Constitution Day
Bill of Rights
1. Where did the ideas for changes to the Constitution come from? What kinds of changes were
being suggested?
2. How did the Bill of Rights become part of the Constitution? Were all of the proposed changes
accepted? How long did it take for them to be approved?
3. Which freedoms are protected by the Bill of Rights? Which ones do you use regularly or
rarely?
4. When did the Bill of Rights become a more central part of how the Constitution is interpreted?
Why?
Freedom of Expression
1. What was Shays’ Rebellion all about? What did the government learn from Shays’ Rebellion?
2. What were the most critical flaws under the Articles of Confederation?
3. How was the Constitution put into effect?
4. Why did some states propose changes to the new Constitution? Which states proposed
changes? What kind of changes were they proposing?
The Presidency
1. How is the United States “an experiment in democracy?” How is it like a swinging pendulum?
2. What’s the meaning of “No taxation without representation,” and why did the colonists feel so
strongly about it?
3. Who was the Father of the Constitution? How did he help shape the Presidency? Who else
helped shape the Presidency?
4. What is the Electoral College, and why does it exist? How does it work?