Constitution 101 Curriculum
Module 3: Road to the Convention
Overview
The founders were children of the Enlightenment, a European intellectual movement beginning in the late 1600s. The ideas that fueled this period were a celebration of reason, the power through which human beings might understand the universe and improve their condition. Overall, the movement strived for knowledge, freedom, and happiness. These ideas sparked transformational changes in art, philosophy, and politics. When crafting a new constitution, the founders followed this Enlightenment model and drew lessons from history and from their own experiences. Between the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, the American people were governed at the national level by the Articles of Confederation and at the state level by state constitutions. From the founders’ perspective, these frameworks of government were noble experiments, but also deeply flawed. With the U.S. Constitution, the Founding generation established a new national government designed to address the deficiencies in these forms of government—creating a new government that was strong and deliberative enough to achieve common purposes and check mob violence, but also restrained enough to protect individual liberty.
Learning Objectives
- Understand Shays’ Rebellion and its influence on the Founding generation.
- Describe the Articles of Confederation and determine what type of national government it established.
- Discuss what the Founding generation learned from key state constitutions.
- Explain why the Founding generation decided to write a new constitution.
- Examine the key lessons in Federalist Nos. 10 and 55.
3.1 Activity: U.S. Constitution and Shays’ Rebellion
Purpose
In this activity, you will be introduced to Shays’ Rebellion, the weakness of the Articles of Confederation, and how Shays’ Rebellion helped lead to the Constitutional Convention.
Process
Review the image below depicting a scene from 1786 and describe what you see. Be prepared to answer the following questions and engage in classroom discussion:
- What do you see in this picture? What do you think is happening?
- Do you know what event this is depicting? If not, what would your guess be?
[Hint: It happened just before the Constitutional Convention.]
After the discussion has concluded, complete the Activity Guide: U.S. Constitution and Shays’ Rebellion worksheet.
Launch Information
Ask students to review the Visual Info Brief of the image and describe what they see. If no one answers, step in and say: “This is a depiction of Shays’ Rebellion.” Then ask the following questions:
- Take a look at the image. Does anyone recognize the image? Do you know anything about this event?
- Let’s take a moment to analyze the image. Can you share with me what you see in the image?
- Does anyone know what happened that led up to this event?
You can give additional background on Shays’ Rebellion. Additional information about what actually happened can be found in the Info Brief: Summary of Shays’ Rebellion document and the Constitution Daily article, On this day, Shays’ Rebellion starts in Massachusetts.
Let students know that the picture depicts an event from 1786, outside a courthouse, in Massachusetts. After students share their observations, ask the class the following questions:
- Would you call the scene in the image a mob?
- How do you define a mob?
- What is the difference between a protest and a mob?
Then, have students complete the worksheet.
Activity Synthesis
Ask students the following questions:
- What is the government’s role in checking the threat of mob violence?
- How did Shays’ Rebellion contribute to the loss of confidence in the Articles of Confederation?
Activity Extension (optional)
Invite students to further research the causes, events, and response to Shays’ Rebellion.
3.2 Activity: The Critical Period—The Years Between the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention
Purpose
In this activity, you will identify the powers of the government under the Articles of Confederation, learn why it was designed that way, and identify some of the problems that emerge from its flaws. The one thing to remember about the Articles of Confederation is that it created a weak national government—a “league of friendship”—one that largely preserved state power (and independence).
Process
- Read information in the Info Brief: The Road to the Convention document.
- When finished, complete the Activity Guide: The Critical Period worksheet to summarize the information.
- Break into small groups and review your completed charts together with your classmates.
Launch
Give students time to read the excerpts/summary of the Articles of Confederation and complete the chart.
Ask them to reflect on why they think the founders made those changes to the system of government. The goal is for the students to develop some well-formed thoughts to help them engage in the next activities.
Allow students to check their completed chart with one or two classmates.
Key features: structure, powers, and the amendment process (left hand side of chart).
Activity Synthesis
Invite students to share and react to each other. Questions to ask could be:
- What were some of the strengths of the Articles of Confederation? Why might its framers have designed it that way?
- What key parts of the Articles of Confederation—its structure, powers, and amendment process—were most important to revise? To keep?
Activity Extension (optional)
Have students compare the structure and power of the government under the Articles of Confederation with the structure and power of the Pennsylvania or Massachusetts state governments in the years between the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention. You can find the Articles of Confederation, the Pennsylvania Constitution, and the Massachusetts Constitution in the Founders’ Library.
3.3 Activity: Key Terms
Purpose
In this activity, you will learn more about concepts related to the events leading up to the Constitutional Convention.
Process
In small groups, create a Jeopardy/Kahoot game for your classmates based on the key terms of this module. For each term, you will need to complete the following categories:
- Definition
- Examples
- Key resource or text
Use the Activity Guide: Key Terms - Road to the Convention worksheet to record your answers.
Launch
Give students time to complete the key terms activity.
Activity Synthesis
Invite students to share and react to each other. Questions to ask could be:
- Which of the terms do you think best represents the reason why people wanted to revise the government under the Articles of Confederation (and, in many cases, write a new constitution)? How so?
Activity Extension (optional)
Now that students have a better understanding of the main terms, ask the following questions:
- Are any of these terms still relevant today? How so?
3.4 Video Activity: Road to the Convention
Purpose
In this activity, you will learn more about the ideas and events that led to the Constitutional Convention. With the Constitutional Convention, the Founding generation set out to build a new national government that combined:
- Strength: A government strong enough to achieve common purposes and address the dangers of mob violence.
- Restraint: A government restrained enough to ensure that the new national government did not threaten individual liberty.
- Deliberation: A government structured in a way to attract virtuous leaders, slow down politics, promote deliberation (and compromise), and advance policies that served the common good.
Process
Watch the following video about the events leading up to the Constitutional Convention.
Then, complete the Video Reflection: Road to the Convention worksheet.
Identify any areas that are unclear to you or where you would like further explanation. Be prepared to discuss your answers in a group and to ask your teacher any remaining questions.
Launch
Give students time to watch the video and answer the related questions.
Activity Synthesis
Invite students to share and react to each other. Once you’ve finished the discussion, ask students:
- What type of national government did the Founding generation set out to build at the Constitutional Convention?
Activity Extension (optional)
Now that the students have a better understanding of the ideas and events leading up to the Constitutional Convention, ask students to predict what issues would likely be the most contentious for the Convention delegates.
3.5 Activity: Fear of Factions and Mobs
Purpose
In this activity, you will learn more about the Founding generation’s fear of factions and mobs and how one function of a constitution is to structure the government in a way such that it might slow down the political process, cool emotions, curb passions, frustrate factions, and promote deliberation and compromise. For the Founding generation, its ultimate goal was to craft a government that delivers better results—results driven by reason (not passion) and serving the common good (not factional self-interest).
Process
Read excerpts from the Primary Source: Federalist No. 10 and Federalist No. 55 and complete the Activity Guide: Fear of Factions and Mobs worksheet.
Launch
In the Federalist Papers, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay envisioned a constitutional system driven by reasoned debate and principled compromise. Over time, by slowing our politics down, national policy would check factional interests and promote the common good. Or at least, that’s the Federalists’ broader theory of government.
Provide students with background information on the Federalist Papers from the Info Brief: The Federalist Papers document. Introduce the authors and why they wrote them. Give students time to read the excerpts from Federalist No. 10 and 55 and answer the questions.
Activity Synthesis
Invite students to share their answers and react to others. Questions to ask could be:
- Do you think that slowing politics down checks factional interests and promotes the common good? Why or why not?
Activity Extension (optional)
Have students read the entire Federalist Papers No. 10 and 55 instead of excerpts. See link at bottom of the Info Brief: The Federalist Papers worksheet.
3.6 Summary Activity: Striking the Right Balance
Purpose
In this activity, you will learn more about what led the Founding generation from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitutional Convention (and, ultimately, the U.S. Constitution). The primary outcome of the Convention was that the delegates built a new national government, but it was up to We the People to choose whether to accept this new government or not.
The Founding generation came into the Constitutional Convention in a time of turmoil and significant change. Before they arrived, they crafted a national framework of government (the Articles of Confederation), experimented in their states with the creation of state constitutions, debated one another over the proper way to structure a new government, and researched many ideas about how their new government should work. With the U.S. Constitution, they wanted to strike a balance that combined strength, restraint, and deliberation.
Process
Work with your group to answer the following questions (as a preview to next week’s module on the Constitutional Convention):
- Based on what you know now, do you think the Founding generation struck the right balance with the new Constitution? Which Article is the most important to you (and why)? Which Article is the least important to you (and why)?
- Were there other principles that the Founding generation should have considered in crafting the new constitution?
- What else would you like to learn about the Constitutional Convention (and the Constitution itself) to help you answer these questions?
Launch
Assign the class into groups and have them discuss the activity questions.
Activity Synthesis
Share with students the following objective: The framers of the Constitution wanted to strike a balance that combined strength, restraint, and deliberation within this new government structure. Then invite students to share and react to others answers:
- Did they strike the right balance?
- Do we have the right balance today?
Activity Extension (optional)
Now that students have a better understanding of the outcome of the Convention, ask the following questions:
- What guardrails would you add to the Constitution to ensure this balance is met?
- Can you identify reforms or changes you would make to the system to ensure our democracy thrives?
Looking for a deeper dive? Share this project with students: Guardrails of Democracy.
3.7 Test Your Knowledge
Purpose
Congratulations for completing the activities in this module! Now it’s time to apply what you have learned about the basic ideas and concepts covered.
Process
Complete the questions in the following quiz to test your knowledge.
Launch
This activity will help students determine their overall understanding of module concepts. It is recommended that questions are completed electronically so immediate feedback is provided, but a downloadable copy of the questions (with answer key) is also available.
3.7 Printable Knowledge Check: The Road to the Convention
This activity is part of Module 3: Road to the Convention from the Constitution 101 Curriculum.
Up Next
Module 4: Constitutional Convention and Ratification
In the summer of 1787, delegates gathered for a convention in Philadelphia, with the goal of revising the Articles of Confederation—the nation’s existing governing document. However, rather than simply revising the Articles of Confederation, they wrote an entirely new framework of government: the U.S. Constitution. This new government was more powerful than the national government established by the Articles of Confederation, but the Constitution also limited the powers of this new government. In this module, you will explore the debates and compromises that occ...
