Unpacked Content
Knowledge
Students know:
- The inadequacies of Articles of Confederation and how these lead to the writing of the Constitution.
- Personalities, issues, ideologies, and compromises related to the Constitutional Convention and the ratification of the Constitution of the United States.
- The purpose and effects of the Federalist Papers.
- Details of the political system of the United States based on the Constitution of the United States.
- How to interpret the Preamble to the Constitution.
- The purpose of the separation of powers and how this works in the U.S. federal system.
- The meaning and purpose of the elastic clause.
- The purpose of the Bill of Rights and the effects of these amendments.
- Factors leading to the development and establishment of political parties, including Alexander Hamilton's economic policies, conflicting views of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, George Washington's Farewell Address, and the election of 1800.
- The reasons for and effects of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Nineteenth Amendments.
Skills
Students are able to:
- Analyze and describe the political system of the United States based on the Constitution of the United States by giving a verbal or written account with characteristics of the political system.
- Interpret the Preamble of the Constitution, separation of powers, federal system; elastic clause, the Bill of Rights; and the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Nineteenth Amendments by examining these parts.
- Describe the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation by giving a verbal or written account of the weaknesses.
- Distinguish personalities, ideas, issues, ideologies and compromises related to the Constitutional by highlighting these differences.
Understanding
Students understand that:
- The Constitution replaced a weak Articles of Confederation and provides the basis for governing the United States.
Vocabulary
- political system
- elements
- distinguishing
- ideologies
- conflicting
