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Activity
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: Proposing a Constitutional Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention had to decide the means of amending the Constitution. Discusses Madison's proposal for empowering Congress to propose amendments, either on its own initiative or upon application by the...
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Lesson Plan
University of California

History Project: Debate Over the California Constitutional Convention, 1878 1879

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Lesson on immigration, conflict and nativism in which students examine primary source documents to evaluate public policy and attitudes towards Chinese immigrants in California, 1878-1879.
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Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Drafting the Constitution

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Essay covers from the Articles of Confederation and the problems of disunity of the new states after the Revolutionary War, internally as well as externally, to the Constitutional Convention, an attempt to address the Articles' problems....
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: The Making of the American Constitution

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief video providing background information on the Constitutional Convention. [3:58] The video is followed by a quiz and a list of additional resources.
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Interactive
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Slavery and the u.s. Constitution

For Students 3rd - 8th
Lesson focuses on the debate over slavery at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
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Activity
Other

Historical Scene Investigation: Hsi: I Smell a Rat: Constitution Controversy

For Students 9th - 10th
Activity in which students act as detectves to investigate an historical issue. In this activity students analyze primary source material to learn about controversy surrounding the U.S. Constitution when they are asked to find out what...
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Primary
Bill of Rights Institute

Bill of Rights Institute: Constitution of the United States of America (1787)

For Students 9th - 10th
The Constitution was written in the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by delegates from 12 states, in order to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new form of government. It created a federal system with a national...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Was the Constitutional Convention Legal?

For Students 9th - 10th
A look at the convening of a Constitutional Convention to address the problems inherent in the Articles of Confederation. Read a quote from George Washington, who addressed the legality of such a convention.
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Handout
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1870s: The Constitutional Convention of 1875

For Students 9th - 10th
A Constitutional Convention was held in Texas in 1875 as a reaction to Reconstruction. See how the gains made by the Republican Party, which included African American legislators, were negated by the Democratic Party when it gained control.
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Website
Teaching American History

Teaching American History: Ratification of the Constitution

For Students 9th - 10th
Dive into the times following the Constitutional Convention when the people and the leaders carried on in-depth conversations about the proposed constitution for the new nation. There were debates between Federalists and Antifederalists...
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Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: Records of the Federal Convention: Farrand

For Students 9th - 10th
This article offers discussion of various aspects of the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787, along with images from original congressional documents.
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Study Guide
Ohio Test Prep

Ohio Test Prep: u.s. Constitution

For Students 9th - 10th
Video test preparation module for Social Studies on the U.S. Constitution teaches students about provisions and compromises made during the Constitutional Convention and how the terms reflect Enlightenment thinking.
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Constitution or Articles?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this lesson, students will observe the political climate at the time of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and read the writings of the delegates who refused to sign the proposed Constitution, as well as those who supported it....
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Primary
Yale University

Notes of Rufus King in the Federal Convention of 1787

For Students 9th - 10th
A transcript of the actual handwritten notes taken by Rufus King (delegate from Massachusetts) at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
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Primary
Library of Congress

Loc: Ferrand's Records: Records of the Federal Convention

For Students 9th - 10th
A large collection of chronological links to the text of the official records of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.
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Primary
University of Chicago

The Founders' Constitution: The New Jersey Plan

For Students 9th - 10th
The original text of The New Jersey Plan for the creation of a new constitution in the Constitutional Convention.
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Article
Michigan State University

Michigan State University: American Revolution: The Argument Over the Constitution

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Humanities Center provides a full-length essay on the constitutional debate during the time of the Constitutional Convention.
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Primary
University of Chicago

The Founders' Constitution: Luther Martin: Genuine Information

For Students 9th - 10th
A speech given by Luther Martin, the delegate from Maryland to the Constitutional Convention. Martin was a believer is state's rights and did not sign the finished document.
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Handout
Other

George Mason: Architect of Constitutional Liberty

For Students 9th - 10th
A scholarly article on the life of George Mason, a delegate from Virginia to the Constitutional Convention. Mason is also considered the father of the Bill of Rights.
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Website
The Dirksen Congressional Center

Congress for Kids: Signing the Constitution

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site has a brief summary that describes the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. This group is sometimes called the "Founding Fathers."
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Primary
Digital Public Library of America

Dpla: Creating the Us Constitution

For Students 9th - 10th
The sources in this primary set document the creation of the US Constitution. Includes teaching guide.
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Primary
University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma College of Law: The Annapolis Convention

For Students 9th - 10th
Historical document reveals details of the Annapolis Convention, a national political convention held in 1786 Annapolis, Maryland, in which twelve delegates from five states gathered to discuss and develop a consensus about reversing the...
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Unit Plan
CPALMS

Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: From Confederation to Constitution

For Students 7th
This tutorial examines the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and why they were replaced with the Constitution. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.
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Unknown Type
Quia

Quia: The Articles of Confederation and the Writing of the Constitution

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Take a quiz on the Articles of Confederation and the writing of the Constitution.

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