Inside the First Congress: Debating the Bill of Rights

Summary

Congress created the Bill of Rights to address concerns that the newly ratified Constitution was incomplete. Following the Article V process, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the states formulated and ratified ten constitutional amendments between June, 1789 and December, 1791. By contrasting proposals from state ratifying conventions with the text of amendments as proposed by James Madison and the text of the amendments as sent to the states for ratification, students discover the debate from the perspective of being inside the First Congress, enabling them to close-read texts and better understand both the debate and the Bill of Rights it produced.

Rationale

Students contrast selected proposals from state ratifying conventions with amendments as proposed in the House by James Madison and with amendments as sent to the states for ratification to better understand the Bill of Rights and the debate that shaped it.

Guiding Question

How do the following examples show Congress debating and shaping the proposals from state ratifying conventions into the Bill of Rights?

Materials

5 Worksheets

Time Required

Three 45 minute class periods

Courses

Civics, Government, U.S. History

Grade Levels

9 – 12

Learning Activities

Classroom Instructions for the Lesson

1. Set up 4 learning stations. Copy and distribute four copies of Station 1 Worksheet at Station 1, and repeat the process with the appropriate worksheets at Station 2, Station 3, and Station 4.  
2. Divide the class into 4 groups. Instruct the students of each group to work collaboratively to complete one copy of the appropriate worksheet at each of the four stations.
3. Assign each group to begin working at a separate station. Have the groups rotate until each group has completed its work at all four stations.
4. When the students have finished at all four stations, distribute one copy of the Review Worksheet to each group.
5. When the students in each group have collaboratively answered items on the Review Worksheet, convene a whole class discussion of the review questions.

Distance Learning Instructions for the Lesson

1. Make the four worksheets available to the students in digital form.
2. Organize the students into four groups. Instruct each student to work individually to complete the appropriate worksheet at each station when asked to do so. When the students in a group have completed their work at a station, instruct the members of each group to discuss their findings within their group before moving on to the next station.
3. Assign each group to begin work at one station. Have the groups continue completing each worksheet and sharing their findings within the group until each group has completed its work at all four stations.
4. When the students have finished their work at all four stations, instruct each group to collaboratively respond to each of the questions on the Review Worksheet and record their responses.
5. When the students in each group have collaboratively answered the questions on the Review Worksheet, convene a whole class discussion of the review questions.

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