problems, which couldexacerbate these problems. However, if Washingtonstayed away from the Convention, he would neglectan opportunity to improve the government, whichmight not come again, and could deprive him of fu-ture opportunities to exercise national leadership.

13 21

Thus, decision making involves hypotheses about theconnection of alternatives to consequences. It alsoinvolves assignment of values, or judgment of likelyconsequences as more or less positive or negative.

4. Selection of an alternative in terms of goals orvalues. Goals are outcomes valued by the decisionmaker. However, these values may be in conflict,which require the decision rraker to rank them asmore or less important. One of Washington's goa!swas to deal with pressing personal woblems athome. A conflicting goal in this case was his desireto exercise leadership in strengthening the nationalgovernment. He apparently valued one goal morethan the other and therefore preferred one alterna-tive, to attend the Convention (regardless of personaland familial costs).

The decision tree strategy teaches students howfacts and values are intertwined in civic decisionmaking. Knowledge of relevant facts is needed toclarify alternatives and to justify hypotheses aboutconsequences likely to result from one choice or an-other. However, beliefs about good and bad, betteror worse (one's values) are needed to judge conse-quences and to rank alternatives connected withthem as more or less valuable or desirable. Thus,civic decision makers use facts and values to makeinformed and defensible judgments about the resolu-tion of public issues.

The lesson on "Washington's Decision" in Appen-dix C might be used to introduce students to the useof decision trees in civic decison making. Anotherlesson in Appendix Da decision by President Jef-ferson to purchase Lousianamight be used to pro-vide practice for students in using the decision treeto clarify and judge elements or a choice that hadprofound significance on constitutional developmentin the United States.10 In using decision trees to ana-lyze cases about public issues, students shouid beadvised that they are imposing a structure on eventsin history to help them clarify and assess choices ofpolicy makers. Decisions in history, subjected to so-cial pressures and personal passions, often do notproceed systematically in terms of the essential ele-ments of the decision tree. Thus, teachers shouldemphasize that a particular decision makerWash-ington or Jefferson, for examplemay not haveacted as deliberately as students ire required to doin using a decision tree in the sheltered environmentof a classroom. Teachers should also point out thatthe model of reflective choice exemplified by the de-cision tree can be an effective guide to analysis andjudgment of decisions in history and current eventsand a useful aid to choices in one's life.

14

Supreme Court Case Study Lessons: AStrategy for Analysis of JudicialDecisions

The United States Supreme Court has acted as"guardian of the Constitution" (advocated by Alexan-der Hamil.:on in The Federalist, #78) and hasadapted "the supreme law of the land" to changingtimes (advocated by John Marshall in McCulloch v.Marylano when he wrote that the Constitution was"intended to endure for the aps . . . and conse-quently to be adapted to the various crises of humanaffairs"). Secondary school students must examinelandmark decisions of the Supreme Court to learnhow main principles of the Constitution have beenboth guarded and adapted in various periods ofAmerican history. Historian John Garraty feelsstrongly about the need to emphasize landmarkcases of the Supreme Court in citizenship education.Garraty writes: "To try to understand the modernConstitution without knowledge of these judicial land-marks would be like trying to understand Christianitywithout reading the Bible.""

Textbooks mention landmark Supreme Courtcases, but detailed treatments are not included.Teachers can supplement the textbooks by creatinglessons or using lessons in print that guide studentsin analysis of Supreme Court decisions. Casesshould be organized in terms of these five catago-ries: (1) background information, (2) the constitutionalissue, (3) arguments in response to the issue, (4) thecourt's decision, including dissenting opinions, and(5) the significance of the decision in development ofconstitutional law. These categories are cues tostandard learning objectives in this kind of lesson.Students are expected to:

Know how the issue in the case arose.Identify and explain the main constitutional is-

sue.Identify and explain arguments in response to

the issue.Identify and explain the Court's decision about

the issue.Identify and explain dissenting opinions.Explain the significance of the case in constitu-

tional law.Questions and learning activities should be in-

cluded at the end of the case that fit the precedingobjectives. Students show achievement of the objec-tives by responding correctlhy to these end-of-lessonitems.

Appendix E includes an exemplar lesson aboutanalysis of a landmark Supreme Court case,Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company v. Sawyer(1952). This lesson is titled, "The Limits of Pres-idential Power: Truman's Decision to Seize the Steel

22

Mills."12 The case is presented in terms of the cate-gories listed above, and there are questions at theend of the case to guide students' analysis of thebackground information, the constitutional issue, thearguments in response to the issue, the decision, in-cluding a dissenting opinion, and the significance ofthe case in development of constitutional law. Byanalyzing a case in terms of these categories andquestions, students learn ideas and thinking skillsthat pertain to judicial decisions in general. In addi-tion, they gain understanding of how the Constitutionhas changed, within an enduring framework of princi-ples, through judicial review. Finally, cases like thisone also develop students' knowledge of core con-cepts and values of American constitutional govern-ment, such as the rule of law and separation ofpowers with checks and balances.

Judicial Decision Making SimulationLessons: A Discovery Learning Strategy

An alternative strategy for teaching about SupremeCourt cases stresses the process of judicial decisionmaking and learning by discovery. Students aregiven sets of data on a case: (1) background infor-mation, (2) the constitutional issue raised by the factsof the case, (3) capsule commentaries on precedentsrelated to the case under consideration that were es-tablished by decisions in previous cases, (4) digestsof arguments made before the court in support of thecontending sides, and (5) references to parts of theConstitution that pertain to the case. Students are or-ganized into groups of five, seven, or nine (depend-ing on the size of the class) and challenged to usethese data to make and defend a judicial decision. Ineffect, the students are involved in a simulation ofthe intellectual processes used in judicial decisionmaking.

Use of judicial decision simulation lessons is basedon the assumption that students have learned keyaspects of judicial decision making, such as staredecisis and judicial review, through previous study ofa standard secondary school government textbookchapter on the judicial branch of the federal govern-ment. They are expected to apply knowledge gainedfrom the preceding assignments to successfully con-duct the simulation lesson, which becomes a mea-sure of what they have learned and an opportunity toextend learning about the process of judicial decisionmaking.

The teaching strategy in this type of lesson en-gages students in discovery learningit challengesstudents to derive their own answers from incompleteinformation. Learners are confronted with an intri-guing problem and stimulated to solve it. Teachersguide and prompt student thinking rather than provid-ing answers that would foreclose student inquiry.

15

After students have thought through the problem andarrived at their own answers, the teacher assiststhem in evaluating their work.14

In line with the discovery learning strategy, theteacher does not intervene in the judicial simulationexcept as an arranger of the conditions of the lessonand as manager of a student discussion about theirdecisions in the case. After deliberating in smallgroups to make decisions, students reconvene as aclass. Representatives of each group are asked toreport the group's decision (including any dissentingopinions) to the entire class and to respond to ques-fions and comments about them. After each grouphas reported and defended its decision, the teacherdistributes to each student a copy of a digest of theSupreme Court's decision in this case, which in-cludes dissenting opinions, if any. After reading thissummary of the court's decision, the teacher asksstudents to compare their decisions with the court'sdecision. Students are asked to comment and raisequestions for discussion about the court's decisionand the justification for it. Finally, they are asked toevaluate the court's dedsion. What if the court de-cided as they did? Do they agree with the reasoningin the court's formal opinion? What if the court de-cided differently than they did? Do they continue todisagree with the court's opinion, or has examinationof the formal opinion changed their minds? Duringdiscussion of the Supreme Court's decision, theteacher takes an active role in guiding the class andevaluating responses of students.

An example of a judicial decision simulation is in-cluded in Appendix F. The title of this lesson is, "YouBe The Judge: Camara v. The Municipal Court of theCity and County of San Francisco."14 This caseraises a Fourth Amendment issue about the right ofan individual to be protected against "unreasonablesearches and seizures." The lesson includes sets ofdata about the facts of the case, the constitutional is-sue, arguments on contending sides of the issue,precedents in constitutional law relevant to this case,and references to parts of the Constitution relevant tothis case. The lesson challenges students, working insmall groups, to use the data in the manner of a fed-eral judge to reach a defensible decision in this case.In line with the teaching strategy described above,students exchange ideas about their decisions andthen are presented with the Supreme Court's deci-sion in the "Camara Case." The lesson is concludedwith comparisons of the court's decision with the stu-dents' decisions and a culminating appraisal by stu-dents of their decisions in the judicial simulation.

This type of lesson involves students actively aslearners and engages them in higher levels of think-ing. It also teaches knowledge and thinking skills that

23

can be applied generally to consideration of constitu-tional issues.

Historical Inquiry Lessons: A Strategy forInterpreting Primary Sources on aConstitutional Issue

Primary sources, the raw materials of historical in-quiry, can be used to develop skills of interpretationand use of evidence among secondary school stu-dents of history. In particular, lessons on the inter-pretation of primary sources can teach students toclahfy and explain positions on constitutional issuesin American history, such as (1) the need to revise orreplace the Articles of Confederation, (2) the right ofa state to nullify a federal law, (3) the right of a stateto secede from the Federal Union, (4) the power ofthe President to withhold sensitive information on for-eign policy from the Senate, (5) the limits to freedomof speech and press in times of national crisis, (6)the desirability of amending the Constitution in a cer-tain waythe ERA for exampleand so forth.

Primary sources on different sides of a constitu-tional issue in American history or current events canbe presented to students who examine the sources,identify and describe the main ideas of each one,compare the main ideas to find similarities and differ-ences, and speculate aboLt explanations for similari-ties and differences in the main ideas. For example,students might study documents that reveal contrast-ing positions about the Articles of Confederation andthe need for a new frame of government, which wasthe pressing constitutional issue of the 1780s. Theymight examine one side of the issue by readingGeorge Washington's views on the need for astronger general government, which were expressedin his "circular letter" to the thirteen state govern-ments in 1783. The other side of this issue, an argu-ment against revision of the Articles ofConfederation, was expressed in a letter by RichardHenry Lee to George Mason in 1785.15 Students canbe asked to identify, compare, and explain ideas ofLee and Washington about changing the governmentof the United States. They might also be asked tospeculate about why Lee and Washington had clash-ing ideas on this issue.

Lessons on interpretation of primary sources canbe designed to develop skills in historical inquiry.Students search for meaning by "reading betweenthe lines" and inferring explanations. For example,students are challenged to find main ideas and sup-porting information in order to describe alternativepositions on an issue. Then they interpret and organ-ize information in order to compare the alternatives.Finally, they think creatively about information in theprimary sources to speculate and raise questionsabout explanations for the differing ideas expressed

16

there. After generating speculations and questions,students may consult their textbooks or other sec-ondary sources to confirm, reject, or modify theirspeculations and to find answers to their questions.

Sound lessons on interpretation of primary sourcesare introduced with brief statements about the date,authorship, and historical significance of the docu-ment. Long documents, with many difficult words, areabridged and annotated so that most secondaryschool students will be able to read them. Finally,students' examination of the document is guided by aseries of questions prepared in advance of the les-son.

Appendix G includes an exemplar lesson on inter-pretation of primary sources about alternative posi-tions on a constitutional issue. The title of the lessonis, "Two Responses To A Constitutional Crisis: Deci-sions of Buchanan and Lincoln About Secession."16The lesson is based on statements of two Presi-dentsBuchanan and Lincolnabout threats ofsecession by slave states of the South. Students areasked to read these documents: (1) President Buch-anan's "Fourth Annual Message to Congress" of De-cember 3, 1860, (2) President Lincoln's "FirstInaugural Address" of March 4, 1861, and (3) "AProclamation" by President Lincoln on April 15,1861. These documents reveal that Lincoln andBuchanon had different ideas about powers of thepresidency and the nature of the Federal Union.Questions at the end of the lesson guide students'interpretations of each primary source. Next, stu-dents move to a second series of questions thatguide comparison of the clashing ideas of Lincolnand Buchanan and their different decisions abouthow to deal with the issue of secession. The lessonis concluded with interpretation of a speech by Jef-ferson Davis, first President of the ConfederateStates of America. Students respond to a series ofquestions that guide interpretation of Davis' ideas onthe issue of secession and comparison of theseideas with those of President Lincoln. Teachers areexpected to use this lesson in combination with text-book chapters on events leading to the Civil War.The textbook content provides a context in which tofit the documents and student inquiries about them.

Summary and RecommendationsTeachers who would improve education on the

Constitution in secondary school courses on Ameri-can history, government, and civics must providelearning experiences for students that extend andenrich limited textbook treatments of core concepts,values, and issues in history and contemporary soci-ety. Six types of lessons and teaching strategies arerecommended as means to supplement meager text-book coverage of the Constitution:

9 4

-the springboard lesson.-the rule-example-application strategy for teach-ing concepts.-cases of civic decision making and the decisiontree strategy.-a strategy for analysis of Supreme Court cases.-judicial decisicn simulations.-interpretion of primary sources.Exemplars of each type of lesson and teaching

strategy are included in the Appendixes. We encour-age teachers to use these exemplar lessons in com-bination with standard secondary school textbooks inAmerican history, government, and civics. We alsorecommend that teachers use these lessons andteaching strategies as models to guide their own de-velopment of lessons on the Constitution.

The following statements describe distinctive char-acteristics of the model lessons, which might be usedas guidelines for development and evaluation of les-sons about constitutional government and history.These characteristics of the model lessons can beviewed as recommendations about pedagogical qual-ities of sound learning materials on the Constitution.Of course, this is not a definitive list of desirablequalities of learning materia!s. However, these quali-ties, among others, certainly should be prominentfeatures of secondary school learning materials onthe Constitution.

1. Lessons fit standard secondary school coursesin American history, government, and civics andtherefore can be used to supplement or complementwidely used textbooks.

2. Lessons extend and enrich standard textbooktopics, but do not duplicate them.

3. Each lesson includes a plan for teachers andmaterials to duplicate and distribute to students.

4. Each lesson has a clear statement of purposesand well organized content that pertains to the pur-poses.

5. Each lesson has learning activities that requirestudents to demonstrate achievement of instructionalobjectives.

6. Lessons encourage application of knowledge tocompletion of various kinds of cognitive tasks, fromrecall and comprehension to interpretation, analysis,synthesis, and evaluation.

7. Lessons emphasize core values and conceptsof American constitutional government.

8. Lessons emphasize issues and decisions in his-tory and current events about the meaning and appli-cation of core values and concepts of theConstitution.

9. Lessons encourage commitment to core valuesand concepts of the Constitution, while showing howthese values and concepts require interpretation bycitizens in responses to changing circumstances.

17

NOTES1. These Lessons on the Constitution were developed

from 1983-1985 for Project '87 by John J. Patrick, Di-rector of the Social Studies Development Center at In-diana University and Richard C. Reny, Director of theCitizenship Develc,Irnent Program of the MershonCenter at the Ohio State University. Funding was pro-vided to develop the lessons by the National Endow-ment for the Humanities. Project '87 is a joint programof the American Historical Association and the Ameri-can Political Science Association. The Director of Proj-ect '87 is Sheilah Mann, 1527 New HampshireAvenue, N. W., Washington, DC: 20036. Lessons fromthis project are included in this volume by permissionof Project '87.

2. John J. Patrick and Richard C. RPrny, Lessons on theConstitution: Supplements to High School Courses inAmerican History, Government, and Civics (Washing-ton, DC: Project '87 of the American Historical Associ-ation and the American Political Science Association,1985), 173-180.

3. Ibid., 127-128.4. Lee Ehman, Howard Mehlinger, and John J. Patrick,

Toward Effective Instruction in Secondary Social Stud-ies (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974), 156-181.

5. William Welch, The Art of Political Thinking (Totowa,New Jersey: Littlefield, Adams & Company, 1981), 44.

6. Patrick and Remy, Lessons on the Constitution, 118-126.

7. Richard C. Remy, "Making, Judging, and InfluencingPolitical Decisions: A Focus for Citizen Education," So-cial Education 40 (October 1976): 360-365.

8. Howard Raiffa, Decision Analysis (Reading, Mass.: Ad-dison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1968).

9. Patrick and Remy, Lessons on the Constitution, 68-73.10. Ibid., 214-218.11. John Garraty, editor, Quanels That Have Shaped The

Constitution (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers,1962), viii.

12. Patrick and Remy, Lessons on the Constitution, 253-255.

13. Ehman, Mehlinger, Patrick, Toward Effective Instruc-tion In Secondary Social Studies, 126-129.

14. Ibid., 256-260.15. Ibid., 61-62.16. Ibid., 224-231.

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3. BICENTENNIALPROGRAMS AND MATERIALSMany reasons have been given for using the occa-

sions of the bicentennials of the Constitution and theBill of Rights to improve understanding of our greatdocument of governance. Mark W. Cannon, Staff Di-rector of the Commission on the Bicentennial of theUnited States, has written: "We should celebrate theConstitution not only for its role in American history,but for its significance to modern government, its plv-otal place in the American psyche, and its role in thecontinuation of our personal freedom."'

Former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, Chairmanof the Commission on the Bicentennial, has statedthat: "The Commission regards the approachingcommemoration as a historic opportunity for allAmericans to learn about and recall the achieve-ments of our Founders and the knowledge and expe-rience that inspired them, the nature of thegovernment they established, its origins, its char-acter, and its ends, and the rights and privileges ofcitizenship, as well as its attendant responsibilities."2

Throughout its literature the Commission empha-sizes the educational opportunities afforded by thebicentennial, to develop and nurture among all thepeople a greater appreciation of our constitutionalheritage.3 At the same time, there are many organi-zations and people who are focusing their efforts onimproving instruction in kindergarten through twelfthgrade classrooms. R. Freeman Butts, the William F.Russell Professor Emeritus at Columbia University,for example, has proposed that: "the fundamentalideas and values upon which our Constitutional orderis built should be the core of sustained and explicitstudy . . . carried on throughout the school years...." Similarly, the American Bar Association, Ameri-can Historical Association, American Political ScienceAssociation, and the Center for Civic Education havelong been concerned about the quality of civic edu-cation in our schools. They see the celebration as anopportunity, and serious study of the Constitution asthe perfect vehicle, for achieving its improvement.

In short, interest in the bicentennial has generateda plethora of programs and activities. There will beoratorical contests, debates, poster displays, exhibits,slide presentations, an essay contest, and mediaevents. Several groups have prepared curricula de-signed to enhance traditional classroom instruction.

Many states and local entities are planning activi-ties and resources as well. The same is true of pri-vate organizations. Planting projects, presentationsby symphony orchestras, tele-concerts and plays,and half-time interludes at athletic events devoted to

19

constitutional themes are only a few of the ways thatthe bicentennial will be celebrated.

Because the kinds of programs under developmentare so varied, and the audiences are so diverse, it isimpossible to describe them all. In some regards, thisis unfortunate, because many materials intended forone audience might be interesting to another. Papersprepared by constitutional scholars for academicseminars might, for exampie, be quite useful toAmerican history and American government teach-ers. Pamphlets featuring the 23 Framers of the Con-stitution who were veterans of the RevolutionaryWar, currently being prepared by the Army, could beof interest to students. Nonetheless, we shall not at-tempt to describe materials that have been, or arebeing designed, for general audiences; nor shall weattempt to speculate upon where and how such ma-terials might be integrated into classroom programs.Rather, we will present information about programsand curricula that are specifically designed for use inclassrooms.

Teachers who wish to find materials that are notintended primarily for students should have no trou-ble in locating them. The bibliography at the end ofthis volume contains several general citations. StateBicentennial Commissions and State Departments ofEducation also have reference materials and sugges-tions.

ferview of Bicentennial Programs andMaterials for 'Jse in Secondary Schools

Several different resources, programs, and mate-rials of high quality and of significant scope havebeen selected for inclusion here. These resourceshave been developed by five organizations: theAmerican Bar Association; Project '87 of the Ameri-can Historical Association and American Political Sci-ence Association; the Center for Civic Education; theJefferson Foundation; and the Natior,al Archives.

Most of the programs that are described will beuseful after the bicentennial celebrations are over.Two programs, the National Bicentennial Essay Con-test and Mock Trial Competition/Educational Semi-nar, will be conducted as competitions only in 1987.The supporting materials, which include instructor'sguides, case materials, and seminar notebooks,could certainly be used in single classroom or schoolsettings at a future time, however.

Although price was not a criterion for selection, it isinteresting to note that the programs discussed tendto be quite inexpensive. Thus, costs for implementingthem would be modest. The developers also seem tohave taken into account typical course organizationpatterns and have prepared materials that fit easilyinto ongoing classes. All of the materials are de-

26

signed to improve and enhance the use of textbooksin American history, government, and civics.

Analyzing and evaluating curriculum materials oranything else, for that matter, requires that one havein mind a set of criteria that can be consistently ap-plied. It is reasonably easy to develop such a set ifone is examining material appropriate for teaching aone-semester or a one-year course. The task be-comes more problematic when the programs or ma-terials under consideration are intended forsupplementary use.

For example, it might be argued that the essaycontest and mock trial competition do not providematerials that explicitly focus on development of theConstitution in American history and do not empha-size a full range of core concepts of American consti-tutional government. We believe, however, that thesuggestions offered to students about how to organ-ize their arguments, as well as the support materialsthat are provided, will lead students to focus onthese topics and concepts as they go about their in-dependent research.

Thus, although we have been more flexible in ouranalysis of these curricula than we would have beenif analyzing more traditional materials, we have usedstringent criteria in an attempt to identify the bastmaterials and programs. In those cases where thematerials seemed to be weak when one criterion oranother was applied, we extended the analysis to tryto determine if successful student involvement wouldlikely achieve the result desired. We have indicatedall instances when such an extension was neces-sary. We have also, of course, identified other '....aak-nesses.

We do not claim to have included every exemplaryprogram or set of learning materials developed forthe bicentennial of the Constitution. Some high qual-ity materials may be developed after preparation andpublication of this volume. However, we judge theprograms and materials selected for discussion inthis chapter to be worthy of attention and use by so-cial studies educators.

Following is a list of criteria used to select pro-grams and materials. Each program and set of mate-rials should:

(1) Have a cogent rationale that justifies the use ofthe program and materials in secondary schools.

(2) Have clearly stated learning objectives that re-flect various kinds and levels of cognitive and affec-tive outcomes.

(3) Have accurate content that reflects currentscholarship.

(4) Emphasize core concepts and values of Ameri-can constitutional government and public issuesabout the meaning and application of these concepts

20

and values to particular cases in history and contem-porary society.

(5) Emphasize development of the Constitution inAmerican history and its current vitality as a symbolof American nationhood and as a practical instrumentof government.

(6) Have a framework for organizing knowledge orpotential for successful use with such a structure orframework.

(7) Emphasize opportunities for learning and prac-ticing skills in analytic and critical thinking and civicdecision making.

(8) Tend to be self-contained (require neither ex-tensive preparation by teachers nor additional re-sources).

(9) Tend to be suitable in reading level and in-structional design for the target audience of students.

(10) Have great potential for improving educationon the Constitution for the bicentennial year of 1987and for many years beyond.

The following sections of this chapter describe ex-emplary programs and materials, which conform tothe preceding criteria.

American Bar Association YouthBicentennial Initiative

The Youth Bicentennial Initiative, developed by theSpecial Committee on Youth Education for Citizen-ship of the American Bar Association (750 NorthLake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 66611), consistsof several programs, competitions, and publications.Some are designed to involve students directly andothers consist of resource materials and informationfor teachers. Five of these ABA efforts are discussedin this chapter: (1) the National Bicentennial HighSchool Writing Competition, (2) the National MockTrial Program and Student Seminar on the Judiciary,the Constitution, and Dispute Resolution, (3) activityhandbooks for young people, (4) teaching guides forthe television series, We the PeopleA BicentennialSalute to the Constitution, and (5) the ABA Publica-tions Program activities associated with the bicenten-nial of the Constitution.

National Bicentennial High School WritingCompetition. The "Writing Competition" is co-sponsored by the Commission on the Bicentennial ofthe U.S. Constitution, the American Bar Association,and USA Today. It was conceptualized by Chief Jus-tice Warren E. Burger.

Students in grades nine through twelve during the1986-87 school year, or who are fourteen througheighteen years of age and not enrolled in college,are encouraged to prepare a 750- to 1500- word es-say on the topic: "The Constitution: How Does theSeparation of Powers Help Make It Work?" The na-tional winner of the competition will receive $10,000.

27

State, District of Columbia, and territory winners willreceive $250 (third place), $500 (second place), and$1000 plus an all-expense paid trip to Washingtonfor the winner and his or her teacher in September,1987 (first place).

USA Today is developing teacher/student resourcematerials that include guidelines and helpful hints forparticipants, background information, and judging cri-teria for the writing competition presented as a pos-ter. These are printed in a unique publication, USAFreedom, which is part of the USA Today "Class lineSeries." USA Freedom utilizes the USA Today news-paper format and contains, in addition to competitioninformation, newspaper accounts of the signing ofthe Constitution and the ratification debate, articlesabout how things were in 1787, an illustrated time-line, and opinion pages. There is information aboutthe Supreme Court, essays by Chief Justice Burgerand other notables, and a test about the Constitutionas well.

National Bicentennial Mock Trial Program andStudent Seminar on the Judiciary, the Constitu-tion, and Dispute Rezolution. This program, co-sponsored by ABA, the Close Up Foundation, theConstitutional Rights Foundation, the National Insti-tute on Citizen Education in the Law, the NationalAssociation of Bar Executives, and the AmericanLawyers Auxiliary, is intended to incorporate andbuild upon existing high school mock trial competi-tions.

In May of 1987, winners of state mock trial compe-titions will go to Washington, where they will partici-pate in public mock trial demonstrations and in aneducational seminar. The seminar agenda includesvisits to courts and governmental agencies,speeches by noted persons, and workshops on theConstitution, the judiciary, and alternative means ofdispute resolution. Materials are still being prepared.They will include, however, an extensive Instructor'sGuide, case materials, a seminar notebook, andother background information.

All of the cooperating groups that are sponsoringthe event have been involved in selecting the re-sources to be included in the "competition packet."The Close Up Foundation, the Constitutional RightsFoundation, and the National Institute for CitizenEducation in the Law have assumed responsibility forfinal preparation. We have been assured that theywill be similar in design and quality tomaterials these organizations produce for other pur-poses.

Activity Handbooks for Young People. Twohandbooksdesigned for use by educators, lawyers,and community leaders--contain interactive strate-gies for complementing school studies and supple-menting community programs. The first, appropriate

21

for students in kindergarten through grade six, con-tains interactive lessons and activities that demon-strate that rules and law are integral to everyone'slife, background information for teachers, a copy of asimplified Constitution, and resource listings andideas for community celebrations, exhibits, forums,and school community events. The upper level bookfocuses more on school/community commemora-tions. It contains ideas for simulations, debates, andforums and an extensive listing of resources. Bothactivity books are published by World Book, Inc.,which is contributing design and printing to the effort.

Teaching Guides for Television Series. Theteaching guides are designed to promote and facili-tate use of a television series that is being producedby the ABA. The series can be used as an adjunct tosecondary schoo! :)urses in American history, gov-ernment, and civics. The guides contain an overviewof the Constitution, a description of how the televi-sion program may be used to enrich classroom in-struction, a synopsis of each program, topics forclassrcom discussion, suggestions for student re-search topics, and a bibliography for student andteacher background reading.

ABA Publications Program. Two ABA publica-tionsboth periodicalsare especially useful toteachers wh3 wish to teach about the Constitutionand constitutional government. The first is abicentennial newsletter entitled Salute to the Consti-tution, which is published three times a year. Saluteprovides an overview of bicentennial developmentsacross the country and contains information on ex-emplary youth-focused resources and programs. TheMay 1986 issue, printed on parchment-quality paper,had a foldout poster of the Preamble to the Constitu-tion illustrated by Sam Fink, which would be suitablefor use in the classroom. Like the activity books, Sa-lute is printed by World Book, Inc., and made avail-able free of charge to educators and othersresponsible for bicentennial programs.

Update on Law-Related Education is a magazinepublished three times each year. As it is intended forlaw-related education teachers, every issue containsarticles on the law, coverage of legal developments,including Supreme Court previews and decisions,classroom activities and strategies, and reviews ofcurriculum materials.

During the 1986-87 school year, all three issueswill focus on the bicentennial. The topic for the Fall1986 issue is "Mock Trials/Alternative Dispute Reso-lution/Separation of Powers," all areas of concernthat are being featured in the two national competi-tions. Winter of 1986 features the concepts of power,property, liberty, equality, and justice. The Spring is-sue of 1987 emphasizes "vital constitutional issues."

28

In addition to the forthcoming Updates, the ABAhas "bicentennial packets" consisting of selectedback issues that have constitutional themes. Apacket might contain, for example, "Foundations ofFreedom" (Winter 86), "The Revolutien in Searchand Seizure" (Winter 85), "The Constitution in Crisis"(Winter 84), "Privacy vs. Power" (Spring 82),"Women and the Law" (Fall 81), "What is Justice?"(Winter 81), "Speech: The 1st Freedom" (Spring 80),"Focus on Search and Seizure" (Spring 78), and"Freedom of Press on Trial" (Winter 78).

Although we have not been able to examine all ofthe matelials cited here, the quality of the personsand organizations involved lead us to believe that theforthcoming materials will be exemplary. The mate-rials that are available rate highly according to ourcriteria. Even though the two competitions are in-tended to run only one year, the resources that arebeing prepared for teachers will have a much longerlife.

Center for Civic EducationThe Center for Civic Education (5115 Douglas Fir

Road, Suite I; Calabasas, California 91302) is organ-izing National Bicentennial Competitions on the Con-stitution and Bill of Rights, which will be conductedfrom 1987 through 1991. Each year the program willinvolve classes at three grade levelselementary,junior high school, and senior hEgh schoolin one ormore school systems in each ot the nation's con-gressional districts. Classes compete in schools,congressional districts, states, and finally in nationalcompetitions to be held in Washington, DC.

Classes are expected to prepare for the competi-tions by using specially prepared study units on theConstitution and Bill of Rights that can complementand be integrated into the required curricula at theappropriate levels. The general goals of the units areto foster civic competence and civic responsibilityamong students. Content of the instructional andtesting programs is organized to focus on (1) the his-torical antecedents to the Constitution and Bill ofRights, (2) the founding period, (3) the Constitution inthe 19th century, and (4) the Constitution in the 20thcentury.

After completing thEir study, classes compete asteams in demonstrating their knowledge and under-standing of the Constitution. Each class is to com-plete a multiple-choice test and participate in aconstitutional hearing on a fundamental constitutionalissue. The combined score of classes on this two-part test determines which will go on to the nextround of competition.

Since participating claases compete against eachother as teams, the average score of a class on themultiple-choice test is used rather than the scores of

22

individual participants in a class. Thus, students ineach class are encouraged to study and work to-gether so all can do their best on the test in order toget as high a class average as possible.

The constitutional hearing, the second part of thetest, is conducted before a panel of experts on theConstitution, drawn from the community. Each classselects a team of five students to represent it atthese events. Once the team has been selected andthe issue for the position of the team assigned, theentire class is responsible for helping the team pre-pare for its presentation.

The score a team receives on its presentation isadded to the score of the whole c:ass on The multi-ple-choice test to determine winning classes. In suc-cessive rounds, entire classes continue to participateas teams in the competition by taking multiple-choicetests of increasing difficulty and by continuing tocoach their teams in preparation for the constitutionalhearings.

The study units for senior high school studentswere field tested in 1986. Develcw lent of materialsfor elementary and junior high sc. JI students isbased on the same conceptual framework. This con-ceptual structure was developed with the assistanceof constitutional scholars and learning specialists.

Like several of the programs discussed in this sec-tion, the Center for Civic Education identified defi-ciencies in traditional textbooks and has attempted toprepare materials to correct the deficiencies. For ex-ample, the analysis showed the need to emphasizethe philosophical underpinnings of the Constitutionand major concepts such as constitutionalism, repub-licanism, representative democracy, social contract,and natural rights.

The materials contain a clear rationale, stated ob-jectives, and an array of teaching strategies. Oneunique feature requires the use of cooperative groupwork and peer teaching, because whole classes arerequired to coach and do research for the five stu-dents who will represent the class in the constitu-tonal hearings. A second feature relates toinvolvement of members of Congress and othersactive in politics in judging the hearings. Studentswho either participate in the competition or simplystudy the instructional units should have an en-hanced understanding of constitutionalism.

JeVerson FoundationThe Jefferson Foundation (1529 18th Street, N.W.;

Washington, DC 20036) has organized programs toinvolve citizens in the study of the United StatesConstitution. A major part of this initiative is the Jef-ferson Meeting on the Constitution, which is "what aconstitutional convention might look like if delegateswere to gather to discuss the adequacy of the Con-

29

stitution and its provisions for contemporary Ameri-can society." The purpose of the Jefferson Meetingis to educate rather than pursue political change,however.

The Foundation suggests two possible settings forihe meetingsone involving the community and onethe classroom. Although the fermat for the commu-nity and classroom meetings differ, both are depen-dent upon the same topics and the same carefullycrafted discussion guides. We will discuss only theclassroom model.

The teacher's guide gives ample information forsetting up and implementing a Jefferson Meeting.Student role descriptions, rules for a plenary, follow-up activities, an opinion poll, and evaluation ques-tions are included. The guide suggests that meetingsare probably most effective if conducted after stu-dents have developed an understanding of the Con-stitution, the structure of American government, andthe events and debates surrounding the Constiti,-tional Convention.

The meeting itself involves setting the agenda,meeting in issue committees, holding a plenary ses-sion, and conducting a follow-up sessionactivitieswhich take approximately ten class sessions to ac-complish. It is during the issue meetings where stu-dents are introduced to a particular topic, make adecision whether to do research on the pro- or con-side, and prepare the arguments which will be pre-sented in the plenary.

The plenary is conducted somewhat like a debateand features timed pro- and con-arguments whichare followed by opportunities for questions and com-ments from the delegates. Follow-up sessions in-clude reports that synthesize and summarize theplenary debate.

The ten-day sequence anticipates use of all of thediscussion guides which can either be purchased forstudent use or reproduced with attribution. The is-sues which are dealt with are "To Make and to AlterTheir Constitutions of Government" (Implications ofUsing Article V of the Constitution to Call a NationalConstitutional Convention), "The Plain Simple Busi-ness of Election" (Electoral College Reform), "SoGreat a Power to Any Single Person" (Proposals toLimit the President to a Single Six-Year Term), "TheRoad of Republican Government" (Proposals toChange Congressional Terms), "To Control Abusesof Government" (Proposals to Initiate Item and Leg-islative Veto Powers), and "During Good Behavior"(Proposals to Establish Terms of Office for the Fed-eral Judiciary). It would be possible to shorten thetime required by limiting the number of issues con-sidered.

The Guide also suggests models for expanding thebasic program by adding more issues and for involv-

23

ing several schools, a whole school, or the commu-nity in full-day meetings. A simplified adaptation isalso suggested for less advanced students.

The Jefferson Meeting represents an interestingway to involve students in examining how well theConstitution addresses the needs of modern society.In order to be successful, students have to do re-search, take and defend a position, and listen to al-ternative positions. They shou:d learn a great dealabout how the Constitution works and about perva-sive social and political concerns.

National ArchivesThe National Archives and Records Administration

(Washington, DC 20408), the repository for officialdocuments of our national government, has been in-volved since 1970 in programs that introduce theseresources to secondary school students. A part ofthis effort has included development of a series ofdocumentary learning packages. The seventh in theseries, which is entitled The Constitution: Evolution ofa Government (available from SIRS, Inc., Boca Ra-ton, Florida 33427) has just been published. It con-tains 34 reproductions of documents and anextensive teacher's guide with suggested exercises.

The entire teaching unit is comprised of three sec-tions, each based upon documents. The first section,"The Making of the Constitution" (ten exercises),contains documents such as the Articles of Associa-tion, the Declaration of Independence, the NorthwestOrdinance, George Washington's draft copy of theConstitution, and a working draft of the Bill of Rights.The second section, "The Beginnings of Govern-ment" (six exercises), includes minutes of the Senatedescribing President Washington's oath of office cer-emony, letters from such persons as Thomas Jeffer-son and John Jay, Franklin's petition to abolishslavery, and a U.S. loan certificate. The last section,"The Evolution of a Constitutional Issue" (four exer-cises), contains documents from the period 1789 to1962 that have to do with the establishment and freeexercise of religion. In addition to the twenty exer-cises that make up the core of the program, thereare two introductory lessons designed to give stu-dents the skills necessary for analyzing documentsand to make them aware of the process historiansuse when they interpret a particular event or era.

The various exercises have also been designed forstudents of different ability levels. In some instances,two procedures have been provided, each tailored tomeet different student needs.

In addition to the general goals for the program,specific objectives are provided for individual les-sons. Each lesson also contains background infor-mation for the teacher and step-by-step proceduresfor achieving lesson objectives. Many of the lessons

30

require that students use either their American his-tory or American government textbooks to locate in-formation that links to the documents that are to beanalyzed. Thus, it is quite apparent that the intent ofthe program is to supplement and enrich ongoingcourses.

This Constitution: Evolution of a Government rep-resents a highly versatile and unique educationalprogram. It is largely skill-based and requires stu-dents to do somethinginfer, analyze, and interpret.

Project '87 of the American HistoricalAssociation and the American PoliticalScience Association

Project '87 is headquartered at 1527 New Ha ip-shire Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036. It wasestablished in 1976 by the American Historical Asso-ciation and the American Political Science Associa-tion. Initially, Project '87 emphasized scholarlyresearch on the Constitution and constitutional pro-cesses. By 1980, this focus was expanded to includethe development of programs aimed at improving in-struction about the Constitution in schools and col-leges. Four programs by Project '87 are describedhere: Lessons on the Constitution, Project '87 PosterSet, a video program (co-sponsored by the Agencyfor Instructional Technology) and This Constitution: ABicentennial Chronicle.

Lessons on the Constitution. These lessonsare designed to support existing courses in civics,American history, and American government. Theauthors of the materials engaged in a lengthy devel-opment process involving scholars, specialists in in-structional design, and teachers. This processincluded planning, lesson design and writing, fieldtesting, and evaluation phases. The resulting mate-rials consist of 60 lessons with accompanyingteacher materials bound together in a single volume.It is expected that the lessons will be duplicated foruse by students.

The materials are organized into five chapters, fourof which consist of lessons and one which containsprimary source documents. The four chapters of les-sons are entitled: "Origins and Purpose& of the Con-stitution," "Principles of Government in theConstitution," "Amending and Interpreting the Consti-tution," and "Landmark Cases of the SupremeCourt." The lessons making up the chapters werewritten to expand and enrich what is typically foundin basal textbooks and to give students a betterunderstanding of the Constitution and of constitution-alism. Thus, it is expected that teachers will use thelessons individually and in groups to improve instruc-tion about the Constitution in civics, American gov-ernment, and American history courses..

24

All of the lessons provide an overview, contain aclear statement of objectives, point out connectionsto textbooks, and present procedures for teaching.They encourage ,ctive learning by requiring frequentopportunities to practice new skills and apply newknowledge. Teaching/learning strategies are varied topromote student interest and motivation.

Video Programs on the Constitution. Project'87 is cooperating with the Agency for InstructionalTechnology (AIT) to develop six video programs onthe Constitution for use in secondary school coursesin American history, government, and civics. Thisproject is based on a long and careful process of de-velopment.

In 1980-81, AIT and Project '87 conducted re-search to identify multimedia materials for teachingabout the Constitution and to assess their quality.Because there was a clear need to strengthen suchmaterials, a planning meeting which included histori-ans, political scientists, secondary school specialistson curriculum development, and instructional mediaand design specialists was convened in 1984. Thisgroup settled on three general program objectives.The video programs should: (1) "show that the origi-nal structural aspects of the Consfitution have impor-tant interrelations and that, when viewed as a whole,the Constitution balances the giving and withholdingof powers and rights to the government;" (2) "showthat the Constitution is a document that can bechanged and has been changed as a result of theneed to resolve conflict, and because of changingpolitical, economic, and social situations;" and (3)"present recurring constitutional themes and issuesthat will stimulate young people to think more criti-cally about the Constitution and improve their deci-sion-making skills." Based upon these objectives,content themes and expected student outcomeswere formulated for six video programs. Preliminarytitles of the six programs are: (1) Constitutional Gov-ernment: The Rule of Law in a Free Society, (2)Checks and Balances in the Federal Government,(3) Federalism: Balance of Power Between Nationaland State Governments, (4) Freedom of Speech, (5)Equal Protection of the Laws, and (6) The Constitu-tion and the Economy.

It has been impossible to assess these materials,because they are not yet completed. The overall ra-tionale, the statement of objectives, and the teachingstrategies that have been proposed seem very good.The credentials of the planning and conceptualizingteams are impressive as well. AIT has an excellentreputation in the field of instructional technology. Onthese grounds alone, one would expect the videoprograms to be exemplary and a resource worthy ofexamination

31

"The Blessings of Liberty": A Poster Panel Ex-hibit. "The Blessings of Liberty" consists of twelvefull-color posters, each 22" x 36". They are accom-panied by a User's Guide that provides an essayabout the events and leaders that are depicted; les-sons for using the posters with students in gradesfour through six, seven through nine, and ten throughtwelve; a bibliography for adult reading/discussiongroups; and suggestions for mounting the exhibit andcoordinating it with community bicentennial pro-grams.

The intent of the exhibit is to illustrate in graphLr;form the larger questions about the Constitution:What government did the Constitution replace? Whatwere the intractable problems that convinced theFounders to write a new Constitution? When was theConstitution written? What were the arguments forand against its adoption? How was the document ra-tified? How did the plans for our capital city reflectthe design of the Constitution? What is included inthe Bill of Rights and how was it passed? What partdid the Supreme Court play in the early history of theConstitution? How were those people originally leftout of the body politic incorporated since 1787? An-swers to these questions are provided as exploratorytexts written by noted constitutional scholars.

Graphic art was selected as a useful creative me-dium because it can inform, illustrate, and inspire.The intent of the series is to "elicit interest, compas-sion, identification . . . a thirst for greater knowl-edge." This series does just that. It could not beused to build a comprehensive under-itanding of theConstitution. Yet, when used in conjunction with itsown carefully designed lessons and other materials,the series represents an exciting way to introduceand illustrate important concepts.

This Constitution: A Bicentennial Chroni-cle. This Constitution is not a curriculum. Nor is itsfocus primarily upon classroom materials. It is, how-ever, a particularly useful resource for teachers, be-cause it can link them to others in their area who arepreparing materials and programs. It is publishedquarterly by Project '87 and contains articles and es-says by well-known theorists on various constitutionalthemes; reprints of original documents; listings ofeducational films, publications, organizations and in-stitutions that are participating in bicentennial activi-ties; information about state and local programs; andselected lessons from a variety of sources. Theselessons are representative of the best that are avail-able and they can be reproduced for use by studentsfree of charge, if properly attributed.

Because This Constitution is not a curriculum,many of the criteria which have been used to evalu-ate other programs are not applicable. Individual les-sons that are included in the eleven issues that have

25

been published certainly are exemplary in terms ofall of the criteria.

Summary and RecommendationsThe celebration of the bicentennial of the ConEtitu-

tion has provided the occasion for literally hundredsof organizations and individuals to prepare materials,devise strategies, and recommend activities forteaching about our great document of governance.Many of these shou!d be useful to teachers. Wehave cited twelve programs that appear to be partic-ularly promising, because they can be so easily inte-grated into ongoing courses of study. There areothers that have been cited in the Select Bibiiog-raphy that should be helpful as well.

It is important, we believe, that teachers considerimplementing the materials that seem to best meettheir instructional objectives and the needs of theirstudents at this particular time. The bicentennial ofthe oldest written constitution in the world is an eventworthy of all our attention.

In terms of larger educational goals, however, it isnot enough to think in terms of a "one shot" celebra-tion. Understanding the Constitution (its historical an-tecedents, philosophical underpinnings, andstructural dimensions), being able to apply its princi-ples, and appreciating its importance are core com-ponents of citizenship education. It behooves all ofus to think of the bicentennial as the opportunity tostart the process of upgrading the quality of instruc-tion about the Constitution and consequently, reinvi-gorating citizenship education in the years to come.

NOTES1. Mark W. Cannon, "Why Celebrate the Constitution?"

National Foram LXV (Fall 1984): 3.2. Warren E. Burger, "From the Chairman," We The Peo-

ple, Newsletter of the Commission on the Bicentennialof the United States Constitution 1 (November 1985):1.

3. The Commission on the Bicentennial of the UnitedStates Constitution has been established by the UnitedStates Congress to stimulate and coordinate programsand events "appropriate for celebrating the Constitu-tion." The oath of office was administered to the firstcommissioners at a White House ceremony by VicePresident George Bush on July 30, 1985.

4. Cannon, "Why Celebrate the Constitufion?", 4.

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APPENDIXESThe Appendixes (A-G) include seven model lessons, which exemplify teaching strategies discussed in Chap-

ter 2 of this volume. These model lessons are seven of sixty included in Lessons On The Constitution: Supple-ments To High Schoo/ Courses In American History, Government, And Civics by John J. Patrick and RichardC. Remy. This book was pubHshed in 1985 by Project '87 of the American Historical Association and the Ameri-can Political Science Association of Washington, D.C. Lessons in these Appendixes (A-G) are listed below.

A. WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTION SAY ABOUT FEDERALISM?B. THE PRINCIPLE OF FEDERALISMC. WASHINGTON'S DECISION TO ATTEND THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIOND. STRETCHING THE CONSTITUTION: JEFFERSON'S DECISION TO PURCHASE LOUISIANAE. THE LIMITS OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER: TRUMAN'S DECISION TO SEIZE THE STEEL MILLSF. YOU BE THE JUDGE: THE CASE OF CAMARA V. MUNICIPAL COURT OF THE CITY AND COUNTY

OF SAN FRANCISCOG. TWO RESPONSES TO A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS: DECISIONS OF BUCHANAN AND LINCOLN

ABOUT SECESSION

These seven lessons are reprinted here by permission of Project '87 of the American Historical Associationand the American Political Science Association. The Director of Project '87 is Sheilah Mann, 1527 New Hamp-shire Avenue, N. W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

3327

APPENDIX AWhat Does The Constitution Say About Federalism?

An Exemplar of The Springboard Lesson

3429

III-2. WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTIONSAY ABOUT FEDERALISM?

LESSON PLAN AND NOTES FOR TEACHERS

Preview of Main Poinls

The purpose of this lesson is to increase students' knowledgeof a main constitutional principlefederalism. In addition,students should become more familiar with certain parts of theConstitution that pertain to federalism.

Connection to Textbookt;

This lesson can be used to reinforce American goverm.ienttextbook treatments of the constitutional principle of federalism.The lesson can be used to supplement American history textbookdiscussions of main principles of the Constitution, which usuallyfollow treatment of the Constitutional Convention.

Objectives

Students are expected to:1. Demonstrate knowledge of the constitutional principle

of federalism by responding correctly with a "YES" or"NO" answer to each item in this lesson

2. Support their response to each item by listing the cor-rect reference in the U.S. Constitution (Article andSection).

3. Increase knowledge of which parts of the Constitutionpertain to the principle of federalism.

4. Practice skills in locating and comprehending informa-tion in the U.S. Constitution.

5. Increase awareness of how the Constitution applies tothe concerns of citizens.

Suggestions for Teaching the Lesson

Opening the Lesson

Inform students of the main points of the lesson.Make sure that students understand the directions for thislesson.

Developing the Lesson

Have students work individually or in small groups to com-plete the items in the exercise.You may wish to have different stuJents report their answersto the items in this lesson. An alternative is to distributecopies of the answers, when appropriate, so that studentscan check their responses against the correct answers.

Concluding the Lesson

Ask students to explain what each item in the exercise hasto do with the principles of federalism. By doing this,students can demonstrate comprehension of the idea offederalism.You ,nay wish to have students examine and discuss in moredetail issues and questions associated with the items in thisexercise.

ANSWER SHEET FOR LESSON III-2

I. NO, Article I, Section 10, Clause I.

2. YES, Article I, Section 8, Clause 3.

3. NO, Article I, Section 8, Clause 3; Article IV, Section2, Clause 1 might also apply.

4. NO, Article VI, Section 2; also Commerce ClauseArticle I, Section 8,-Clause 3.

5. NO, Article I, Section 8, Clause 7.

6. NO, Article I, Section 10, Clause 2.

7. NO, Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1.

8. YES, Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3.

9. NO, Article IV, Section 1.

10. NO, Amendment X. (NOTE: The authority to operatepublic schools is a power not given to the nationalgovernment nor prohibited the states by the Constitu-tion. Thus state and local governments have power underthe Constitution to operate public schools.)

WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTIONSAY ABOUT FEDERALISM

Read each of the following statements. Decide whetherpr not each statement describes a situation in which theofficials or institutions involved comply with the U.S.Constitution. 11 so, answer YES. If not, answer NO. Circlethe correct answer under each statement.

Identify the number of the Article and Section or theAmendment of the Constitution that supports youranswer. Write this information on the appropriate linebelow each item.

CLUE: Answers to thtse items can be found in ArticlesI, IV, and VI or in Amendment X.

1. Michigan, hard hit by a recession, has decided toissue coins made from old cars in order to stimulatethe economy.

YES NO

2. Congress passes a law imposing new regulationsupon airlines engaged in interstate commerce(doing business in several states_ and across statelines).

YES NO

3. Colorado's Scenic Drive Highway has become over-crowded. The state legislature passes a law forbid-ding out-of-state drivers from using the highway.

YES NO

4. The U.S. Supreme Court's upholding of Congress'power to regulate the strip mining of coal upset thegovernor of North Dakota very much. The gov-ernor has announced that he will not allow the en-forcement of the law in his state.

YES NO

32

5. Displeased with the U.S. Postal Service, the statelegislature of Nevada has passed a law creating theNevada Postal Service.

YES NO

6. The state of Washington has placed a tax on goodsimported and exported through its seaports.

YES NO

7. The neighboring state of Illinois has annexed LakeCounty, Indiana.

YES NO

8. The Governor of Montana requests that Kentuckyreturn John Doe to Montana. Doe, convicted ofmurder in Montana, had fled to Kentucky wherelool authorities captured him.

YES NO

9. John. Jones has been legally adopted in the stateof Arkansas. After the Jones family moves toGeorgia, the Georgia State Welfare Agency takesJohn from his adoptive parents. The Agency claimsit does not recognize Arkansas adoption laws.

YES NO

10. The federal government passes a law to establisha single national system of public high schools.

YES NO

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APPENDIXThe Principle of Federalism,

An Exemplar of A Concept Learning Lesson

3733

III-1. THE PRINCIPLE OF FEDERALISM

LESSON PLAN AND NOTES FOR TEACHERS

Preview of Main Points

This lesson introduces students to three basic ideas about theprinciple of federalism. These are that federalism involves (1) twolevels of government at work, (2) a constitutional division ofpowers, and (3) changing relationships between national andstate powers. The lesson requires students to apply what theylearn by working with examples of these key ideas.

Connection to Textbooks

Federalism is a complex idea. This lesson contains informa-tion along with practice exercises that reinforce textbook discus-sions of federalism. It further develops ideas about federalismfound in textbooks. It can be used to introduce chapters ordiscussions about federalism or for practice and reinforcementafter students have studied the topic.

Objectives

Students are expected to:

1. Kncw the basic definition and distinguishing charac-teristics of federalism.

2. Identify examples and non-examples of unitary and con-federatiou governnlent.

3. Explain the contributions to federalism of unitary andcon federation approaches to government.

4. Identify examples according to the constitutional divi-sion of powers between the national government and stategovernments.

5. Understand that the constitutional division of nationaland state powers is not always clear and changes overtime.

Suggestions for Teaching the Lesson

This is a concept-learning lesson. It is designed to present theconcept of federalism to students through the use of definitions

and examples. Students are asked to apply definitions to theorganization and interpretmion of information. Students com-plete a set of activities or ' application exercises" at the end ofeach main section of the esson and again at the end of thelesson.

Opening the Lesson

Tell students the main point and purposes of the lesson,so that they know it focuses on a major principlc of theU.S. Constitutionfederalism.

Discuss the statement by James Madison on the first pageof the lesson. Ask them what this statement has to do withthe principle of federalism.

Developing the Lesson

Have students work independently through each of thc mainsections of the lesson. Each section is about a major featureof federalism.

Require students to complete the application exercise thatfollows each of the sections of the lesson.

You could discuss student responses to each of the applica-tion exercises before having them move on to the next sec-tion of the lesson. Or you may wish to have them completeall the exercises before discussing them together.

Concluding the Lesson

Have students complete the application exercise at the endof the lesson"Reviewing and Applying Knowledge AboutFederalism."

Conduct a class discussion of this application exercise. Keepin mind that alternative answers to some of the items maybe acceptable. Students should be able to present a defen-sible reason for choosing their answer.

35

III-1. THE PRINCIPLE OF FEDERALISM

In 1787 the framers of the Constitution created anunusual governmental structure. They designed a federalsystem of government that provides for the sharing ofpowers by the states and the national government.

The founders created a federal system to overcome atough political obstacle. They needed to convince fiercelyindependent states to join together to create a strongcentral government.

Writing to George Washington before the Constitu-tional Convention, James Madison considered thedilemma. He said establishing "one simple republic" thatwould do away with the states would be "unattainable."Instead, Madison wrote, "I have sought for a middleground which may at once support a due supremacy ofnational authority, and not exclude [the states]."Federalism was the answer.

Federalism refers to the division of governmental powersbetween the national and state governments. Each maydirectly govern through its own officials and laws. Bothstate and national governments derive their legitimacyfrom our Constitution, which endows each with supremepower over certain areas of government. Both state andfederal governments must agree to changes in theConstitution.

Federalism is a central principle of the American Con-stitution. In this lesson you will study the key ideas offederalism:

two levels of government at work;a constitutional division of powers;an often unclear and changing line between nationaland state powers.

Two Independent Levels of Government

The key idea of our federal system is two levels ofgovernment, national and state, with separate powers toact and govern independently. Thus, under federalism, thestate of Oregon as well as the national government inWashington, has formal authority over its residents.Oregon residents must obey both Oregon laws andnational laws. They must pay Oregon taxes and federaltaxes.

This novel sytem of government differed from the twoforms already known to the founders in 1787the con-federation and the unitary government. Each of theselocated government powers in a different place.

Unitary Government. The term unitary governmentdescribes a system whereby all formal political power restswith a central authority. The central government directlygoverns the people. Today France and Japan have unitarygovernments.

36

Unitary government may have geographical subdivi-sions. These smaller units mostly serve as administrativeextensions of the central government. The central govern-ment may create or abolish them at will. France hasregional units called "departments," but the centralgovernment in Paris sets up and runs each department.

EXERCISES FOR LESSON III-1

Apply Your Knowledge

Which government described below is a unitary govern-ment? Why?

1. Great Britain, consisting of England, Scotland,W&_es, and Northern Ireland, is controlled by anational government in London, the capital. GreatBritain also has local governments, similar to thosein American counties and cities. These can bechanged at will by the government in London. Isthis a unitary system? Explain.

2. Mexico has a national government located in Mex-ico City, the capital. A President and a Congressdirect the national government. Mexico also hasthirty-one states with their own separate Constitu-tions. Each state has independent powers to collect taxes in its territory. Is this a unitary govern-ment? Explain.

A Confederation. The other form of governmentknown to the found.::rs in 1787 was confederation. A con-federation is an alliance of independent states. In a con-federation the states create national government that hasvery limited powers. The states retain most of the power,granting the national government only limited in-dependence. The national government does not directlygovern the people. The national government can do onlywhat the states permit.

The founders understood this approach very well. TheArticles of Confederation, in operation from 1781 to 1788,established the confederation form of government. Underthe Articles, for example, only the states had the powerto tax people directly, leaving the national governmentdependent on state grants for revenue.

3 9

EXERCISES FOR LESSON III-1

Apply Your Knowledge

1. In a confederation government, the central govern-ment holds all power. TRUE FALSE

2. In 1861 eleven slave states seceded from the Unionand created their own government and constitution.The preamble to their constitution declared:"We, the people of the Confederate states,each State acting in its sovereign and inde-pendent character...do ordain and establish thisConstitution."

a. According to the preamble who "acted" tocreate the Confederate constitution?

b. What evidence in the preamble suggests that theconstitution was creating a confederate form ofgovernment?

Characteristics of Federalism. The founders borrowedideas from both the confederation and unitary forms ofgovernment in creating a federation or "federal republic,"as they called it. It was truly a new idea. No one at thePhiladelphia convention could predict how a federalsystem would operate. At that time, few delegates evenused the word "federalism" to describe the plan they weredesigning. The founders realized, however, that they hadto divide the powers of government between a nationalgovernment and the states in a new way.

Since 1787 many nations have adopted federal systemsof government. Canada, Australia, India, Brazil, Nigeria,Germany, and Mexico have federal forms of government.These systems have adopted varying arrangements out-lining the relationships between the states, or lessergovernments, and the central governments.

However, all true federal systems share fourcharacteristics. These characteristics reflect ideas drawnfrom both the unitary and confederation forms ofgovernment.

First, all federal systems give both the national govern-ment and states some powers to govern the people directly.

Second, federal systems recognize that the states havecertain rights and powers beyond the control of thenational government.

37

Third, fecLral systems guarantee the legal equality andexistenc? of each state. Each state has a right to equaltreatment regardless of its size or population. But a statemay not always have equal political power if differencesin population affect proportional representation.

Fourth, federal systems rely on judicial bodies tointerpret the meaning of their constiaition and to settledisputes arising between the two levels of government(national and state) and between states.

EXERCISES FOR LESSON III-1

Apply Your Knowledge

Several features of our federal system are presentedbelow. Which characteristic or federalism described above,the "fitst," "second," "th:rd," or "fourth," does eachexample illustrate? Be prepared to explain your answers.

1 Montana, with a population of 786,690,has the same number of U.S. Senators as Califor-nia, with a population of 23,668,562.

2 In 1910, the Supreme Court ruled thatthe national government could not prevent the stateof Oklahoma from moving its capital from one cityto another.

3 Article III of the Constitution says, thatthe judicial power of the Supreme Court "shallextend... to Controversies between two or morestates."

4. In 1981 Congress passed a law requiringevery American male to register for the draft uponreaching the age of 18.

5 Article IV of the Constitution prohibitsCongress from creating a new state from territut ybelonging to an existing state without the consentof the contributing state.

Division of Powers by the Constitution

Both the national government and the states havepowers under our federal system. Our Constitution dividesthev.; powers between the levels of government.

Article I, for instance, reserves the power to coin moneyand to make treaties with other nations for the nationalgovernment. State governments have traditionally ad-ministered such areas as public health, fire and policeprotection, local elections, and marriages and divorces.

4 0

What prevents states from ignoring or contradicting theConstitution when they pass laws? Article VI of the Con-stitution says that the Constitution and "laws of theUnited States...shall be the Supreme Law of the Land."This statement, known as the supremacy clause, makesfederalism work by preventing chaos.

The supremacy clause means that while the powers ofthe national government are limited, within its field thenational government is supreme. Thus, the states canneither ignore national laws nor use their powers tooppose national policies or the Constitution itself. In fact,each state official must swear an oath to uphold the U.S.Constitution.

Table I gives examples of how the Constitutiondistributes powers between the national government andthe states. The table shows that the Constitution grantssome powers exclusively to the national government, somepowers exclusively to the state governments, and somepowers to both. Also notice that the Constitutionwithholds some powers from the national government,denies the state governments others, and prevents bothfrom exercising still more powers.

EXERCISES FOR LESSON III-1

Apply Your Knowledge

Use table I, page 122, to answer these questions.1. Which government, federal or state, is:

a. granted power to establish post offices?

b. denied power to enter into treaties?

c. reserved power to take measures for publichealth and safety9

d. denied power to grant title of nobility?

e. granted power to borrow money?

f . denied power to discriminate against citizensbecause of their race?

2. Which government, federal or state, has the powerto provide for an army and a navy?

Find this power in the Constitution (Clue: lookunder Article I). What Section contains it?

38

Exactly what does the Constitution say?

Are there any limitations on this power (Clue: lookunder the Bill of Rights). What amendments arerelevant?

Exactly what do these amendments say?

Does the Constitution prevent state or federalgovernment from prohibiting the organization ofa citizen's army?

What is a citizens' army called?

Which type of government does the Constitutionentitle a state to organize? Where doesthis appear in the Constitution?

3. The Constitution denies which type of government,federal or state, the power to impair obligations ofcontracts?

Find this restriction in the Consl!.ution (Clue: lookunder Article I). What Section crmtains it?

Exactly what does the Constitution say aboutcontracts?

4. Table I says state governmentc can exert powers theConstitution neither gives to the national govern-ment nor prohibits the states from using. Whichamendment confirms this fact?

A Changing Division of Powers

Table I is useful, but it s fould not mislead you. In somecases the division of powers is as clear as the table. Forexample, no one disputes that only the national govern-ment has the power to coin money. However, determin-ing which government has jurisdiction in other cases isnot always so easy.

41

TABLE 1Examples of How the Constitution Divides Powers

POWERSGRANTED

POWERSDENTED

TO NATIONALGOVERNMENT

TO STATEGOVERNMENTS

TO BOTH LEVELSOF GOVERNMENT

To coin moneyTo conduct foreign

relationsTo regulate commerce

with foreign nations& among states

To provide an army anda navy

To declare warTo establish courts

inferior to theSupreme Court

To establish post officesTo make laws necessary

and proper to carryout the foregoingpowers

To establish localgovernments

To regulate commercewithi-_ a state

To conduct electionsTo ratify amendments to

the federal ConstitutionTo take measures for

public health, safety,& morals

To exert powers theConstitution does notdelegate to thenational governmentor prohibit the statesfrom using

To taxTo borrow moneyTo establish courtsTo make and enforce

lawsTo charter banks and

corporationsTo spend money for the

general welfareTo take private property

for public purposes,with justcompensation

To tax articles exportedfrom one state toanother

To violate the Bill ofRights

To change stateboundaries

To tax imports orexports

To coin moneyTo enter into treatiesTo impair obligations of

contractsTo abridge the privileges

or immunities ofcitizens

To grant titles ofnobility

To permit slavery

To deny citizens theright to vote becauseof race, color, orprevious servitude

To deny citizens theright to vo'.: becauseof sex

Table adapted from Robert L. Lineberry, Government in America (Boston: Little, Brown andCompany, 1981), p. 93.

394 2

Reviewing and Applying Knowledge About Federalism

You have learned that federalism involves two types ofgovernment (national and state) directly governingcitizens. You also learned how a federal system differsfrom unitary and confederation governments.

1. List the four characteristics found in all true federalsystems.

a

c.

d.

2. Study diagram 1. Use the information to answerthese questions.

a. What does diagram 1 describe9

Which of the statements about diagram I are Trueor False? Be prepared to explain your answers.

b. A unitary government directly governs thepeople.

TRUE FALSE

c. In a federal system the national government hasno power over the states.

TRUE FALSE

d. In a confederation the central government candirectly govern the people.

TRUE FALSE

e. In a federal system only the states exercise powerover the people.

TRUE FALSE

3. Table 1 shows the powers granted and denied thenational and state governments. Given this divisionof powers indicate whether the hypothetical actionslisted below are constitutional or not.

a. The United States declares war on a foreginnation.

YES NO

b. The State of Minnesota sets up separate schoolsfor Native Americans in the state.

YES NO

c. Congress spends $5 billion for new army riflesand tanks.

YES NO

40

d. The State of Delaware levies an import tax onall foreign cars coming into the state.

YES NO

e. The California Board of Elections sets newhours and regulations for voting in the state.

YES NO

f. Congress passes a law moving the boundarybetween Idaho and Montana.

YES NO

4. Writing in The Federalist, J ames Madison said thatboth the state and the national governments "are infact but different ageuts and trustees of the people,constituted with different powers."

a. What did Madison say about the source of stateand national government powers?

b. Is the Madison quote an example of the ideaof federalism9 Explain.

5. You have learned that the Constitution dividespowers between the national government and thestates in our federal system.

a. What is the "Supremacy Clause"9

b. Where is this clause found in the Constitution?

6. You have learned that the limits of national andstate government jurisdictions are sometimesunclear and disputed. The case study below is an

4 3

Reviewing and Applying Knowledge About Federalism

You have learned that federalism involves two types ofgovernment (national and state) directly governingcitizens. You also learned how a federal system differsfrom unitary and confederation governments.

1. List the four characteristics found in all true federalsystems.

a.

b.

C.

d.

2. Study diagram I. Use the information to answerthese questions.

a. What does diagram 1 describe?

Which of the statements about diagram I are Trueor False? Be prepared to explain your answers.

b. A unitary government directly governs thepeople.

TRUE FALSE

c. In a federal system the natioral government hasno power over the states.

TRUE FALSE

d. In a confederation the central government candirectly govern the people.

TRUE FALSE

e. In a federal system only the states exercise powerover the people.

TRUE FALSE

3. Table 1 shows the powers granted and denied thenational and state governments. Given this divisionof powers indicate whether the hypothetical actionslisted below are constitutional or not.

a. The United States declares war on a foreginnation.

YES NO

b. The State of Minnesota sets up separate schoolsfor Native Americans in the state.

YES NO

c. Congress spends $5 billion for new army riflesand tanks.

YES NO

41

d. The State of Delaware levies an import tax onall foreign cars coming into the state.

YES NO

e. The California Board of Elections sets newhours and regulations for voting in the state.

YES NO

f. Congress passes a law moving the boundarybetween Idaho and Montana.

YES NO

4. Writing in The Federalist, James Madison said thatboth the state and the national governments "are infact but different agents and trustees of the people,constituted with different powers."

a. What did Madison say about the source of stateand national government powers?

b. Is the Madison quote an example of the ideaof federalism9 Explain.

5. You have learned that the Constitution dividespowers between the national government and thestates in our federal system.

a. What is the "Supremacy Clause"9

b. Where is this clause found in the Constitution?

6. You have learned that the limits of national andstate government jurisdictions are sometimesunclear and disputed. The case study below is an

44

example of the kind of issue that frequently arises in afederal system. Read the case study and answer the ques-tions following it.

The Concorde Dispute

In 1976, France and Britain wanted to land thcir newsupersonic transport plane, the Concorde, at Americanairports. Environmental groups in Amcrica opposcd thcidca, objccting to the planes as too noisy.

President Ford's Sccrctary of Transportation decidedthc Concorde couid land at Ncw York's Kennedy Airport.However, the national government did not own KennedyAirport. State government officials in Ncw York and NcwJersey ran thc airport. Thcy refused to let thc Concordeland at their airport.

The national government took the state officials tocourt. Federal courts eventually decided in favor of thcnational government. Thc courts ruled that thc nationalgovernment had thc authority to let thc planes land inNcw York.

a. What power did both national and statcofficials claim to have?

42

b. Who settled the dispute over powers?

c. Which government won the dispute?

d. Is this case an example of federalism in practice?

Explain.

4 5

Different Forms of Government

'?1

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Confederation Federal* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Unitary

-tc

States

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

43

4 6

NationalGovernment

The People

......... I

* * * * * * * * * * *

APPENDIX CWashington's Decision To Attend the Constitutional Convention,

An Exemplar of a Civic Decision Making Lesson

45 4 7

11-6. WASHINGTON'S DECISION TOATTEND THE CONSTITUTIONALCONVENTION

LESSON PLAN AND NOTES FOR TEACHERS

Preview of Main Points

This lesson tells about the decision of George Washington toattend the meeting in Philadelphia, which became the Constitu-tional Convention in 1787. The conflicting pressures, which madeWashington's decision difficult, are discussed. A main purposeof this lesson is to introduce decision making as it con frontscitizens in a free society. Students are introduced to proceduresthat help them clarify, analyze, and make decisions.

Connection to Textbooks

This lesson can be used with standard textbook discussionsof the events that led to the Constitutional Convention atPhiladelphia in 1787. None of the standard textbooks includesa detailed discussion of Washington's difficult decision to attendthe Convention. Most of the textbooks do not even mention thisinteresting and revealing choice. This case study can be used asan introductory lesson to precede textbook treatments of theConstitutional Convention.

Connections to Other Lessons in This Book

This case study is an introduction to a decision making routineand a graphic device to chart decisions (the decision tree), whichare applicable to several other lessons in this book. This lessonprovides a simple introduction and guide to the basic steps ofrational decision making. Many students may be unfamiliar withthis decision making routine. If so, this lesson is a prerequisiteto several decision-making lessons in various parts of the book.Students who are familiar with lessons about decision makingmay find this lesson to be a useful review.

Objectives

Students are expected to:

1. Explain the situation that brought about Washington'soccasion for decision in this case.

2. Identify Washington's alternatives in this case.3. Identify reasons for and against a decision by

Washington to attend the convention in Philadelphia.4. Explain why Washington decided to attend the

conventbn.5. Explain the uses of a decision tree.6. Use a decision tree to explain the main steps in making

a decision, such as Washington's choice to attend theconvention.

7. Appraise Washington's decision in terms of the decision's(a) effect on Washington, (b) effect on various others,(c) practicality, (d) fairness.

Suggestions for Teaching the Lesson

This lesson can be used as a "springboard" into textbookdiscussions of the organization of the convention in

Philadelphia. The lesson also may be used as a simple introduc-tion to decision making by citizens, which may be necessary forstudents who have not encountered this type of lesson before.

Opening the Lesson

Begin by previewing the main points and purposes of thelesson. This provides students with a sense of direction.

Developing the Lesson

Have the students read the description of Washington's deci-sion. Then conduct a discussion of the questions that followthe case to make certain that students k now the main factsand ideas. These questions appear on page 71.

Move to the part of the lesson about the analysis ofWashington's decision, which introduces a decision-makingroutine and the decision tree. You might make use of atransparency of a decision tree to guide class discussion ofthe main parts of the decision making routing(1) alter-natives, (2) consequences, and (3) goals.

Ask students to give examples of alternatives, consequences,and goals to demonstrate that they understand these ideas.

Emphasize the meaning of the decision-making routine, sothat students will be able to analyze and make decisionssystematically in subsequent lessons.

Have students look at the goals in the decision tree aboutWashington's decision. Then ask them to answer the ques-tions about goals on page 72.

Have students look at the consequences in the decision tree.Then ask them to complete the activity on page 72, whichinvolves listing of positive and negative effects ofWashington's alternatives.

Have students discuss the questions on page 72 about thepracticality of Washington's decision.

Concluding the Lesson

Conclude the lesson by conducting a discussion of the ques-tions at the end of the lesson, on page 72.

The final question involves an overall judgment about theworth of Washington's decision. Ask students to supporttheir judgment with evidence and examples drawn from thecase study of Washington's decision and their examinationof the decision tree.

Note on Uses of Evidence

This lesson introduces students to the use of quotations fromletters as an historical source. Two aspects might be worth point-ing out to the students. First, the students will quickly see thatlanguage in , he 18th century was different from the languageof today. Students should be urged to keep this in mind whenthey read historical sources, including the Constitution itself.Second, the students may wonder about the dots in the middleof the first quotation from a Washington letter. This of courseis an ellipsis, which indicates that some words have been leftout of a quotation. This is used in many forms of writing.Students should be aware of this usage. The ellipsis is designedto allow a writer to quote from the most relevant parts of a let-ter, speech, or article (or any other source) without quoting the

47 48

entire source. Sometimes an ellipsis may be used to emphasizea point, while cutting out unnecessary material in the middleof a passage. Students should also be aware that it is possibleto change the meaning of a sentence through an ellipsis. Sucha useor misuseof an ellipsis is something like lying, becausean author who misuses an ellipsis in that way is attributing astatement to a source when in fact the source did not make sucha statement.

How to Use Decision Trees in Lessons on the Constitution

Several lessons in this book involve the use of a decision treeto analyze historical events or situations. For example, LessonIV-6 has students use a decision tree to study Jefferson's deci-sion to purchase Louisiana. What is a decision tree?

The decision tree is an analytical tool that helps students studythe decisions of others as well as make their own decisions. Itis based on a problem-solving procedure that involves mappingthe likely alternatives and consequences of an occasion fordecisioe

Decision trees may be used by students of history or govern-ment to analyze complex issues or events, to study key decisionsin history and/or to sharpen critical thinking/informationacquisition skills through analysis of historical cases.

How do students use decision trees? In Lesson 11-6 studentsapply a decision tree to George Washington's decision to attendor stay away from the Constitutional Convention. This lessonis designed to introduce students to the decision tree. Readingthe lesson (whether you, the teacher, plan to teach it or not)will help you understand this teaching strategy.

Decision trees graphically show the four key elements of deci-sion making. As students fill in decision trees, they use theseelements to analyze historical issues and decisions in a systematicfashion. These elements are discussed briefly below.

I. Confrontation with the need for choicean occasion fordecision. An occasion for decision is a problem situta-tion where the solution is not obvious. The occasion fordecision is the context for the decision problem. Forexample, Washington, an advocate of a strong centralgovernment, was invited to attend the ConstitutionalConvention. To go to the Convention involved seriouspolitical risks. Furthermore, Washington felt pressuredto stay home ta deal with serious personal problems.However, he wanted to be part of any moves to changethe government of the United States.

2. Determination of important values or goals affecting thedecision. One goal for Washington was to deal with hisproblems at home. Another goal, however, was tostrengthen the government of the United States ofAmerica.

3. Identification of alternatives. Alternatives in this situa-tion were to attend the Convention or to stay at home.

4. Predicting the positive and negative consequences ofalternatives in terms of stated goals or values.Washington considered likely consequences of his

choices. For example, to attend the Convention could leadhim to neglect family problems. Missing the Conventionwould forfeit his opportunity to help improve the govern-ment. However, staying at home would avoid any politicalrisks, if the Convention failed.

"Climbing the Decision Tree."

Once they have studied the occasion for decision, studentsmay begin work on the remainder of the decision tree at anypoint. There is no one "correct" or "right" place to start ona decision tree. Sometimes students may start at the bottom withalternatives and work up. With other problems it may be morenatural or appropriate to begin by considering the values or goalsin a problem and work down. The students' perception of thegoals involved in a decision or the alternatives available maychange as they work their way through the decision tree.

Using Facts and Values

When using a decision tree, students learn that both facts andvalues are involved in decision making. Facts are involved whendecision-makers identify and consider alternatives and theirlikely consequences. Should Washington attend the Constitu-tional Convention? In part his decision involved assessing facts.Who called the Convention? Did other leaders plan to attend?Did Congress approve of the meeting?

Values and value judgments are also a critical part ofthoughtful decision making. Decision makers express valuejudgments when labeling consequences as negative or positive.While establishing goals, the decision maker is engaged inthinking about values and in ethical reasoning. Such thinkinginvolves asking, "What is important, what do I want, and whatis right or wrong in this situation?"

Suggested Reading

Flexner, James Thomas. George Washington and the NewNation: 1783-1793. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1970,30-111. This book is part of a se; of four volumes on the lifeof Washington. It is considered the best biography ofWashington. Pages 30-111 tell about the events of Washington'slife from 1783-1787, prior to his participation in the Constitu-tional Convention.

Flexner, James Thomas. Washington: The Indispensable Man.Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1969. This book isavailable in paperback and highly readable. Many high schooljuniors and seniors will find it an enjoyable and worthwhilebiography.

*See, for example, Howard Raiffa, Decision Analysis (Reading,MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1968). The decision tree, asused here, was developed by Roger LaRaus and Richard Remy as partof the work of the Mershon Center at The Ohio State University. SecRoger LaRaus and Richard C. Remy, Citizenship Decision Making: SkillActivitia and Materials (Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley, InnovativePublications Division, 1978).

4 948

WASHINGTON'S DECISION TOATTEND THE CONSTITUTIONALCONVENTION

Background to a Difficult Dedsion

When the Revolution ended General GeorgeWashington went home. After eight years of continuousservice to his country, the man who had become thegreatest hero of his age, both in America and abroad,retired from public office. Washington wanted to enjoythe last years of his life as a gentleman farmer on hisVirginia plantation. Although Washington had spentalmost his entire life in public serviceas a surveyor ofwestern lands, a politician, ard a soldier in two warshealways claimed to prefer the life of a planter.

At 51, Washington felt relieved that he no longer hadto bear the great responsibilities of leading an army andhelping to create a nation. He wrote his friend and formercomrade-in-arms, the Marquis de Lafayette:

I am become a private citizen on the banks of thePotomac, and under the shadow of my own vine andmy own fig thee. Free from the bustle of a camp andthe busy scenes of public life, I am...not only retiredfrom all public employment, but I am retiring withinmyself, and shall be able to wend the solitary walkand tread the paths of private life with heartfeltsatisfaction. Envious of none, I am determined to bepleased with all, and this, my dear friend, i.:17:g theorder of my march, I will move gently cl,,wn thestream of life until I sleep viith my fathers.

In a letter to the American people Washington declaredhe would never again "take any share in public business."He also issued a warning about the need for a strongernational government. During the war Washington's troopsoften went without adequate food or clothing. Moreover,many never received the wages owed them because thegovernment under the Articles of Confederation provedunable to raise money through taxation. Without exag-gerating, Washington wrote: "No man in the United Statesis, or can be, more deeply impressed with the necessityof reform in our present Confederation than myself."

Washington's advice went unheeded, and no amend-ments were added to the Articles of Confederation. Con-

, sequently, from 1783 to 1786, the new American nationsuffered from an ineffective national government. Manycitizens doubted that the weak United States could sur-vive. It seemed likely that the fragile national union woulddisband into several competing republics.

As the nation's troubles worsened, many citizens, andsome state governments, saw that the Articles of Con-federation needed to be changed. In 1786 representatives

49

from five states met at Annapolis, Maryland to discussways to reform the national government. The AnnapolisConvention, as this meeting was known, accomplishedlittle. However, it set the stage for the Constitutional Con-vention a year later. The men who met at Annapolis calledfor such a Convention to convene in Philadelphia in May1787. A number of states quickly endorsed the idea andeventually, a reluctant Congress agreed to the proposal.The organizers officially invited each state governmentto select delegates who would participate in the meetingto amend the Articles of Confederation.

The Occasion for a Decision

The Virginia government chose Washington to heatj thestate delegation. Washington, however, was puzzled aboutwhethcr to go to Philadelphia. There seemed to be im-portant reasons for staying at home.

George Washington faced a difficult decision. Shouldhe attend the Convention in Philadelphia?

Reasons for Not Going to the Convention

Washington certainly did not feel up to a long, hardtrip. He was 55-years-old, and he often felt older. His bodyusually ached from rheumatism; sometimes he could notlift his arm as high as his head.

Family problems were pressing Washington. His 79-year-old mother was very ill, as was Ms sister. They livednearby and often asked for help. His brother had diedin January 1787, which depressed Washington very much.He also wanted to help his dead brother's children.

The general's wife, Martha, did not want her husbandto leave home again. She had hardly seen him during theeight years of the War for Independence. After the war,in 1783, she said: "I had anticipated that from thismoment we should have been left to grow old in solitudeand tranquility together." Likewise, Washington wasreluctant to once again forsake the comforts of his homefor public service.

Business problems constantly worried Washington. Hehesitated to leave his plantation because the place neededhis attention. He had repairs to make and debts to pay.He believed he owed it to himself and his family to attendto these matters.

The political reasons for staying home loomed largerthan the personal reasons. First, what if the conventionfailed? What if most states didn't bother to senddelegates? Washington might endure embarrassment. Hisgreat repututation might suffer. His old friend, HenryKnox, advised him to stay home to protect his goodname. Even James Madison, the Convention's strongest

50

supporter, wrote: "It ought not to be wished by any ofhis friends that he should participate in any abortiveundertakings."

John Jay, another strong supporter of the Convention,reminded Washington that the convention wasn't quitelegal. The organizers of the Philadelphia Convention wereignoring the legal procedures for amending the Articlesof Confederation. The Congress had not yet approved ofthe Convention. Should Washington go to a meeting thatcitizens might view as illegal?

Washington also remembered his promise to stay outof "public business." If he accepted election as a delegateto the convention, people might say that he had brokenhis word. They might also think he wanted to use the con-vention to gail power in the government. Did he wantto risk being called a hypocrite? Did he want to seem tobe a schemer in pursuit of personal power and glory?

Reasons for Going to the Convention

On February 21, Congress recognized the Convention,giving the meeting an appearance of legality.

By the end of March, most states appeared ready tosend delegates to Philadelphia. Only Rhode Island seemedlikely to boycott the meeting. No one doubted that a con-vention, which might be successful, would meet. Howwould Washington feel if that convention accomplishedgreat things in his absence? Would his reputation sufferif the delegates made great decisions while he stayedhome?

Washington found out that most of esalready selected had great reputations. As a s.i; 14-gait ,othe Convention, he would belong to a select group.

During March 1787, Washington received many lettersurging him to attend the convention. His wartime com-rades asked their general to preserve the fruits of theirvictory by helping to create an effective national govern-ment. Henry Knox changed his advice. He wrote "It isthe general wish that you should attend."

Some leaders believed that Washington's participationmight make the difference between success or failure atthe Convention. The citizens respected Washington somuch that his attendance would make the Conventionseem legitimate.

Why Washington Decided to Go

On March 28, George Washington wrote GovernorRandolph agreeing to lead the Virginia delegation inPhiladelphia. Washington feared that Americans wouldconsider him a bad citizen if he did not participate in anevent of such great significance. He decided his dutyrequired him to attend the Convention.

50

Washington very much wanted his new nation tosucceed. "To see this country happy...is so much the wishof my soul," he wrote. He had to help, whatever the per-sonal or political risks.

His fellow citizens needed him, so Washington onceagain rose to the challenge of public responsiblity. Hemustered his strength and went to Philadelphia in May1787.

Henry Knox observed: "Secure as he was in his fame,he has again committed it to the mercy of events. Nothingbut the critical situation of his country would haveinduced him to so hazardous a conduct."

EXERCISES FOR LESSON II-6

Reviewing Facts and Main Ideas About Washington'sDecision

1. What was the difficult decision facing GeorgeWashington in 1787?

2. What political events brought about Washington'sdecision.

3. What were main reasons for rot attending the Con-stitutional Convention in Philadelphia?

4. What were main reasons for attending the Con-stitutional Convention?

Analysis of Washington's Decision

George Washington's decision to attend the Constitu-tional Convention involved alternatives, consequences,and goals. Anyone faced with a difficult decision shouldthink carefully about these questions:

1. What are my alternatives or choices?2. What are the possible and probable consequences,

or outcomes, of each choice?3. What are my goals? (What do I want or value in

this situation?)

4. In view of my goals, which consequences are bestin this situation?

5. What chcice or decision should I make? (Whichchoice is most likely to lead toward my goals?)

You can use a decision tree to keep track of a decisionmaker's answers to the questions about goals, alternatives,and consequences. Look at the decision tree, on page 73,about George Washington's decision to attend the con-vention. This decision tree is a chart, which shows thealternatives, consequences, and goals that were involvedin Washington'3 occasion for decisionwhether or notto attend the convention.

Look at the Decision Tree and answer this question:What were Washington's alternatives in this case?

51

Washington's main goals in this case reveal his valueshis beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong. Thegoals in this chart are guides to Washington's choice toattend the Constitutional Convention. They help us tounderstand why he thought one alternative was better thanthe other in this oecasion for decision.

Look at the decision tree and answer these questions:

1. What were Washington's goals in this case?

2. What do Washington's goals tell us abo.'t hisvalues?

3. How do Washington's goals and values explain hisdecision to attend the Convention?

Identifying alternatives, consequences, and goals canhelp you ultderstand and analyze any decision-makingsituation. Good decisions have good consequences for thedecision maker and others. The outcomes are desirablefor the people affected by the decision.

Look at the decision tree and answer these questions:

1. What were positive and negative consequencesassociated with a decision to go to the Convention?

2. What were positive and negative consequences ofa decision not to go to the Convention?

Washington's decision had some positive and negativeeffects on him and others. Make two lists. First reviewthe case study and identify how Washington's decision waslikely to affect him. Next, review the case study and deci-sion tree and identify hnw the decision was likely to affectvarious other individuals and groups.

51

A fair decision balances the needs and wants of in-dividuals with the needs and wants of the community towhich they belong. On balance, did Washington's deci-sion seem fair to himself and others?

Choosing a desirable consequence that is unlikely orimpossible to achieve is not a practical decision. Thus,it is not a good decision. It is foolish to make decisionsthat are not very practical. Was Washington's decision apractical choice?

A chart, such as the decision tree, can help you to keeptrack of alternatives, consequences, and goals in any oc-casion for decision. The decision tree can help you tr,clarify your own decisions and to analyze the decisionsof others.

When using the decision tree, you sometimes may wishto start with the alternatives and work your way to thegoals. Sometimes, however, it may seem easier to start withgoals by asking: What is best in this situation? You mayenter the decision tree at different places when analyzingor making different decisions.

Reviewing the Use of a Decision Tree

1. What is a decision tree?2. What are the uses of a decision tree?3. Explain each of these parts of a decision tree:

a. occasion for decision

b. alternatives

c. consequences

d. goals4. Do you believe that Washington made a good deci-

sion in this case? Explain.

52

DECISION TREE

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'Do pubHc. -c-rieods

Shokld Wohi(..onveY)-1--i3h in

PKIlactei ia?.

The decision-tree device wasdeveloped by Roger LaRausand Richard C. Remy and isused with their permission.

OCCASION FOR DECISION

52 53

APPEHDIX DStretching The Constitution:

Jefferson's Decision To Purchase Louisiana,An Exemplar of a Civic Decision Making Lesson

5453

IV-6. STRETCHING THE CONSTITUTION:JEFFERSON'S DECISION TOPURCHASE LOUISIANA

LESSON PLAN AND NOTES FOR TEACHERS

Preview of Main Points

This lesson is about the constitutional significance of Presi-dent Jefferson's decision to purchase the Louisiana Territory.Constitutional issues are examined, which pertain to the inter-pretation of federal government powers and the nature of theFederal Union. The effects of Jefferson's decision on constitu-tional development are assessed.

Connection to Textbooks

American history textbooks discuss the Louisiana Purchase.The issue of constitutional interpretation is raised. This lessoncan be used in conjunction with the typical textbook discussionof the Louisiana Purchase. In-depth commentary is providedthat can enrich the textbook treatments.

Objectives

Students are expected to:I. Understand hot., Jefferson was confronted with the deci-

sion to purchase Louisiana.2. Comprehend the constitutional issue about strict versus

broad construction, which was raised by this decision.3. ComprC and the constitutional issue about the nature

of the Federal Union, which was raised by this decision.4. Explain why Jefferson decided to purchase Louisiana.5. Practice skills in analzying and judging a political

decision.6. Practice skills in interpreting evidence in primary source

material.

Suggestions for Teaching the Lesson

This is a case study lesson, which provides in-depth informa-tion about an important presidential decision. Use questionspresented at the end of the lesson to help students comprehendand analyze the facts and ideas of the case.

Opening the Lesson

Inform students about the main points of the lesson.

Ask them to present their opinions about why the decisionto purchase Louisiana was the most important decision ofJefferson's two terms as President. Tell students that they'llhave an opportunity to check their opinions against the factsof this case study.

Dev.:loping the Lesson

Have students read the case study.

Ask them to answer the questions about reviewing facts andideas. You might wish to check student comprehension ofthe case by conducting a discussion of these questions.

Move to consideration of the interpreting evidence ques-tions. Have students review the two excerpts from primarysources, which are mentioned in this activity.

Conduct a discussion of the questions about interpretingIdence.

Concluding the Lesson

Have students use a "Decision Tree" chart to help thempractice skills in analyzing and judging decisions.

Divide the class into small groups of five or six members.Tell each group to use the "Decision Making" questionsas guides to completing a decision tree about Jefferson'sdecision in this case.

Ask one person in each group to be prepared to report theconclusion of the group about Jefferson's decision.

Have the reporters from each group form a panel to discussJefferson's decision in front of thc class. VIP-outage otherstudents to question, criticize, or otherwise intenc7t withthe panelists.

Suggested Reading

Here are two chapters from outstandiTig history bookh, whictprovide substantial and illuminating discussions of the Loui-siana Purchase.

Burns, James MacGregor. The Vineyard of Liberty. New York::Alfred A. Knopf, 1982, 172-1n.

Morris, Richard B. Great Presidential Decisions: State PapersThat Changed the Course of History New I irk: Hatper &Row Publishers, Perennial Library, 1972 56-68.

55 55

STRETCHING THE CONSTITUTION:JEFFERSON'S DECISION TOPURCHASE LOUISIANA

President Thomas Jefferson faced a difficult decisionduring the summer of 1803. Napoleon, the Emperor ofFrance, had offered to sell Louisiana to the United Statesfor $15 million. This vast territory extended westward fromthe Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains andsouthward from the Canadian border to the Gulf ofMexico and the Spanish territories of Texas and NewMexico.

Jefferson had wanted to buy only the region aroundthe mouth of the Mississippi River Nvhich included theport of New Orleans for $2 million. American farmersin the Ohio River Valley depended on access to NewOrleans. They loaded their crops onto boats and rafts andfloated them down the Mississippi to New Orleans. FromNew Orleans ships transported the crops to Americancities along the Atlantic coast and to other countries.Americans feared that the French might interfere withtheir trade by imposing high taxes on products and shipsmoving through New Orleans. Worse, they dreaded thatthe French might close the port to Americans.

Napoleon's desire to sell not only New Orleans, but alsothe entire Louisiana Territory, an area of about 828,000square miles, astounded President Jefferson. This territorywas about as large as the total land area of the UnitedStates in 1803; and it was bigger than all of WesternEurope. Although the total purchase price seemed high,it was not beyond the means of the United States to payfor it. Offered at a cost of four cents per acre, the landwas a bargain.

Jefferson was excited by the chance to buy all of Loui-siana. However, the President was not sure if he had thepower under the Constitution to accept Napoleon's offer.He faced two related constitutional issues:

1. strict versus broad construction of theConstitution;

2. the nature of the Federal Union.

The Issue of Strict Construction

As leader of the Republican Party, Jefferson held theview of a "strict constructionist." He believed that thepowers of the national government should be rigidlylimited to those explicitly granted in the Constitution.According to a strict constructionist interpretation of theConstitution, Jefferson could not buy Louisiana becauseno statement in the Constitution granted power to thePresident or Congress to buy territory from anothercountry.

56

According to the broad constructionists such as Alex-ander Hamilton, the President could use the "necessaryand proper clause" (Article I, Section 8) to justify theassumption of powers not explicitly granted in the Con-stitution. This clause says: "The Congress shall havepower... to make all laws which shall be necessary andproper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers,and all other powers vested by this Constitution in thegovernment of the United States, or in any departmentor officer thereof." (This clause is also known as the"elastic clause.")

Jefferson wanted to buy Louisiana, but he was reluc-tant to stretch the powers of the national government, ashis Federalist party rivals had done during the 1790s whenthey had established a national bank. Jefferson expressedhis dilemma in a letter to John Breckinridge of Kentucky,a Republican leader in the Senate:

The treaty must of course, be laid before bothHouses, because both have important functions toexercise respecting it. They, I presume, will see theirduty to their country in ratifying and paying for it,so as to secure a good which would otherwise prob-ably be never again in their power. But I suppose theymust then appeal to the nation for an additionalarticle [amendment] to the Constitution, approvingand confirming an act which the nation had notpreviously authorized. . . .

The President believed that only an amendment to theConstitution could provide him with the constitutionalauthority to complete this deal with France. With the helpof James Madison, the Secretary of State, Presidem Jef-ferson drafted a proposed amendment to the Constitution:

Louisiana as ceded by France to the United Statesis made a part of the United States. Its white in-habitants shall be citizens, and stand, as to theirrights and obligations, on the same footing withother citizens of the United States in analogoussituations.

Jefferson quickly dropped the idea of pressing for aconstitutional amendment on the purchase of Louisiana.The amending process would take too much time.Napoleon might withdraw his offer while the amendmentwas pending. James Madison and other trusted leadersof the Republican Party also argued that the treaty-making power sanctioned in the Constitution could byextension legitimize the purchase of Louisiana. (SeeArticle 2, Section 2.)

Jefferson agreed reluctantly with his advisers and de-cided to submit the treaty with France on the Louisianapurchase to the Senate for ratification. The President

56

justified his action by saying that "the good sense of ourcountry will correct the evil of loose construction whenit shall produce ill effects." Ironically, Jefferson, thechampion of strict construction, had made a major deci-sion based on a broad construction interpretation of theConstitution.

An Issue About the Nature of the Federal Union

Before the treaty to purchase Louisiana could becomebinding, the Senators had to ratify the treaty by a two-thirds majority vote. (See Article 2, Section 2 of the Con-stitution.) Also, majorities in both the Senate and theHouse of Representatives had to appropriate tho moneyneeded to pay France (Article 1, Section 7).

Most members of Congress agreed that the federalgovernment possessed the constitutional power to pur-chase Louisiana. However, several members of Congressopposed Article 111 of the treaty, which stated: "Theinhabitants of the ceded territory shall be incorporatedin the Union of the United States, and admitted as soonas possible, according to the principles of the Federal Con-stitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages,and immunities of citizens of the United States. . . ." Inother words, this part of the treaty implied that new stateswould be carved out of the Louisiana Territory andadmittcd to the Federal Union equal to and with the fullrights of the original states.

Representative Roger Griswold, a Federalist from Con-necticut, argued: "A new territory and new subjects mayundoubtedly be obtained by conquest and by purchase;but neither the conquest nor the purchase can incorporatethem into the Union. They must remain in the conditionof colonies and be governed accordingly."

According to Griswold and his followers, the originalthirteen states and other states made from territorybelonging to the United States in 1788 when the Constitu-tion was ratified should be superior to any territoriessubsequently acquired by the federal government.Griswold argued that the United States should hold Loui-siana, if it purchascd the territory, as only a colony.

Senator Timothy Pickering of Massachusetts, anotherFederalist, said that new states could not be made fromthe Louisiana Territory unless every state in the nationagreed to their creation. He argued that as the FederalUnion was a partnership of states who had created it, noone could admit new states to this partnership withoutthe unanimous agreement of the other states.

In Pickering's view the Federal Union derived its powerprimarily from the states rather than from the people ofthe nation as a whole. His idea reflected views more com-patible with the nature of the Union under the Articles

57

of Confederation than with the federal system of theConstitution.

A Decision and Its Consequences

Most members of Congress disagreed with Griswoldand Pickering. On October 17, 1803, the Senate ratifiedJefferson's treaty by a vote of 24 to 7. The House ofRepresentatives voted to appropriate the money neededto make the purchase. The Senate also passed the moneybill, empowering the President to conclude the deal withFrance, which he did.

Jefferson explained his deviation from strict construc-tion of the Constitution:

A strict observance of the written laws is doubtlessone of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is notthe highesC The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger,are of higher obligation. To lose our country by ascrupulous adherence to written law, would be to losethe law itself, with life, liberty, property and all thosewho are enjoying them with us; thus absurdlysacrificing the end to the means.

Later, the President said: "Is it not better that theopposite bank of the Mississippi should be settled by ourown brethren and children than by strangers of anotherfamily?" Americans responded by moving westward topopulate and develop the new territory. The commissionedterritory eventually made up all or part of thirteen states:Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota,Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma,South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Through the purchase of Louisiana, the United Statesbecame one of the largest nations on earth. Later on,Americans learned that the territory included many acresof fertile soil and other valuable natural resources. Loui-siana proved a richer prize than anyone imagined it at thetime or its purchase.

In 1828, the Supreme Court affirmed the constitu-tionality of Jefferson's decision to purchase Louisiana.1 n Amer,can Insurance Company v. Canter, Chic f JusticeMarshall ruled that the federal government could acquirenew territory under the treaty-making clause of theConstitution.

The decision to make the Louisiana Purchase was oneof Thomas Jefferson's most important as President. Headded greatly to the size and wealth of the Unitcd States.Furthermore, he contributed substantially, thoughunwillingly, to the precedent that, when necessary, theConstitution may be broadly interpreted to serve thepublic int crest.

57

EXERCISES FOR LESSON IV-6 b. Why did Jefferson say that the Constitutionneeded amending?

2. Refer to Jefferson's explanation, page 216, of hisdeviation from the strict constructionist position.

Reviewing Facts and Ideas

1. Why did President Jefferson want to purchase theregion around New Orleans?

2. Why did the President hesitate to acceptNapoleon's offer to sell the entire Louisiana Ter-ritory to the United States? Select one or more ofthe following answers. Explain your selections.

a. the price was too high

b. a majority of citizens opposed the purchase

c. he was a strict constructionist

3. Why did James Madison believe that the Presidenthad a constitutional right to purchase !..,ouisiana?

4. Why did Congressman Griswold oppose Article IIIof the Treaty to purchase Louisiana?

5. Why did Senator Pickering oppose Article III ofthe Treaty to purchase Louisiana?

6. What reasons did Jefferson use to explain his deci-sion to purchase Louisiana?

7. How did Jefferson's decision to purchase Louisianahelp to shape the meaning of the Constitution?

Interpreting Evidence

1. Refer to the excerptSenator Breckinridge

a. Why did Jeffersonpresented to both

from Jefferson's letter toon page 215.

say that the treaty had to behouses of Congress?

58

a. What is the main idea of this statement?

b. Does this statement exemplify the strict con-structionist position or the broad construc-tionist position? Explain.

c. Does this statement suggest lack of respect forthe Constitution as the supreme law of the land?

d. To what extent do you agree or disagree withthis statement?

3. Why do you think the "necessary and proper"clause of Article I, Section 8 is sometimes calledthe "elastic clause" of the Constitution?

Decision Making

1. Why did Jefferson have the opportunity to decidewhether or not to purchase Louisiana?

2. What alternatives did the President have?

3. What were likely consequences (positive andnegative) of Jefferson's alternatives?

4. What were the President's goals?

5. Why did the President decide to purchaseLouisiana?

6. How do you appraise Jefferson's decision? Was ita good decision?

58

DECISION TREE

OCCASION FOR DECISION

The decision.tree device was developed by Roger LaRaus and Richard C. Remy and is used with their permission.

5959

APPENDIX EThe Limits Of Presidential Power:

Truman's Decision To Seize The Steel Mills,An Exemplar of a Supreme Court Case Study Lesson

60

61

IV-13. THE LIMITS OF PRESIDENTIALPOWER: TRUMAN'S DECISION TOSEIZE THE STEEL MILLS

LESSON PLAN AND NOTES FOR TEACHERS

Preview of Main Points

In the case of Youngstown Sheet & Tithe v. Sawyeroftenknown as the steel seizure casethe Supreme Court struck downPresident Truman's Executive Order to seize the nation's steelmills in order to prevent a strike during the Korean War. Thecase involved the principle of separation of powers with theCourt ruling that the President had no powtr under the Con-stitution to seize private property unless Con gess authorizedthe seizure.

Connection to Textbooks

This lesson can be used with government textbook materialon separation of powers, the powers of the President, or thepowers of Congress. The lesson could enrich history text discus-sions of separation of powers, the Truman Presidency, or thegrowth of presidential power.

Objectives

Students are expected to:I. Explain the circumstances leading up to the Youngstown

case.2. Identify the key participants and constitutional issues

involved in the Youngstown case.3. Identify the arguments presented by both sides in the

case.

4. Explain the immediate impact of the Court's decision.5. Explain the longer-term significance of the Court's

decision.6. Use information in the case to make a judgment about

the Court's decision.

Suggestions for Teaching the Lesson

Opening the Lesson

Explain to students how the lesson is connected to theirtextbook material. Review briefly the meaning of separa-tion of powers.

Developing the Lesson

Have students read the case study and complete the ques-tions under "Reviewing the Case."

Concluding the Lesson

Conduct a discussion which gives students an opportunityto make judgments about the Court's decision. Prompt thediscussion by asking students these questions:

I. Do you agree with the majority opinion or with thedissent? Why?

2. What could be the consequences of letting Presidentsexpand their power as they saw fit?

3. On the other hand, what might be the consequencesof limiting a President's ability to act forcefully to copewith national emergencies?

Suggested Reading

Marcus, Maeva. Truman and the Steel Seizure Case: The Limitsof Presidential Power. New York: Columbia University Press,1977. This book is a case study about the constitutionalsignificance of President Truman's decision to have the federalgovernment take over the steel mills during a nationalemergency. The author examines events leading to Truman'sdecision, the Supreme Court decision that disallowed thePresident's action, and the legal and social consequences ofthe Court's decision.

63 61

THE LIMITS OF PRESIDENTIALPOWER: TRUMAN'S DECISION TOSEIZE THE STEEL MILLS

The separation of powers is a major principle ofAmerican government. Under the Constitution, Congressmakes laws, the President carries out laws, and the courtsmake judgments about them.

Of course, this separation is not complete. The systemof checks and balances means each branch of governmentshares to some degree in the job of the others. The Presi-dent may, for example, veto bills passed by Congress. Still,the concept of the separation of powers aims to preventthe same branch from making, executing, and enforcingthe laws.

President Harry Truman tested the limits of presiden-tial power under the Constitution when he ordered thefederal government to take control of the nation's steelmills. Truman's order led to the making of a majorSupreme Court decision on the constitutional limitationsof presidential power.

Backpround of the Case

In the spring of 1952, President Truman faced a dif-ficult problem. The United States was in the middle ofthe Korean War, and the nation's steel workers were aboutto go on strike. Truman and his advisors feared a longstrike could bring disaster. American troops in Koreamight run short of ammunition and weapons.

The President acted forcefully. On April 8, a few hoursbefore the expected start of the strike, Truman issued Ex-ecutive Order #10340. This order directed Secretary ofCommerce Charles Sawyer to temporarily take control ofthe nation's steel mills and to keep them running. The steelcompanies accepted the order but moved to fightTruman's action in court.

Taking temporary control of the steel mills was not theonly alternative open to Truman. The President hadanother way to deal with the strike. He chose not to use it.

In 1947 Congress had passed the Taft-Hartley Act.Under this law, the President could get a court orderdelaying the strike for 80 days. During this "cooling ofrperiod, the union of steel workers and the steel mill ownerswould have tried to settle their differences.

Truman disliked the Taft-Hartley Act. He thought it wasanti-labor. He had vetoed it in 1947, but Congress hadoverridden his veto. He had never used the law and wouldnot do so in the steel strike.

Furthermore, Truman believed the blame for the strikedid not lie with the steel workers. The union had alreadypostponed the strike four times in an effort to reach asettlement. Government arbitrators had recommended a

compromise, which the union had accepted. The steelcompanies had rejected the arbitrators' recommendations,even though in 1951 the steel companies earned theirgreatest profits in more than thirty years. PresidentTruman believed the steel companies were using theemergency of the Korean War to force the steel workersto accept low wages. Under such circumstances Trumanheld the steel companies, and not the steel workers,responsible for the crisis in the industry. Thus, the Presi-dent issued Executive Order #10340, temporarily seizingthe steel mills.

The steel companies quickly challenged Truman's actionin the federal district court in Washington, D.C. Withina few days, the Supreme Court stepped in to settle theconflict. The case became known as Youngstown Sheetand 71the Company v. Sawyer.

Constitutional Issue

President Truman's order stood as a remarkable asser-tion of presidential power. The President was not carry-ing out or acting under a law passed by Congress. No lawauthorized a President to seize and operate the steel mills.By his order, President Truman was, in effect, makinglawa power reserved for Congress by Article I of theConstitution.

Had the President overstepped the constitutional boun-dary that separated the functions of the legislative andexecutive branches? Or did the Constitution give Trumanpowers to protect the nation in times of nationalemergency?

Arguments

The steel companies argued that the President's orderclearly violated the Constitution. They said neither theConstitution nor existing laws gave him authority to seizeprivate property. In addition, Congress had already setup procedures to handle the strike in the Taft-Hartley Act.Thus, they claimed the President had exceeded his con-stitutional authority.

The President argued that his authority, as chief ex-ecutive under Article II of the Constitution, gave himpower to keep steel production going in times of nationalemergency. In addition, he argued that his power ascommander-in-chief allowed him to take actions necessaryto protect the lives of American troops. This powerincluded ensuring a steady flow of steel to produceweapons.

The Decision

Truman lost the argument. On June 2, the SupremeCourt ruled 6-3 against the President. The majority of

64 62

the Court held Truman's seizure of the steel mills anunconstitutional exercise of power.

Justice Hugo L. Black, in the majority opinion, saidthat the President had no power, either as chief executiveor commander-in-chief, to seize private propertyeventemporarily and during a national emergency. Black saidthat the power to authorize such an action belonged toCongress, not to the President. Thus, Truman could notseize the steel mills unless Congress passed legislationenabling him to do so. As Congress had not done so, theseizure was illegal.

Black noted that, in writing the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act,Congress had considered letting Presidents seize plantsin the events of strikes but rejected the idea. Thus, by hisexecutive order Truman had attempted to make his ownlaw. Yet the Constitution, Black said, did not permit himto do so. The Constitution limited the President "to therecommending of laws he thinks wise and the vetoing oflaws he thinks bad."

Justice William 0. Douglas concurred. Douglas saidhe was shocked by the "legislative nature of the actiontaken by the President."

Three justices, all Truman appointees, issued a strongdissent. They argued thai during a grave national crisis,such as the Korean War, the Constitution allowed thePresident to exercise unusual powers. Chief Justice Vinsonwrote, "Those who suggest that this is a case involvingextraordinary powers should be mindful that these are ex-traordinary times." Vinson added that Truman's actionsfollowed the tradition of taking extraordinary actions dur-ing a time of crisis established by Presidents like Lincoln,Cleveland, Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt.

Significance of the Decision

Immediately, the Youngstown decision required thegovernment to return the steel mills to their owners.Truman promptly complied with the Court's ruling eventhough he strongly disagreed with it. The steel strike beganand lasted for 53 days. When it ended, the steel companiesagreed to a contract within one cent of that recommendedby the government arbitrators. Truman never used the

65

Taft-Hartley Act to intervene. The President did claim thatin the summer and fall of 1952 the strike caused someshortages of ammunition.

Truman later wrote that the Court's decision "was adeep disappointment to me." He added, "I think ChiefJustice Vinson's dissenting opinion hit the nail right onthe head, and I am sure that someday his view will cometo be recognized as the correct one."

The President had every reason to be disappointed. TheYoungstown case stands as one of the rare instances whenthe Supreme Court flatly told a President he had over-stepped the limits of his constitutional power.

In this decision, the Court clearly established that thereare limits on the powers a President can derive from theConstitution, even during a national emergency. For near-ly twenty years presidential power had been growingthrough a series of crises including the Great Depressionand World War II. The Youngstown decision had theeffect of slowing this steady growth of the emergencypowers of the presidency.

This case shows how strong Presidents can try toexpand the powers of the presidency. The case also showshow the Supreme Court can act to preserve the separa-tion of powers inherent in our system.

EXERCISES FOR LESSON IV-13

Reviewing the Case

1. Describe the events leading up to the Youngstowncase.

2. Why did President Truman not want to use theTaft-Hartley Act to settle the steel strike?

3. What was the issue in the Youngstown case? Whatwere the arguments on each side?

4. What did the Court decide?

5. What reasons did the majority give for its decision?

6. What position did Chief Justice Vinson take in hisdissent?

63

PENIIX FYou Be The Judge:

The Case of Camara v. Municipal Court ofThe City and County of San Francisco, An Exemplar of a Judicial Decision Simulation

Lesson

IV-14. YOU BE THE JUDGE:CAMARA V. THE MUNICIPALCOURT OF THE CITY ANDCOUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO

LESSON PLAN AND NOTES FOR TEACHERS

Preview of Main Points

This lesson focuses on how the Supreme Court actually makesdecisicns. Students (working individually or in small groups)decide the Supreme Court case of Camara v. The MunicipalCourt of the City and County of San Francisco (1967). Thelesson gives students the facts of the case, the relevant parts ofthe Constitution, a key precedent, and the lawyers' argumentsin the case. After students make their own decision they examinehow the Supreme Court actually decided the case by examiningexcerpts from the Court's opinion.

Connection to Textbooks

This lesson can be used with government textbook materialon the judicial process, the Bill of Rights, or the Supreme Court.It can be used with history textbook discussions of the Bill ofRights or the Supreme Court. The lesson provides a moredetailed look at how judicial decisions are reached than tex-tbooks are able to do.

Objectives

Students are expected to:I. Identify the facts and constitutional issue in the Camara

case.

2. Make a judgment about the constitutionality of actionsof San Francisco city officials and interpret the meaningof the Fourth Amendment's ban on "unreasonablesearches and seizures."

3. Give their own decisions and reasoning about the Camaracase.

4. Identify reasons presented in the majority and minorityopinions.

5. Compare that reasoning with their own (group)reasoning.

6. Develop a greater understanding of the process of judicialdecision making.

Suggestions for Teaching the Lesson

This lesson can be used as an "in-depth" study accompany-ing the textbook discussions of the Bill of Rights, the judicialprocess, or the Supreme Court.

Opening the Lesson

Preview the main part of the lesson for students.

Explain how this lesson is connected to the material theyhave just studied in the texbook.

Developing the Lesson

Have students read the case study. Do not distribute theseparate sheet titled "The Supreme Court Decides."

Have students complete "You Decide" located at the endof the reading. Students may complete "You Decide" work-ing individually or in small groups.

If students are to work in small groups, divide the class intogroups of five or seven (or any uneven, manageablenumber). Have the groups quickly choose a Chief Justiceto lead the discussion and to report their decision to theclass later. (You may want to appoint the Chief Justice tosave time. One quick way to make the seleciion is to havestudents appoint the one whose birthday conies last in theyear, the ycLagest member, etc.) The group should discussand decide the case. You may need to remind them to payattention to the facts, the Constitution, the precedent, andthe lawyers' arguments. They should also agree on theirreasons. If this is not possible in some groups, one or moreof the students may offer a minority opinion.

Concluding the Lesson

Hand out the page titled "The Supreme Court Decides."After students have read it, conduct a brief discussion ofthe following questions.

I. What was the majority decision?

2. What reason(s) did the justices give for their decision?

3. What reason(s) did the minority justices give for theirdissent?

4. With which side did your group's decision agree?

5. Were your reasons similar to the Court's?

Alternatively, you may wish to omit the group discussions.You may instead conclude the lesson with a discussion ofthese questions based on students' individual answers to"You Decide."

IV-14. YOU BE THE JUDGE:CAMARA V THE MUNICIPALCOURT OF THE CITY ANDCOUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO

How do Supreme Court justices arrive at their deci-sions? What factors.do they consider when they decidea case?

In making major decisions, justices usuallf take fourfactors into account: (1) the facts of the case, (2) the Con-stitution, (3) precedents or earlier court decisions insimilar cases, and (4) the arguments presented by attorneysfor both sides in the case.

You will use these four faciors to decide an actual caseas Supreme Court justices do. The case involves buildinginspectors, an angry tenant, the Fourth Amendment, anda conflict between a government's duty to promote publichealth and an individual's right to privacy. These issuescame before the Supreme Court in the case of Camarav. The Municipal Court of the City and County of SanFrancisco.

Facts of the Case

Supreme Court justices have no fact-finding authoritysimilar to that of trial court judges. Rather, they use thefacts from the trial court record either to decide if someaction or law violated the Constitution or to interpret themeaning of a federal law.

Thus, justices must know the facts to reach a decision.Consider the facts of the Camara case, just as the justicesdid.

Refusing an Inspection. Roland Camara lived on theound floor of a three-story apartment building in San

1 rancisco. Camara rented part of the ground floor to useit primarily as a bookstore, but he also lived in the rearof his store.

The San Francisco Municipal Code required theDepartment of Public Health to inspect all apartmenthouses every year. On November 6, 1963, Inspector Nallwent to the premises to make the required inspection. Nallrequested permission to enter Camara's apartment.Camara refused to let him in.

Inspector Nall returned on November 8, 1963, andagain requested permission to enter and inspect. Camaraagain refused him.

Action Against Camara. The San Francisco Codeneither permitted forced entry or authorized inspectorsto obtain search warrants in such situations. Instead, theinspector's office mailed Camara a notice to appear inthe District Attorney's office to explain his actions.Camara did not appear and for a third time refused tolet inspectors enter his apartment.

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Officers then arrested .Camara and charged him witha violation of the Municipal Housing Code. He respondedto the complaint against him in Municipal Court byarguing that the part of the housing code involved wasunconstitutional. Camara lost his case in several lowerappeals courts. Finally, in 1967 the Supreme Court heardthe case.

The issue that came to the Supreme Court was asfollows: Did the San Francisco building officials have theright o inspect Camara's residence without a searchwarrant? Or did such inspections violate Camara's FourthAmendment rights protecting him against "unreasonablesearches and seizures"?

The Constitution

The Camara case involved the meaning of the FourthAmendment protection ainst "unreasonable searchesand seizures." That Amendment says:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons,houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonablesearches and seizures, shall not be violated, and nowarrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, sup-ported by oath or affil 'nation, and particularlydescribing the place to be searched, and the personsor things to be seized.Over the years the Supreme Court had defined

"unreasonable searches and seizures" to mean any searchpolice officers conducted without a proper warrant. TheCourt only made exceptions for searches of movingvehicles and searches taking place during an arrest.

The Canzara case, however, presented a different con-stitutional question. What about routine fire and healthinspections of buildings by city officials like those in SanFrancisco? These so-called "administrative searches"normally did not involve criminal prosecution. Their pur-pose was to promote public health and safety.

Did the Fourth Amendment also apply to such inspec-tions? Did the ban against "unreasonable searches andseizures" require ub, _ health or fire department officialsto obtain search \ Irrants to conduct inspections? Or didthe Fourth Amendment protections apply only in criminalcases where people were accused of crimes?

Precedent

To help answer these questions the justices looked toprecedents, the decisions of earlier courts in similar cases.How did earlier courts interpret the meaning of the FourthAmendment?

The case of Frank v. Maryland (1959) had establishedthe key precedent. Aaron D. Frank was a homeowner inBaltimore, Maryland. A health inspector found evidence

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of rats in the area of Frank's home. He considered theseprobable cause to justify searching Frank's home. The in-spector requested entry to the home. He did not have asearch warrant. Frank denied entry claiming the FourthAmendment protected him.

The Supreme Court ruled against Frank. In the Frankcase, the Court linked the Fourth Amendment to the FifthAmendment's ban against forcing a person "in anycriminal case to be a witness against himself." It ruledthat the main purpose of the Fourth Amendment intendedto protect individuals from arbitrary searches conductedas part of criminal investigations. Since the inspectorwished to conduct the Frank search for the purpose ofinspecting for rats, and involved no criminal charges, hedid not need a search warrant.

Thus, the Frank case set a key precedent. The FourthAmendment did not require city officials to obtain searchwarrants for inspections made as part of fire and healthinspections. The Fourth Amendment only protectedpeople against "unreasonable" searches where theinvestigators searched to find evidence for criminalinvestigations.

The Frank precedent meant that if the justices decidingthe Camara case ruled that health and fire inspectionsrequired search warrants, they would overturn the Frankcase of 1959. They would be deciding that the earlierCourt's interpretation of the Constitution in the Frankcase was wrong. They would be saying that the FourthAmendment protections applied to people regardless ofwhether or not they stood accused of crimes.

Arguments by Attorneys

Lawyers for the two sides bringing a case before theSupreme Court present oral arguments and file briefs(written arguments) with the Court. Justices considerthese arguments as they apply the Constitution andprecedents to the case. You should let them help youdecide on a verdict.

Arguments for Camara. The lawyers for Camara arguedthat the Court should overrule the precedent set by thecase of Frank v. Maryland. Camara's lawyers interpretedthe Fourth Amendment as a broad protection againstinvasion of privacy by government officials such as theSan Francisco inspector. They argued the Frank decisionhad wrongly weakened the Fourth Amendment protec-tion against unreasonable searches and seizures by tyingit to the Fifth Amendment.

Camara's lawyers cited numerous precedents todemonstrate the correctness of the broader interpretationof the Fourth Amendment protection. They pointed out

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that in Mapp v. Ohio (1961) the Court had found the pro-visions of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments were each"complimentary to, although not dependent upon, thatof the other."

Arguments for San Francisco. The lawyers for SanFrancisco and the State of California argued that, "theissue in the case was the right of a local community toenact ordinances requiring the occupant of a residenceto submit to routine, duly authorized health inspections,without a warrant." They claimed that the reasoning inFrank v. Maryland was consistent with this view.

In addition, they claimed that as there are obvious di f-fernces between a health inspection and a search forcriminal evidence, each should be subject to different stan-dards. Thus, as long as inspection proceduro remainedreasonable, as they were in San Francisco, there was noneed to require search warrants. Indeed, they argued thatrequiring search warrants would provide no more protec-tion against inspection and could even lessen a person'sprivacy if an inspector used a warrant at an inconvenienttime.

Amicus Curiae Briefs. In judging important cases, theSupreme Court allows parties with interest in their out-comes to also file briefs even if they are not directlyinvolved in the cases. We call these amicus curiaefriendof the Courtbriefs.

Three groups filed amicus ruriae briefs in support ofCamara. One, an organization called Homeowners inOpposition to Housing Authoritarianism, argued that noone could actually distinguish between inspections for thepublic welfare and searches for criminal activity. Thus,the Court should require search warrants in both cases.

Two amicus curiae briefs supported San Francisco. TheCommonwealth of Massachusetts filed one. Massa-chusetts argued that search warrants "belong uniquely tocriminal law." Since inspectors carry out so manyinspections, if the Court required them to obtain warrants,the judges responsible for issuing the warrants would endup simply acting as rubber stamps for inspectors.

EXERCISES FOR IV-14

You Dedde

As justices of the Supreme Court do, you have exam-ined the facts, the Constitution, the precedents and thearguments related to the case of Camara v. The MunicipalCourt of the City and County of San Francisco. Now youmust make a decision.

To make a decision follow these steps.

1. Select the side you would rule for.Either:a. Rule for Camara and overturn the Frank case.

Such a ruling would require city inspectors toobtain warrants to enter and inspect privateresidences if persons inhabiting them refused tolet the officers in.Meaning of the Constitution. This ruling wouldbroadly interpret protections offered by theFourth Amendment. You would interpret theFourth Amendment's ban on "unreasonablesearches and seizures" to be independent of theFifth Amendment and to cover inspectionsfor public safety as well as for criminalinvestigations.

Or:

b. Rule for San Francisco and uphold the Frankcase. Deciding in favor of San Francisco wouldallow city officials to enter and inspect privateresidences, such as Camara's, without searchwarrants.Meaning of the Constitution. This ruling wouldnarrow the interpretation of protections offeredby the Fourth Amendment. You would interpretthe Fourth Amendment's ban on "unreasonablesearches and seizures" to be linked to the FifthAmendment. Thus, the Fourth Amendmentprotection would only apply in criminal cases.

2. Identify and briefly list the consequences of yourchoice for these groups: city inspectors, the ownersof apartment buildings, local judges.

3. Prepare an "opinion" by listing the reasons for yourchoice. Explain your opinion of how your decisionrelates to the Frank case.

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THE SUPREME COURT DECIDES

In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled (6-3) in favor ofCamara. Thus the Court overturned Frank v. Maryland.

The Majority Opinion. Justice Byron White wrote themajority opinion. He said that the Fourth Amendmentintended to protect individuals from arbitrary searches oftheir homes. "A search of private property without properconsent is 'unreasonable' unless it has been authorizedby a valid search warrant."

White declared that general inspections to enforcehealth and safety codes did not require the use of searchwarrants. But if an owner refuses to permit a search ofhis premises, the inspector must secure a warrant to pro-ceed. Thus, the Court adopted a broad interpretation ofthe Fourth At ridment. It held that an individual doesnot need to b, suspected criminal to enjoy the protec-tion of the Fwirth Amendment.

Justice White drove home his point by stating:

The final justification suggested for warrantlessadministrative searches is that the public interestdemands such a rule. . . . But we think this argu-ment misses the mark. The question is not, at thisstage at least, whether these inspections may be made,but whether they may be made without war-rant. . . .The question is not whether the public

interest justifies the type of search in question butwhether the authority to search should be evidencedby a warrant, which in turn depends in part uponwhether the burden of obtaining a warrant is likelyto frustrate the governmental purpose behind thesearch. . . .It has nowhere been argued that fire,health, and housing code inspection programs couldnot achieve their goals within the confines of areasonable search warrant requirement.

A Dissenting Opinion. Nclt all the justices agreed withJustice White. Justice Tom Clark wrote a dissentingopinion. He argued that t..c Fourth Amendment did notguarantee complete individual privacy. It forbid only"unreasonable" searches. For over 150 years, he noted,courts have allowed inuMcioalities the right to inspectwithout warrants.

Clark believed that eitizenr, would impede thousandsof inspections. He argued that since the majority requiredmunicipalities to obtain warrants after each refusal ofentry, they would need warrants for nearly every inspec-tion. They would have to print up in pads of a thousandor more, leaving with space to insert street numbers, andwould have to issue them in broadcast fashion. This pro-cedure would degrade the search warrant. Clark wouldhave preferred the Court to uphold Frank v. Maryland.

APPENDIX GTwo Responses to a Constitutional Crisis:

Decisions Of Buchanan and Lincoln About Secession,An Exemplar of an Historical Inquiry Lesson

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IV-8. TWO RESPONSES TO ACONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS:DECISIONS OF BUCHANAN ANDLINCOLN ABOUT SECESSION

LESSON PLAN AND NOTES FOR TEACHERS

Preview of Main Points

This lesson highlights statements of two PresidentsBuchanan and Lincolnabout the constitutional crisis of seces-sion by the southern states. Buchanan and Uncoln respondedquite differently. Both Presidents believed that secession wasillegal. However, Buchanan seemed to believe that the federalgovernment could do nothing r bout it. In contrast, Lincolnbelieved it was his duty as President to act forcefully, if necessary,to defend the Constitution and preserve the Union. The con-trasting responses of Buchanan and Lincoln to the crisis of seces-sion reveal contrasting interpretations of the Constitution andthe consequences of those different views.

Connection to Textbooks

This lesson fits history textbook chapters on the Civil War.It can be used with government textbook chapters on thepresidency, since it presents contrasting views about the constitu-tional powers of the President.

Objectives

Students are expected to:I. Identify and explain the conflicting views of the nature

of the Federal Union, which was a main cause ofsecession.

2. Identify and explain the constitutional bases of Presi-dent Buchanan's response to the threat of secession.

3. Identify and explain the constitutional bases of Presi-dent Lincoln's response to the fact of secession by severalsouthern states.

4. Compare the responses of Buchanan and Lincoln to theconstitutional crisis represented by secession.

5. Analyze comparatively the decisions made by Buchananand Lincoln about the issue of secession.

6. Practice skills in using evidence in documents to answerquestions about constitutional history.

Suggestions for Teaching the Lesson

This lesson might be used in a history course as part of anintroduction to the study of the Civil War. Or it might be usedin a government course as a "springboard" into examinationof how different Presidents have viewed the powers and dutiesof their office.

Opening the Lesson

Begin by previewing the main points of the lesson forstudents. This provides students with advanced notice ofthe material they are to read.Ask students to speculate about responses that a Presidentmight and/or should make to the threat of secession. Thisspeculative discussion can serve as a back-drop and

warm-up for comparative examination of the responses oftwo PresidentsBuchanan and Lincolnto the constitu-tional crisis of secession.

Developing the Lesson

Have students read the materials in this lesson. Focus theirattention on four documents: the Fourth Annual Messageto Congress of President Buchanan, the First InauguralAddress of President Lincoln, the Proclamation of Presi-dent Lincoln, and the Preamble to the Constitution of theConfederate States of America.Have students respond to the questions requiring them tointerpret evidence in the four documents listed above.

Concluding the Lesson

Have students respond to the questions asking them to com-pare the decisions of Buchanan and Lincoln. Duplicate anddistribute two copies of the decision tree for each studentin the class. These decision trees can be used as a guide tothe comparative analysis of the decisions of Buchanan andLincoln about the crisis represented by secession.Have students make judgments about the decisions ofBuchanan and Linc )In in terms of consequences and values.

As an additional activity, you might want to have studentsexamine and interpret the response of President JeffersonDavis to the forceful actions of President Lincoln to stopsecession. To carry out this activity duplicate and distributea copy of the document on page 226, Jefferson Davis'message to the Congress of the CSA. Use these questionsas a guide to the analysis and discussion of this document.

1. What were Jefferson Davis' views about the power thatstate governments ought to have within a Federal Union?(Compare these ideas to those of the A ntifederalists dur-ing the debates about ratification of the Constitution.)

2. According to Davis, what were the constitutional basesfor secession? (How did the northern states abuse theConstitution so as to cause the southern states towithdraw from the Federal Union?)

3. Why did Davis believe that the southern states had theright to secede and form their own confederation?

4. What were the differences in the views of Davis andLincoln about the powers of state governments underthe Constitution of the U.S.A.?

5. What does Davis' speech reveal about causes of the CivilWar?

Suggested Readings

Morris, Richard B. Great Presidential Decisions. New York:Harper & Row Publishers, Perennial Library Edition, 1973,213-250. The decisions of Buchanan and Lincoln about seces-sion are discussed with reference to state papers that wereissued to explain and justify these decisions.

MESSAGE TO THE CONGRESSOF THE

CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA

April 29, 1861

Gentlemen of the Congress. . . .

The declaration of war made against thisConfederacy by Abraham Lincoln, the President ofthe United States, in his proclamation issued on the15th day of the present month, rendered it necessary,in my judgment, that you would convene at theearliest practicable moment to devise the measuresnecessary for the defense of the zountry. The occa-sion is indeed an extraordircir, one. it justifies mein a brief review of the reia m heretofore existingbetween us and the States which now united in war-fare against us. . . .

...The Constitution of 1787, having however,omitted the clause...from the Articles of Confedera-tion, which provided in explicit terms that each Stateretained its sovereignty and independence, somealarm was felt in the States, when invited to ratifythe Constitution, lest this omission should beconstrued into an abandonment of their cherishedprinciple, and they refused to be satisfied untilamendments were added to the Constitution placingbeyond any pretense of doubt the reservation by theStates of all their sovereign rights and powers notexpressly delegated to the United States by theConstitution.

Strange, indeed, must it appear to the impartialobserver, but it is none the less true that all thesecarefully worded clauses proved unavailing to preventthe rise and growth in the Northern States of apolitical school which has persistently claimed thatthe government thus formed was not a compactbetween States, but was in effect a national govern-ment, set up above and over the States. An organiza-tion created by the States to secure the blessings ofliberty and independence against foreign aggression,has been gradually perverted into a machine for theircontrol in their domestic affairs. The creature hasbeen exalted above its creators; the principals havebeen made subordinate to the agent appointed bythemselves. The people of the Southern States, whosealmost exclusive occupation was agriculture, earlyperceived a tendency in the Northern States to renderthe common government subservient to their ownpurposes by imposing burdens on commerce as a pro-tection to their manufacturing the shipping in-terests. . . . By degrees, as the Northern States

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gained preponderance in the National Congress, self-interest taught their people to yield ready assent toany plausible advocacy of their right as a majorityto govern the minority without control. They learnedto listen with impatience to the suggestion of any con-stitutional impediment to the exercise of their will,and so utterly have the principles of the Constitu-tion been corrupted in the Northern mind that, inthe inaugural address delivered by President Lincolnin March last, he assem as an axiom, which heplainly deems to be undeniable, that the theory ofthe Constitution requires that in all cases the majorityshall govern; ...This is the lamentable and funda-mental error on which rests the policy that hasculminated in his declaration of war against theseConfederate States. . . .

...the transaction of public affairs was impededby repeated efforts to usurp powers not delegatedby the Constitution for the purpose of impairingthe security of property in slaves, and reducingthose States which held slaves to a condition ofinferiority. . . .

... In the exercise of a right so ancient, so well-established, and so necessary for self-preservation,the people of the Confederate States, in their con-ventions, determined that the wrongs which they hadsuffered and the evils with which they were menacedrequired that they should revoke the delegation ofpowers to the Federal Government which they hadratified in their several conventions. They conse-c,tently passed ordinances resuming all their rightsas sovereign and independent States and dissolvedtheir connection with the other States of the Union.

Having done this, they proceeded to form a newcompact amongst themselves by new articles of con-federation, which have been also ratified by theconventions of the several States with an approachto unanimity far exceeding that of the conventionswhich adopted the Constitution of 1787. They haveorganized their new Government in all its depart-ments; the functions of the executive, legislative, andjudicial magistrates are performed in accordance withthe will of the people, as displayed not merely in acheerful acquiescence, but in the enthusiastic supportof the Government thus established by themselves;and but for the interference of the Government ofthe United States in this legitimate exercise of theright of a people to self-government, peace, hap-piness, and prosperity would now smile on ourland. . . .

Jefferson Davis

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IV-8. TWO RESPONSES TO ACONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS:DECISIONS OF BUCHANAN ANDLINCOLN ABOUT SECESSION

"LINCOLN ELECTED PRESIDENT" read theheadlines in American newspapers on November 6, 1860.Abraham Lincoln's election signaled a constitutionalcrisis. Leaders in several southern states threatened tosecede, or withdraw, from the Federal Union.

Buchanan's Decision About a Constitutional Crisis

Lincoln would not take office until March 4, 1861.Thus, the outgoing President, James Buchanan, faced theproblem of secession during the four months betweenLincoln's November election and his March inauguration.On December ;, 1860, President Buchanan delivered hislast annual message to Congress. He offered his opinionof how the federal government should respond to seces-sion by one or more states.

FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE

Washington CityDecember 3, 1860

Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House ofRepresentatives:

. it is beyond the power of any President, nomatter what may be his own political proclivities, torestore peace and harmony among the States. Wiselylimited and restrained as is his power under ourConstitution and laws, he alone can accomplish butlittle for good or for evil on such a momentousquestion. . .

The question fairly stated is, Has the Constitutiondelegated to Congress the power to coerce a State intosubmission which is attempting to withdraw or hasactually withdrawn from the Confederacy [FederalUnionj? If answered in the affirmative, it must beon the principle that the power has been conferredupon Congress to declare and to make war againsta State. After much serious reflection I have arrivedat the conclusion that no such power has beendelegated to Congress or to any other department ofthe federal government. It is manifest upon aninspection of the Constitution that this is not amongthe specific and enumerated powers granted to Con-gress, and it is equally apparent that its exercise isnot "necessary and proper for carrying into execu-tion" any one of these powers. . . .

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Without descending to particu' ,, it may be safelyasserted that the power to make war against a Stateis at variance with the whole spirit and intent of theConstitution. . . .

The fact is that our Union rests upon publicopinion, and can never be cemented by the blood ofits citizens shed in civil war. If it cannot live in theaffections of the people, it must one day perish.Congress possesses many means of preserving it byconciliation, but the sword was not placed in theirhand to preserve it by force.

But may I be permitted solemnly to invoke mycountrymen to pause and deliberate before theydetermine to destroy this the grandest temple whichhas ever been dedicated to human freedom since theworld began? . .

Congress can contribute much to avert it by pro-posing and recommending to the legislatures of theseveral States the remedy for existing evils which theConstitution has itself provided for its own preser-vation. This has been tried at different critical periodsof our history, and always with eminent success. Itis to be found in the fifth article, providing for itsown amendment. Under this article amendmentshave been proposed by two-thirds of both Houses ofCongress, and have been "ratified by the legislaturesof three-fourths of the several States," and have con-sequently become parts of the Constitution. . . .

This is the very course which I earnestly recom-mend in order to obtain an "explanatory amend-ment" of the Constitution on the subject of slavery.This might originate with Congress or the Statelegislatures, as may be deemed most advisable toattain the object. The explanatory amendment mightbe confined to the final settlement of the true con-struction of the Constitution on three special points:

I. An express recognition of the right of prop-erty in slaves in the States where it now existsor may hereafter exist.

2. The duty of protecting this right in all the com-mon Territories throughout their Territorialexistence, and until they shall be admitted asStates into the Union, with or without slavery,as their constitutions may prescribe.

3. A like recognition of the right of the masterto have his slave who has escaped from onestate to another restored and "delivered up"to him, and of the validity of the fugitive-slavelaw enacted for this purpose. . . .

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. . . Such an explanatory amendment would, it isbelieved, forever terminate the existing dissensions,and restore peace and harmony among the States.

Lincolns' Decision About a Constitutional Crisis

On December 20, seventeen days after PresidentBuchanan's speech, the state government of SouthCarolina seceded from the Federal Union. Keeping withthe view expressed in his speech, President Buchanan didnothing to oppose South Carolina. During the next fewweeks, six more southern states seceded: Florida, Georgia,Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana. By March 3,1861, Lincoln's inauguration day, the Federal Union wasin grave danger. In his Inaugural Address, Lincolnannounced his plan to respond to the constitutional crisis.

FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS

It is seventy-two years since the first inaugurationof a President under our National Constitution.During that period fifteen different and greatlydistinguished citizens have in succession administeredthe executive branch of the Government. They haveconducted it through many perils, and generally withgreat success. Yet, with all this scope of precedent,I now enter upon the same task for the brief con-stitutional term of four years under great andpeculiar difficulty. A disruption of the FederalUnion, heretofore only menaced, is now formidablyattempted.

I hold that in contemplation of universal law andof the Constitution the Union of these States isperpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, inthe fundamental law of all national governments. Itis safe to assert that no government proper ever hada provision in its organic law for its own termina-tion. Continue to execute all the express provisionsof our National Constitution, and the Union willendure forever, it being impossible to destroy it exceptby some action not provided for in the instrumentitself.

Again: If the United States be not a governmentproper, but an association of States in the nature ofcontract merely, can it, as a contract, be peaceablyunmade by less than all the parties who made it? Oneparty to a contract may violate itbreak it, so tospeakbut does it not require all to lawfully rescindit? . . .

It follows from these views that no State upon itsown mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union;

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that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legallyvoid; and that acts of violence within any State orStates against the authority of the United States areinsurrectionary or revolutionary, according tocircumstances.

I therefore consider that in view of the Constitu-tion and the laws the Union is unbroken, and to theextent of my ability I shall take care, as the Constitu-tion itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the lawsof the Union be faithfully executed in all the States.Doing this I deem to be only a simple duty on mypart, and I shall perform it so far as practicableunless my rightful masters, the American people,shall withhold the requisite means or in someauthoritative manner direct the contrary. I trust thiswill not be regarded as a menace, but only as thedeclared purpose of the Union that it will constitu-tionally defend and maintain itself. . . .

Plainly the central idea of secession is the essenceof anarchy. A majority held in restraint by constitu-tional checks and limitations, and always changingeasily with deliberate changes of popular opinionsand sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a freepeople:. Whoever rejects it does of necessity fly toanarchy or to despotism. Unanimity is impossible.The rule of a minority, as a permanent arrangement,is wholly inadmissible; so that, rejecting the major-ity principle, anarchy or despotiFin in some form isall that is left. . . .

In your hands, my dissatisified fellow-countrymen,and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war.The Government will not assail you. You can haveno conflict without being yourselves the aggressors.You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy theGovernment, while I shall have the most solemn oneto "preserve, protect, and defend it."

I am loath to close. We are not enemies, butfriends. We must not be enemies. Though passionmay have strained it must not break our bonds ofaffection. The mystic chords of memory, stretchingfrom every battlefield and patriot grave to every livingheart and hearthstone all over this broad land, willyet swell the chorus of the Union, when againtouched, as surely they will be, by the better angelsof our nature.

March 4, 1861

By this time any compromise that might hold the Uniontogether no longer interested the seven states of the deepSouth. They aimed to form a new nation, the Confederate

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States of America (CSA). The preamble to the Constitu-tion of the CSA stated:

We, the people of the Confederate States, eachState acting in its sovereign and independentcharacter, in order to form a permanent federalgovernment, establish justice, insure domestic tran-quility, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselvesand our posterityinvoking the favor and guidanceof Almighty Goddo ordain and establish this Con-stitution for the Confederate States of America.The CSA claimed and occupied property and territory

belonging to the United States. This property includedmilitary forts the United States government had built inthe South to protect the nation. On April 14, 1861 Con-federate troops began shelling Ft. Sumter, a federal for-tification situated in the harbor of Charleston, SouthCarolina. The next day President Lincoln issued thefollowing proclamation.

By the President of the United States

A PROCLAMATION

Whereas the laws of the United States have beenfor some time past and now are opposed and theexecution thereof obstructed in the States of SouthCarolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi,Louisiana, and Texas by combinations too powerful.(-) be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicialproceedings or by the powers vested in the r nalsby law:

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President ofthe United States, in virtue of the power in me vestedby the Constitution and the laws, have thought fitto call forth, and hereby do call forth, the militia ofthe several States of the Union to the aggregatenumber of 75,000, in order to suppress said combina-tions and to cause the laws to be duly executed.

The details for this object will be immediately com-municated to the State authorities through the WarDepartment.

I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, andaid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity,and the existence of our National Union and theperpetuity of popular government and to redresswrongs already long enough endured.

I deem it proper to say that the first serviceassigned to the forces hereby called forth willprobably be to repossess the forts, places, and prop-erty which have been seized from the Union; and inevery event the utmost care will be observed, con-sistently with the objects aforesaid, to avoid any

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devastation, any destruction of or interference withproperty, or any disturbance of peaceful citizens inany part of the country.

And I hereby command the persons composing thecombinations aforesaid to disperse and retirepeaceably to their respective abodes within twentydays from this date.

Deeming that the present condition of publicaffairs presents an extraordinary occasion, I dohereby, in virtue of the power in me vested by theConstitution, convene both Houses of Congress.Senators and Representatives are therefbre sum-moned to assemble at their respective chambers at12 o'clock noon on Thursday, the 4th day of Julynext, then and there to consider and determine suchmeasures as, in their wisdoms, the public safety andinterest may seem to demand.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my handand caused the seal of the UnitedStates to be affixed. Done at thecity of Washington, this 15th day ofApril, A.D. 1861, and of theIndependence of the United Statesthe eighty-fifth.

Abraham Lincoln

By the President:

William H. Seward, Secretary of State

EXERCISES FOR LESSON IV-8

Interpreting Evidence in Documents

1. Examine the Preamble to the Constitution of theCSA. Compare it to the Preamble of the Constitu-tion of the USA. Then answer these questions:a. What is the main difference between the two

Preambles?

b. What two different views of the powers of stategovernments in the Federal Union are revealedin the two Preambles?

c. What do the differences in the two Preamblestell us about one of the causes of the Civil War?

2. Review President Buchanan's Message to Congressto find answers to the following questions.

a. What critical constitutional issue faced Presi-dent Buchanan?

b. According to President Buchanan, what con-stitutional powers and duties did he possess fordealing with the critical issues facing him?

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c. What did PresidL.-Pl.. propose shouldbe done to settle ,.'onstitutional issuefacing him? Why?

3. Review President Lincoln's First Inaugural Addressto find answers to these questions.

a. What critical issues faced Abraham Lincoln ashe entered the presidency?

b. According to President Lincoln, what constitu-tional powers and duties did he posses in dealingwith the critical issue facing him? Why?

c. What did President Lincoln propose should bedone to settle the critical constitutional issuefacing him? Why?

4. Review President Lincoln's Proclama i ofApri1.15, 1861, to find answers to these questions.

a. The President's Proclamation focused on whatmain idea?

b. Why did the President take the actions de-scribed in his Proclamation?

c. Were the President's actions in accordance withthe Constitution? Or did they violate it?

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Comparing the Decisions of Buchanan and Lincoln

Use the decision tree on page 231 to help you answerthe following questions.

1. a. What occasion to make a major decision facedPresident Buchanan in December 1860?

b. What occasion to make a major decision facedPresident Lincoln in March 1861?

c. Explain the similarities and differences inherentin the respective occasions for decision the twoPresidents faced?

2. a. What alternatives did Buchanan identify?

b. What alternatives did Lincoln identify?

c. List the similarities and differences Buchananand Lincoln perceived in the alternatives theyidentified.

3. a. Which alternative did Buchanan choosc? Why?

b. Which alternative did Lincoln choose? Why?

c. Compare the choices of Buchanan and Lincoln.Explain how the choices and their consequencesare similar or different.

'4. a. What is your judgment of Buchanan's decision?Why?

b. What is your judgment of Lincoln's decision?Why?

7 6

DECISION TREE

ALTERNATIVES

The decision-tree device was developed by Roger LaRaus and Richard C. Remy and is used with their permission.

7783

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHYFollowing is a bibliography on the Constitution of

thu. United States, which has been prepared espe-cially for secondary school teachers of American his-tory, government, and civics. Items are organized interms of three categories: (1) ERIC Resources onTeaching About the Constitution, (2) Books on Con-stitutional History and Principles of Government inthe Constitution, and (3) Computer Software forTeaching About the Constitution.

ERIC Resources on Teaching About theConstitution

The items in this list include an ED number, whichidentifies them as resources in the ERIC (Educa-tional Resources Information Center) system. Theseresources are available in microfiche and/or papercopy from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service(EDRS). For information on prices write to EDRS,3900 Wheeler Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22304.Abstracts and descriptive information on these ERICdocuments are published in Resources in Education(RIE). Most ERIC documents are available for view-ing in microfiche at libraries that subscribe to theERIC collection.

Eves lage, Thomas. A Proposed Press Law and Re-sponsibilities: Teaching Unit for SecondarySchools, 1981. ED 205 969.

Hyland, John T. Teaching United States History WithA Constitutional Focus. Paper presented to aninstitute on the teaching of United States historysponsored by the California State University ofLos Angeles and Region G, Los Angeles CityUnified School District, August 4, 1986. ED num-ber to be assigned.

Katsh, Ethan. Freedom of the Press: A Simulation ofLegal Issues in Journalism. Springfield, MA: Le-gal Studies Simulations, 1983. ED 251 338.

Madison, James H. The American Constitution andthe Old Federalism: Views From the HoosierState. Bicentennial of the U. S. Constitution Lec-ture Series. Bloomington: The Poynter Center ofIndiana University, 1985. ED number to be as-signed.

Mann, Sheila!' and Cynthia Harrison, Editors. ThisConstitution: A Bicentennial Chronicle. A Quar-terly Journal. Washington, DC: Project '87 of theAmerican Historical Association and AmericanPolitical Science Association, 1983-1988. ED243 761.

Meese, Edwin. The Constitution As A Bill of Rights:Separation of Powers and Individual Liberty.Washington, DC: United States Department ofJustice, 1985. ED number to be assigned.

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Miller, Louise A. The Constitution of the UnitedStates: Adapted For Use in EMR Classes. St.Louis, MS: St. Louis Public Schools, 1970. ED051 019.

Murphy, Paul L. The Constitution in the TwentiethCentury: Implications for Citizenship Education.Paper presented at the Symposium on the Con-stitution and the Northwest Ordinance in theEducation of Citizens. Bloomington: The SocialStudies Development Center at Indiana Univer-sity, 1986. ED number to be assigned.

O'Connor, Alice and Mary L. Henze. To Control theAbuses (V Government: The Veto and the Sepa-ration of Powers. Washington, DC: The Jeffer-son Foundation, 1984. ED number to beassigned.

O'Connor, Alice and Mary L. Henze. During GoodBehavior: Judicial Independence and Accounta-bility. Washington, DC: The Jefferson Founds-fion, 1984. ED number to be assigned.

O'Connor, Alice and Mary L. Henze. To Make and toAlter Their Constitutions of Government: ArticleV and Amendement by Convention. Washington,DC: The Jefferson Foundation, 1984. ED num-ber to be assigned.

O'Connor, Alice and Mary L. Henze. The Plain Sim-ple Business of Election: Presidential Electionand the Republican Principle. Washington, DC:The Jefferson Foundation, 1984. ED number tobe assigned.

O'Connor, Alice and Mary L. Henze. So Great APower To Any Single Person: The PresidentialTerm and Executive Power. Washington, DC:The Jefferson Foundation, 1984. ED number tobe assigned.

O'Connor, Alice and Mary L. Henze. The JeffersonMeeting on the Constitution: The Constitution inthe Classroom, A Teacher's Guide to Using theJefferson Meeting As An Educational Tool.Washington, DC: The Jefferson Foundation,1984. ED number to be assigned.

O'Connor, Alice and Mary L. Henze. The JeffersonMeeting on the Constitution: The Constitution inthe Community, A Guide for Organizing A Com-munity Jefferson Meeting. Washington, DC: TheJefferson Foundation, 1984. ED number to beassigned.

O'Reilly, Kevin. Exploration to Constitution: Booklet 1in Critical Thinking in American History. SouthHamilton, MA: Critical Thinking Press, 1983. ED251 352.

O'Reilly, Kevin. Exploration to Constitution: Teacher'sGuide and Source Envelope. South Hamilton,MA: Critical Thinking Press, 1983. Ed 251 351.

Parisi, Lynn. Commemorating the Bicentennial of theU.S. Constitution. ERIC Digest No. 31. Bloom-

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ington, IN: Clearinghouse for Social Studies/So-cial Science Education, 1986. ED number to beassigned.

Parker, Walter and John Jarolimek. Citizenship andthe Critical Role of the Social Studies. Washing-ton, DC: National Council for the Social Studies,1984. ED 244 880.

Patrick, John J. and Richard C. Remy. Lessons onthe Constitution: Supplements to High SchoolCourses in American History, Government, andCivics. Washington, DC: Project '87 of the Amer-ican Historical Association and the American Po-litical Science Assoc;ation, 1985. ED 258 891.

Reynolds, William Bradford. How the ConstitutionSecures Rights. Washington, DC: United StatesDepartment of Justice, 1985. ED number to beassigned.

Turner, Mary Jane and Lynn Parisi. Law in theClassroom: Activities and Resources. Boulder,CO: Social Science Education Consortium,1984. ED 247 190.

Schechter, Stephen L., Editor. Teaching AboutAmerican Federal Democracy. Philadelphia, PA:Center for the Study of Federalism at TempleUniversity, 1985. ED 248 161.

Smith, Melinda. Law in U.S. History: A Teacher Re-source Manual. Boulder, CO: Social ScienceEducation Consortium, 1983. ED 233 961.

Van Camp, Julie. Teaching About Our Jury System:Our Right To An Impartial Jury of Our Peers,Our Responsibility to Serve As An ImpartialFactfinder When Called for Jury Service. Win-ston-Salem, NC: Center for Research and De-velopment in Law-Related Education of WakeForest University, 1983. ED 252 483.

Books on Constitutional History andPrinciples of Government Li theConstitutionAgresto, John, Editor. Liberty and Equality Under the

Constitution. Washington, DC: Project '87 of theAmerican Historical Association and AmericanPolitical Science Assoc lion, 1984.

Andrews, William A. Constitutions and Constitutional-ism. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Company,Inc., 1968.

Barth, Alan. Prophets With Honor: Great Dissentsand Great Dissenters in the Supreme Court.New York: Vintage Books, A Division of RandomHouse, 1975.

Baxter, Maurice C. The Steamboat Monopoly: Gib-bons v. Ogden, 1824. New York: Alfred A.Knopf, 1972.

Berns, Walter. In Defense of Liberal Democracy.Washingion, DC: American Enterprise Institutefor Public Policy Research, 1984.

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Leth, Loren P. The American Constitution, 1877-1917. New York: Harper and Row, 1971.

Bork, Robert. Tradition and Morality in ConstitutionalLaw. Washington, DC: American Enterprise In-stitute for Public Policy Research, 1984.

Bowen, Catherine D. Miracle at Philadelphia. Bos-ton: Little, Brown and Company, 1966.

Brant, Irving. The Bill of Rights: Its Origin and .Wean-ing. New York: New American Library, 1967.

Cheny, Dick et al. War Powers and the Constitution.Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institutefor Public Policy Research, 1984.

Commission on the Bicentennial of the UnKed StatesConstitution. We The People. A Newsletter.Washington, DC: Commission on the Bicenten-nial of the United States Constitution, 1986.

Commission on the Bicentennial of the United StatesConstitution. A Guide to Celebrating the Bicen-tennial of the U.S. Constitution. Washington, DC:Commission on the Bicentennial of the UnitedStates Constitution, 1986.

Congressional Quarterly Staff. CQ's Guide to theU.S. Constitution: Text, Index and Glossary.Washington, DC: Congressional QuarterlyBooks, 1986.

Conkin, Paul K. Self-Evident Truths: Being A Dis-course On The Origins and Development of theFirst Principles of American Government-Popu-lar Sovereignty, Natural Rights, and Balanceand Separation of Powers. Bloomington: IndianaUniversity Press, 1974.

Conner, Richard C. The Supreme Court and theSecond Bill of Rights. Madison: The Universityof Wisconsin Press, 1981.

Currie, David P. and Stevos, Joyce L. Teacher'sHandbook on the Constitution. Glenview, Illinois:Scott, Foresman and Company, 1985.

Currie, David P. and Stevos, Joyce L. The Constitu-tion: Background and Annotations to the Docu-ment. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman andCompany, 1985.

DePauw, Linda Grant, The Eleventh Pillar: New YorkState and the Federal Constitution. Ithaca, NewYork: Cornell University Press, 1966.

Dewey, Donald 0. Marshall v. Jefferson: The Politi-cal Background of Marbury v. Madison. NewYork: Alfred A. Knopf, 1970.

Dietze, Gottfried. The Federalist: A Classic on Fed-eralism and Free Government. Baltimore: TheJohns Hopkins Press, 1960.

Elazar, Daniel J. and John Kincaid, Editors, Publius:The Journal of Federalism. A Quarterly Journal.Denton, Texas: North Texas University.

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Farrand, Max. The Framing of the Constitution of theUnited States. i'Jew Haven: Yale University,1918.

Fehrenbacher, Don E. The Dred Scott Case: Its Sig-nificance in American Law and Politics. NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1978.

Finer, S.E., Editor. Five Constitutions: Contrasts andComparisons. New York: Penguin Books Ltd.,1979.

Fisher, Louis. Constitutional Conflicts Between Con-gress and the President. Princeton, New Jersey:Princeton University Press, 1985.

Friendly, Fred W. and Martha J. H. Elliott. The Con-stitution: That Delicate Balance, LandmarkCases That Shaped the Constitution. New York:Random House, Inc., 1984.

Garranty, John A., Editor. Quarrels That HaveShaped the Constitution. New York: Harper andRow, Publishers, 1964.

Goldwin, Robert A. and William A. Schambra, Edi-tors. How Democratic Is The Constitution?Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institutefor Public Policy Research, 1985.

Goldwin, Robert A. and William A. Schambra, Edi-tors. How Capitalistic Is The Constitution?Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institutefor Public Policy Research, 1985.

Goldwin, Robert A. and William A. Schambra, Edi-tors. How Does the Constitution Secure Rights?Washington, DC: American Institute for PublicPolicy Research, 1985.

Hall, Kermit L. The Supreme Court and Judicial Re-view in American History. Bicentennial Essayson the Constitution. Washington, DC: AmericanHistorical Association, 1985.

Hall, Kermit L., Harold M. Hyman, and Leon V. Sigal.The Constitutional Convention as an AmendingDevice. Washington, DC: Project '87 of theAmerican Historical Association and the Ameri-can Political Science Association, 1983.

Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison and John Jay.The Federalist. Edited by Roy P. Fairfield. Balti-more: The Johns Hopkins University, 1981.

Hyland, John T. Teaching About the Constitution:Relationships Between Teachers' Subject Mat-ter Knowledge, Pedagogic Beliefs, and Instruc-tional Decision Making Regarding Selection ofContent, Materials, and Activities. Ph.D. Disser-tation, University of California at Los Angeles,1985.

Hyman, Harold M. A More Perfect Union: The Im-pact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on theConstitution. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,1975.

Hyman, Harold M. Quiet Past and Stormy Present?War Powers in American History. Bicentennial

Essays on the Constitution. Washington, DC:American Historical Association, 1986.

Hyman, Harold M. and William M. Wiecek. EqualJustice Under Law: Constitutional Development,1835-1875. New York: Harper and Row, Pub-lishers, 1982.

Keller, Morton. Parties, Congress, and Public Policy.Bicentennial Essays on the Constitution. Wash-ington, DC: American Historical Association,1985.

Kelly, Alfred H., Winnifred A. Haribison, and HermanBe lz. The American Constitution: Its Origins andDevelopment. New York: W. W. Norton andCompany, 1983.

Kurland, Philip B. and Ralph Lerner. The Founders'Constitution. 5 volumes. Chicago: University ofChicago Press, 1987.

Levy, Leonard, Editor. Encyclopedia of the AmericanConstitution. New York: Macmillan PublishingCompany, 1937.

Lockhard, Duane and Walter Murphy. Basic Cases inConstitutional Law. New York: Macmillan Pub-lishing Company, 1980.

McDonald, Forrest. Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intel-lectual Origins of the Constitution. Lawrence:University Press of Kansas, 1985.

McDonald, Forrest and Ellen Shapiro McDonald, Edi-tors. Confederation and Constitution: 1781-1789.Columbia, South Carolina: University of SouthCarolina Press, 1968.

McKenna, George. A Guide to the Constitution: ThatDelicate Balance, A Thirteen-week Telecourse.New York: Random House, 1984.

McLaughlin, Andrew C. The Foundations of Ameri-can Constitutionalism. New York: New York Uni-versity Press, 1932.

Mehlinger, Howard D., Editor. Teaching About theConstitution in American Secondary Schools.Washington, DC: Project '87 of the AmericanHistorical Association and the American PoliticalScience Association, 1981.

Meyer, Howard N. The Amendment That Refused toDie: Amendment XIV. Radnor, Pennsylvania:Chilton Book Company, 1973.

Miller, John C. The Federalist Era, 1789-1801. NewYork: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1960.

Moore, W.S. and Rudolph C. Penne, Editors. TheConstitution and the Budget. Wasnington, DC:American Enterprise Institute for Public PolicyResearch, 1980.

Morris, Richard B. Witnesses at the Creation: Hamil-ton, Madison, Jay, and the Constitution. NewYork: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985.

Morris, Richard B Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny.New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1973.

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Murphy, Paul L. The Constitution in the TwentiethCentury. Bicentennial Essays on the Constitu-tion. Washington, DC: American Historical Asso-ciation, 1986.

Murphy, Paul L. The Constitution in Crisis Times,1918-1969, New York: Harper and Row, Pub-lishers, 1972.

National Archives and Records Administration. TheStory of the Constitution. Washington, DC: Na-tional Archives and Records Administration,1986.

National Archives and Records Administration. TheConstitution: Evolution of Government, A Docu-mentary Teaching Unit. Boca Raton, Florida: So-cial Issues Resource Series, Inc., 1985.

National Archives and Records Administration. TheFormation of the Union: A Documentary HistoryBased Upon An Exhibit in the National ArchivesBuilding. Washington, DC: National ArchivesPublication No. 70-13, 1970.

National Federation of State Humanities Councils.The Constitution and the Community: A Re-source for Planning Humanities-Based Pro-grams on the United States Constitution.Minneapolis, Minnesota: National Federation ofState Humanities Councils, 1984.

Peltason, Jack W. Corwin and Peltason's Under-standing the Constitution. New York: Holt, Rine-hart and Winston, 1982.

Rakove, Jack N. The Beginning of National Politics:An Interpretive History of the Continental Con-gress. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1979.

Robinson, Donald L., Editor. Reforming AmericanGovernment: The Bicentennial Papers of theCommittee on the Constitutional System. Boul-der, Colorado: Westview Press, 1985.

Rossiter, Clinton. 1787: The Grand Convention. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1966.

Rutland, Robert Allen: The Birth of the Bill of Rights,1776-1791. Chapel Hill: University of North Car-olina Press, 1955.

Schecter, Stephen L., Editor. The Reluctant Pillar:New York and the Adoption of the Federal Con-stitution. Troy, New York: Russell Sage College,1985.

Sexton, John and Nat Brandt. How Free Are We?New York: M. Evans and Company, 1986.

Smith, David G. The Corn 'ntion and the Constitu-tion. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1965.

Stites, Francis N. John Marshall: Defender of theConstitution. Boston: Little, Brown and Com-pany, 1981.

Storing, Herbert J. What the Anti-Federalists WereFor. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981.

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Storing, Herbert J., Editor. The Complete Anti-Feder-alist. 7 Volumes. Chicago: University of ChicagoPress, 1981.

Sundquist, James L. Constitutional Reform and Ef-fective Government. Washington, DC: TheBrookings Institution, 1986.

Van Doren, Carl. The Great Rehearsal: The Story ofthe Making and Ratifying of the Constitution ofthe United States. New York: The Viking Press,1948.

Welch, William. The Art of Political Thinking. Totowa,New Jersey: Littlefield, Adams and Company,1981.

White, G. Edward. The American Judicial Tradition:Profiles of Leading American Judges. NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1976.

Wiarda, Howard J., Editor. Human Rights and U.S.Human Rights Policy. Washington, DC: Ameri-can Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Re-search, 1982.

Wiecek, William M. Constitutional Development in aModernizing Society: The United States, 1803-1917. Bicentennial Essays on the Constitution.Washington. DC: American Historical Associa-tion, 1985.

Wood, Gordon S. The Creation of the American Re-public, 1776-1787. Chapel Hill: University ofNorth Carolina Press, 1969.

Computer Software for Teaching Aboutthe ConstitutionAmendments to the Constitution. Staten Island, New

York: Classroom Consortia Media, Inc. IBM PC/PCjr, color monitor. The Amendments to theU.S. Constitution are examined through tutorials;factual recall is aided by crossword puzzles anda practice test. Simulated trials illustrate a num-ber of amendments. Middle school to highschool.

Amendments to the Constitution. Castle Creek, NewYork: Redcomp Services. TRS80 Mod I/Ill (16Kcassette). Students compete to match key con-cepts to the appropriate constitutional Amend-ments. High school.

American Government. Highland Park, Illinois: MicroLearningware. Apple, TRS80 Mod ill/IV, TRS80Color. Topics in this tutorial program include thethree branches of government, citizenship andimmigration, the Constitution, the electoral proc-ess, and state and local government. Junior/sen-ior high school.

American Government. Bridgeport, CT: IntellectualSoftware. Apple, IBM (Apple disk with manage-ment facility also available). A series of tutorialprograms focusing on (disk 1) the concepts ofpopular sovereignty, representative government,

81

separation of powers, checks and balances, aswell as the American political system; (disk 2)federalism, First Amendment rights, and othercivil liberties; (disk 3) public opinion, the electionprocess and winning elections; and (disk 4) polit-ical parties, the Presidency and the Congress.Junior/senior high school.

Congress. Columbus, Ohio: B5 Software. TRS80Color. In this simulation, students make Presi-dential decisions in order to get a legislative pro-gram through Congress. The program alsoserves as a review on how a bill becomes a law.Junior/senior high school.

The Constitutional Amendments: What They Mean toYou. Bridgeport, CT: Thoroughbred EducationalSoftware (Intellectual Software). Apple //e withextended 80-column card (128K), 1 disk drive,color monitor; Apple //c 128K, color monitor;IBM. Tutorial program covering the Bill of Rights,Amendments 11-18, and Amendments 19-26. In-cludes on-line multiple choice check-up, cross-word puzzles, and a case study for applying theprovisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. Juniorhigh to adult.

Create-a-Test Government Questions. Buston, LA:Cross Educational Software. Apple, Commodore64. Three disks containing 1200 questionsgauge students' recall of the three branches ofgovernment, citizens' rights, and state and localgovernment. Disk #661 is especially relevant tothe Constitution. The "Create-A-Test ProgramDisk" is required. Junior high to adult. Govern-ment in the United States. Bedford Hills, NewYork: Orange Cherry Media. Apple, Commodore64, PET, TRS80 Mod I/III/IV. Government at thelocal, state, and national levels is examined. TheU.S. Constitution and the three branches of gov-ernment are also explored. Upper elementary/middle school.

Government Keyword SeriesBranches of Govern-ment. Garden City, New York: Focus Media. Ap-ple. Tests students' knowledge of vocabularyrelating to the three branches of government.Junior/senior high school.

Knowledge MasterGovernment. Durango, Colo-rado: Academic Hallmarks. Apple. Four hundredquestions form the basis for generating objectivetests on forms and history of government, Decla-ration of Independence, Articles of Confedera-tion, Constitution, Amendments, separation ofpowers and more. The utility disk prints ques-tions, allows the teacher to modify tests, andprints tests and answer keys. Junior high toadult.

Law in American History. (series 1 and 2). Williams-town, VT: Oronoque Computer Concepts. Apple,

IBM; one disk per series. Series 1: A collectionof tutorials including the Bill of Rights, a mocktrial on sex discrimination, and a 1st Amendmentcase study. Series 2: Includes a Marbury v.Madison simulation and two tutorials (Dred Scottand the Sugar Trust). Both disks are correlatedwith Law in American History (Scott, Foresman,and Company, 1984). Junior/senior high school.

NewsWorksSocial Studies Data Base Files. (U.S.Government data base). Newsweek. New York:Apple (must be used with Apple Works data-baseprogram, Apple, Inc.) A de- -Lase j_ackage thatincludes already-built data oases for studentanalysis and research. The U.S. Government filecontains data describing the election process,the party system, and the political relationshipbetween Congress and the President, from 1789to 1984. Junior/senior high school.

PFS:FileU.S. Government. Jefferson City, Missouri:Scholastic Publishing Company. Apple //e or //c,at least 64K and 1 disk drive (must be used with"PFS:File"; "PFS:Report", 2nd disk drive andprinter recommended). A data-base packagethat includes ready-built data bases for studentresearch and analysis. Also provided are activi-ties involving students in researching, building,and analyzing their own data bases. Among da-tabase topics are the Constitutional Convention,elections and the electorate, and state govern-ment. Junior high and high school.

The Presidency Series. Garden City, New York: Fo-cus Media. Apple. Tutorial programs on the ex-ecutive branch of government. Of particularrelevance are disks 1 and 2 of the series, whichinclude: (disk 1) competing proposals for the ex-ecutive at the Constitutional Convention, Consti-tutional definitions of the executive; and (disk 2)review of 6 major Presidential roles and Con-gressional checks on those roles. Junior/seniorhigh school.

President's Choice. Cambridge, MA: Spinnaker Soft-ware Corp. IBM. This simulation allows studentsto experience the tough decisions Presidentsmust make while keeping one eye on his or herreelection prospects. Junior high to adult.

Social Studies Keyword ProgramsFoundations ofGovernment. Garden City, NY: Focus Media.Apple. Vocabulary, spelling, and worn c3cogni-tion are reinforced through games. Content in-cludes the Articles of Confederation, theDeclaration of Independence, the Constitution,the Bill of Rights, and other Amendments. Jun-ior/senior high school.

Supreme Court Decision. Bridgeport, CT: IntellectualSoftware. Apple, IBM (TRS80 version availablefrom Social Studies School Service). Simulation

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in which student takes on the role of an attorneypreparing and arguing a case (civil or criminal).The program moves the student from pre-trialthrough state or federal court systems to the Su-preme Court. Junior/senior high school.

U.S. Constitution. Wilmington, DE: Tutorsystems(BLS, Inc.). Apple. Disk 1: The Age of the Con-stitution. Disk 2: The Preamble and Article I;Disk 3: The Legislative Branch; Disk 4: ArticlesII-VII; Disk 5: Amendments to the Constitution. Aseries of tutorial programs covering (1) theAmerican Revolution through ratification of theConstitution, (2) the Preamble and Arficle 1, sec-tions 1 to 6, (3) Article I, sections 7 to 10, (4)Articles 11-VII :end (5) the Bill of Rights andAmendments 11 to 26. All programs includedisk-based mastery tests and record-keeping.Junior/senior high school.

U.S. Constitution. Staten Island, NY: Classroom Con-sortia Media, Inc. IBM PC/PCjr, color monitor.The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights areexamined through tutcrials; factual recall is aidedby crossword puzzles and a practice test. Simu-lated trials illustrate a number of amendments.Middle school to high school.

The U.S. Constitution: Nationalism and Federalism.Garden City, NY: Focus Media. Apple. Disk 1:The Development of the Constitution; Disk 2:The Creation of the Constitution; Disk 3: TestingYour Knowledge of the U.S. Constitution. Twotutorial programs and one games disk dealingwith (disk 1) the changing nature of sovereigntyfrom colonial government through the Articles ofConfederation, (disk 2) controversial debatesduring the Constitutional Convention, and (disk3) recall of information from disks 1 and 2. Jun-ior and senior high school.

The U.S. Constitution: Our Guarantee of Liberty.Bridgeport, CT: Thoroughbred Educional Soft-ware (intellectual Software). Apple He with ex-tended 80-column card (128K), 1 disk drive,color monitor; IBM. Tutorial program coveringthe Cunstitution and Preamble, Articles I-V11, andthe Bill of Rights. Includes on-fine multiplechoice check-up, crossword puzzles, and a casestudy for applying the provisions of the Four-teenth Amendment. Junior high to adult.

U.S. Constitution: Then and Now. Jefferson City,MO: Scholastic Publishing Company. Apple (re-quires Apple Works database program, Apple,Inc.). The two disks contain a number of data-bases, word processing documents, and spread-sheets relating to the Constitution.Documentation includes lesson plans and aguide to textbook correlation. One unit focuseson the Constitutional Convention, while the other

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is a contemporary case study reke/iveg to stu-dents' right to privacy. Junior/senior high school.

U.S. Constitution Tutor. Hiohland Park, IL: MicroLearn (division of Micro Lab). Apple, IBM, Com-modere 64. A test preparation program for re-viewing U.S. government arid Constitution factsand coneepts. May be used in tutorial or testmode, presented by topic or by level of difficulty.High school.

U.S. Government. Palo Alto, CA; American Educa-tional Computer. Apple, IBM, Commodore. Factsabout U.S. government are conveyed throughmatching of words and phrases. Self-paced les-sons of adjustable lenoth may be expanded withadditional material. Junior high to adult.

US. Government. Hampton., VA: Sfiwa Software. Ap-ple, IBM PC/PCjr. The three branches of govern-ment are explored, their functions, powers andsignificance. Factual recall focuses on govern-ment operarions and historical events that he.veinfluenced the evolution of U.S. government.High school to adult.

$.oftware Producers/MsitibutorsAmerican Educational Computoe Inc.2450 Embarcadero WayPalo Alto, CA 94303415-494-2021

American HallmarksP.O. Box 928Diyarige, CO 81301303-247-8738

B5 Software1024 Bainbridge Pia LeColumbus, OH 43228614,-276-2752

Classroom Consortia Media57 Bay StreetStaten Island, NY 10301800-237-1113/800-522-2210

Cross Educational Software1802 N. Trenton StreetP.O. Box 1536Ruston, LA 71270318-255-8921

Focus Media, Inc.839 Stewart AvenueP.O. Box 865Garden City, NY 11530800-645-8989 (516-794-8900)

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Int- ectual Software/QUEUETh::; North AvenueBridgeport, CT 06606203-335-0906/800-232-2224(dist. Thoroughbred Educ'l Soft)

Micro Learn (MicroLab, Inc.)2699 Skokie Valley RoadHigh;and Park, IL 60035

2-433-7550

Micro Lean igwareP.O. Box 307Mankato, MN 56001507-625-2205

Newsweek Educational Dept.444 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10022800-526-2595

Orange Cherry Media7 Delano DriveBedford gills, NY 10507914-666-8434

Oronoque Computer ConceptsBox 414Williamstown, VT 05679802-433-6022

Redcomp Services624 West Chenango RoadCastle Creek, NY 13744607-648-3275

Scholastic Publishing Co.P.O. Box 75022931 E. McCarthy StreetJefferson city, MO 65102800-325-6149

(in MO, 1-800-392-2179)

Sliwa SoftwareSliwa Enterprises, Inc.2013 Cunningham Dr., Suite 238Hampton, VA 23666804-826-3777

Social Studies School Service10000 Culver Blvd., Dept. 15P.O. Box 802Culver City, CA 90232-0802800-421-4246/213-839-2436

Spinnaker Software Corp.215 First StreetCambridge, MA 02142617-548-0759

Tutorsystems (BLS, Inc.)2503 Fairlee RoadWilimington, DE 19810800-545-7766