Drafting of the U.S Constitution

Drafting of the US Constitution
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HIS 100 Topic Exploration Worksheet
Part 1
Select a research topic area for Project 1 based on which of the following areas interests you the most. You will explore the selected topic a little later in this theme. Mark your selection in the right-hand column.
Topic

Selection

Drafting of the U.S. Constitution

*

Mao Zedong’s Rule Over China


South African Apartheid


Choose Your Own Topic (insert pre-approved topic here)


In the space below, replace the bracketed text with a short paragraph about what you already knew prior to this course about the topic you selected, based on your personal history or experiences. This may include assumptions, beliefs, or values related to the topic. Be as detailed as possible.

Prior to this course, I already knew that the US constitution was drafted in 1787 by a group of leaders in Philadelphia who then presented it to the public for consideration. One of the reasons for the drafting of the constitution was to create a government with sufficient power to represent the people on the national level. The government formed by the drafted constitution replaced the previous government that acted under the Articles of Confederation that turned out to be weak to govern the new nation. For instance, the government established by the Articles of Confederation lacked an executive branch and a system of national courts. It also failed to regulate the trade between the states or tax the states and their citizens. The delegates who drafted the constitution believed that it could establish America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guarantee certain basic rights for its citizens. With the constitution, a plan for a stronger federal government with three executive branches: - the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary was devised, along with system of checks and balances. The creation of this stronger federal government was a precaution taken by the founding fathers to ensure that no single branch was too powerful to establish an authoritarian regime. Therefore, the drafting of the US constitution amounted to a new set of rules for organizing the national government. It also called for a strong central government that would have authority over the states. At the same time, it centrally involved the public in deciding whether or not to accept the new government through ratification.

Part 2
Now that you have identified your topic and described what you already know about the topic, what questions do you still have about the topic? Replace the bracketed text with your answers.
Question

Response

Identify one question about the topic that you are curious about.

Did the people vote directly during the ratification of the US constitution?

Describe why this question matters to you personally.

This question matters to me personally because it gives me an insight on how public participation occurred during the drafting of the constitution. I am aware that the constitution was presented to the p...