The Idea of America

Strategies

The Pittsburgh Public Schools uses an inquiry approach for many Social Studies courses. Students are encouraged to discover material on their own, and share their findings both inside a small group and within a larger forum. This student colaboration yields questions for further investigation while encouraging the learner to be responsible for their education. Students may need to practice techniques for reading a document, recording key aspects and drawing conclusions before they get comfortable with this approach. Teachers who coach students and build confidence may want to share their own confusion with daunting constitutional sections.

Getting students to work with the text of the Constitution is not an easy task. One approach could involve tracing the text of the seven Articles in the U.S. Constitution back to the Declaration of Independence. Students can find connections between the ideals and discuss how those ideals are incorporated into the supreme body of law. Some questions to consider: What feelings does this evoke? What do you see?

Often our study of the U.S. Constitution continues chronologically through the Bill of Rights and Civil War amendments. I will shift the focus to themes of republicanism and popular sovereignty throughout our chronological study of American History. Political dilemmas will allow students opportunities to consider what they would do if they had power. I recommend using the Penguin guide to U.S. Constitution by Richard Beeman as it includes the critical documents with detailed remarks. Beeman also includes chapters on the Constitutional Convention and the Contest over Ratification which he calls "America's First National Referendum." Students should be able to navigate this book with ease. The analysis is simple and the explanations draw connections between the words and actions of the Founding Fathers.

With constant talk in the media about returning to the intensions of our Founding Fathers, how should teachers discuss challenges to the U.S. Constitution with their students? Returning to the original debates through primary sources is a way to connect the ideals of the Founding Fathers to modern concerns while perhaps reviving the electorate to the same lofty considerations.

In the Activities section I have students consider the following questions. What if you were invited to the exclusive event to rework the Articles of Confederation into a "more perfect union" and the representatives could not agree on the issues to debate or what core ideals they wanted to protect the supreme law of the land? What would you do to keep all parties in the discussion? How do resolve the issues and concerns from every state?

Sources can guide desired outcomes. If the intent is to introduce the idea of American Exceptionalism look to Glenn Beck's The Original Argument: The Federalists' case for the constitution, Adapted for the 21st Century. He depicts the Federalist rallying Americans behind the document as a symbol, so he argues for an originalist interpretation in modern times. The danger of trying to get back to the "good ole days" is that history shows they were never that great. Other books discuss more key arguments around how to view the Constitution; static or elastic. A Living Constitution or Fundamental Law? American Constitutionalism in Historical Perspective by Herman Belz shows the Constitution as both static and dynamic. "The concept of the Constitution as a formal legal instrument or code giving existence to government and prescribing and limiting the exercise of its powers," states Belz, "rather than as the basic structure of the polity, not consciously constructed but growing organically through history, was one of the distinct achievements of the American Revolution." ^{2 3} Mark Tushnet recently published, Why The Constitution Matters. He discusses both sides of the argument in his concise work. There is a new book only available on Amazon Kindle, published by Time, The Constitution: Does it Still Matter? By Richard Stengel. Timely issued are discussed in this most recent publication. Stengel shows President Obama's healthcare policy and ability to extend war powers as modern applications of the U.S. Constitution. Half-way through the book, Stengel has a Time Forum with responses from five prominent experts to gain their views on the debt ceiling, war powers, immigration and health care. This commentary is funny and informative.

Teachers may want to get copies of the Signet version of the Anti-Federalist Papers. The chart page twenty-seven contains a summary of opposed arguments in Federalist and Anti-federalist writings. One can easily reference either side by the subject.

This unit is a product of my experience in YNI seminar,The Idea of America and hours of research at the Yale Law Library. Through casual discussion and collaboration with teachers from across the country, I realized I wanted to create a unit to give students more of a voice in their government. Discovering John Seery's book Too Young To Run was a turning point in my research. I planned having students write a constitutional amendment as a culminating project. Why would a 16-17 year old feel they have a voice in the government if they cannot vote? When people born in the United States turn 18 they can vote, that's the extent of their political duties. The 26th amendment is the only voting amendment to not presume voting includes running for office. Many constitutional law scholars and prominent historians do not believe in the possibility of a constitutional amendment in the near future, I pass the charge to the next generation. To fully understand the U.S. Constitution one must appreciate the history from which a unique republic developed before analyzing the text through a modern lens. Since this unit is for high school students, I think continual discussions regarding what is appropriate decorum for the classroom fits in the realm of academic freedom, and should be encouraged throughout. Students ought to participate in the class and the school as a model of how to act in the community and state. Who can deny that education is at the heart of the "idea of America?"