Writing Prompt #4/ Knoedler
Name ________________
What In God’s Name Do We Do Now?
Directions: Please read the attached primary and secondary sources and answer
the following questions.
Reading One: “The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania”
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
WE, the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God
for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance,
do ordain and establish this Constitution.
Article 1
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
That the general, great and essential principles of liberty and free government
may be recognized and unalterably established, WE DECLARE THAT Section 1 - Inherent Rights of Mankind
All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and
indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of
acquiring, possessing and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own
happiness.
Section 2 - Political Powers
All power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their
authority and instituted for their peace, safety and happiness. For the advancement of
these ends they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or
abolish their government in such manner as they may think proper.
Section 3 - Religious Freedom
All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the
dictates of their own consciences; no man can of right be compelled to attend, erect or
support any place of worship or to maintain any ministry against his consent; no human
authority can, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience,
and no preference shall ever be given by law to any religious establishments or modes of
worship.
1
Article II
THE LEGISLATURE
Section 1 - Legislative Power
The legislative power of this Commonwealth shall be vested in a General Assembly, which
shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
Section 2 - Election of Members; Vacancies
Members of the General Assembly shall be chosen at the general election every second
year. Their term of service shall begin on the first day of December next after their
election. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in either House, the presiding officer thereof
shall issue a writ. of election to fill such vacancy for the remainder of the term.
Article III
LEGISLATION
Section 1 - Passage of Laws
No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall be so altered or amended, on its
passage through either House, as to change its original purpose.
Section 2 - Reference to Committee; Printing
No bill shall be considered unless referred to a committee, printed for the use of the
members and returned therefrom.
Article IV
THE EXECUTIVE
Section 1 - Executive Department
The Executive Department of this Commonwealth shall consist of a Governor, Lieutenant
Governor, Attorney General, Auditor General, State Treasurer, and Superintendent of
Public Instruction and such other officers as the General Assembly may from time to
time prescribe.
Article V
THE JUDICIARY
Section 1 - Unified Judicial System
The judicial power of the Commonwealth shall be vested in a unified judicial system
consisting of the Supreme Court, the Superior Court, the Commonwealth Court, courts
of common pleas, community courts, municipal and traffic courts in the City of
Philadelphia, such other courts as may be provided by law and justices of the peace. All
courts and justices of the peace and their jurisdiction shall be in this unified judicial
system.
2
Reading #1 – Using the PA State Constitution please answer the questions below.
1. Explain how the Constitution of PA is broken down.
2. What references do you see to God? Why do you think this is so?
3. What article do you see as the most interesting and why?
Reading #2 – Using the reading please answer the questions below.
1. What three things did Pennsylvania do with their Constitution that was different from
most other states?
2. How was South Carolina’s Constitution different from Pennsylvania’s?
3. What did South Carolina believe about who should hold public office?
4. How did Massachusetts try to get their 1780 Constitution approved? Why didn’t this
work?
5. What did Massachusetts do instead to ratify their 1780 Constitution?
3
Reading Two: “State Constitutions” from www.history.org
State Constitutions
The states now faced serious and complicated questions about
how to make their rules. What did it mean to replace royal
authority with institutions based on popular rule? How was
"POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY" (the idea that the people were the
highest authority) to be institutionalized in the new state
governments? For that matter, who were "the people"?
Every state chose to answer these questions in different ways
based on distinctive local experiences, but in most cases colonial
traditions were continued, but modified, so that the GOVERNOR
(the executive) lost significant power, while the ASSEMBLIES (the
legislative branch, which represented the people most directly)
became much more important. We'll focus on the new rules
created in three states to suggest the range of answers to the question about how to
organize republican governments based upon popular rule.
James Wilson signed the
Declaration of
Independence and was the
Advocate General for
France in America from
1779 to 1783.
Pennsylvania created the most radical state constitution of
the period. Following the idea of popular rule to its logical
conclusion, Pennsylvania created a state government with
several distinctive features. First, the PENNSYLVANIA
CONSTITUTION OF 1776 abolished PROPERTY
REQUIREMENTS for voting as well as for holding office. If
you were an adult man who paid taxes, then you were allowed
to vote or even to run for office. This was a dramatic
expansion of who was considered a political person, but other
aspects of the new state government were even more radical.
Pennsylvania also became a "UNICAMERAL" government
where the legislature only had one body. Furthermore, the
office of the governor was entirely eliminated. Radicals in
Pennsylvania observed that the governor was really just like a
small-scale king and that an upper legislative body (like the
House of Lords in Parliament) was supposed to represent
wealthy men and aristocrats. Rather than continue those
forms of government, the Pennsylvania constitution decided
that "the people" could rule most effectively through a single
body with complete legislative power.
John Adams remarked that the
Pennsylvania constitution of 1776
was "so democratical that it must
produce confusion and every evil
work." He would be elected to the
Presidency in 1796.
Many conservative Patriots met Pennsylvania's new design with horror. When John
Adams described the Pennsylvania constitution, he only had bad things to say. To him it
was "so democratical that it must produce confusion and every evil work." Clearly,
popular rule did not mean sweeping democratic changes to all Patriots.
4
SOUTH CAROLINA'S STATE CONSTITUTION of 1778
created new rules at the opposite end of the political
spectrum from Pennsylvania. In South Carolina, white men
had to possess a significant amount of property to vote, and
they had to own even more property to be allowed to run for
political office. In fact, these property requirements were so
high that 90 percent of all white adults were prevented from
running for political office!
John Rutledge served as both South
Carolina's president and governor.
The state's original constitution,
drafted in 1776, called for the
election of a state president. But
changes made to the document in
1778 saw the state's chief executive
become known as "governor."
This dramatic limitation of who could be an elected political
leader reflected a central tradition of 18th-century AngloAmerican political thought. Only individuals who were
financially independent were believed to have the self-control
to make responsible and reasonable judgments about public
matters. As a result poor white men, all women, children,
and African Americans (whether free or slave) were
considered too dependent on others to exercise reliable
political judgment. While most of these traditional
exclusions from political participation have been ended in
America today, age limitations remain, largely unchallenged.
The creation of the MASSACHUSETTS STATE
CONSTITUTION of 1780 offered yet another way to answer
some of the questions about the role of "the people" in creating a republican government.
When the state legislature presented the voters with a proposed constitution in 1778, it
was rejected because the people thought that this was too important an issue for the
government to present to the people. If the government could make its own rules, then it
could change them whenever it wanted and easily take away peoples' liberties. Following
through on this logic, Massachusetts held a special convention in 1780 where specially
elected representatives met to decide on the best framework for the new state
government.
5
Writing Prompt 4:
What in God’s name do we do now? Writing a new state constitution.
1. You must begin this prompt by establishing the town/city and state you are now
residing in. Please also be aware that the year is 1784, one year after the Treaty of
Paris is signed.
2. You will begin your prompt with your character that participated in the Boston Tea
Party. What is his/her name, how old is he/she, what is his/her gender? Please
remember that this character was first introduced in 1757 so please do the math.
3. You must explain how the war has truly taken a toll on you and your family. You all
suffer physically, emotionally, and economically. You must also remind us of the
last time you saw the previous generation character.
a. If your family (parents) did not disown you after your participation in the
Boston Tea Party, you must come up with a way that they died during the
Revolution.
4. During the war you have proven to be an exceptional leader, both militarily and
politically. As a result your character has been selected to lead a state general
assembly to create a new state constitution.
5. You have been chosen by other respected men of your new state to complete this
task. Please try to capture the excitement and fear that you have with this
monumental responsibility at hand.
6. As you work each day in the general assembly, you notice that each representative
acts only for their own self interests. They are vain, stubborn, and prone to fight at
the slightest disagreement to their position. This troubles you and you are
reminded of John Adams’ words that “democracies soon die by suicide.”
7. You realize that no one is getting along and the business of the people is suffering.
You can fix this by giving the governor (executive) of your state increased power
in the new constitution, the type of power that can get disagreeing sides to behave
themselves.
8. After several weeks of work, your character finally finishes and proposes his/her plan
to the full state assembly. You must include your constitution with a title,
preamble, and 4 articles in your prompt. (Use the PA Constitution as a model)
This must be a separate document and attach it to your story.
9. When you present your constitution to the assembly, it is met with a firestorm of
criticism. Your colleagues declare that you have “betrayed the revolution!” (you go
against what we fought for…independence and freedom from the King.) What would
be their reasons for making such a statement? Do you defend your idea of a strong
executive or abandon it?
6
7
Peer Evaluation – Writing Prompt #6
Name of Writer: _____________________
Name of Evaluator: ___________________
Directions: Please put a check in the space provided if the story contains the
information. You will then add up the check marks to determine the point value.
Remember, if you cannot prove where you found the check mark, you will lose the
point!
Does the story contain the following?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Does the story contain a town/city and state that your character is living in? _____
Does the story contain a name and description of the generational character? _____
Does the story describe the toll the Revolution has taken on you and your family _____
Does the story describe the loss of the previous generation character? _____
Does the story say that you were an exceptional leader both militarily and politically?
_____
6. Does the story describe the characters excitement and fear of the responsibilities of
writing a Constitution? _____
7. Does the story describe how the assembly members are constantly arguing about
issues that benefit themselves and not the state as a whole? _____
8. Does the story explain how your character is reminded of the words of John Adams
that “democracies soon die by suicide”? _____
9. Does the story include an explanation of how the Governor (executive) has been given
power? _____
10. Does the story contain a constitution with a title, preamble, and 4 articles? _____
11. Does the story include the criticism that the assembly gives your constitution? Does
it mention that “you have betrayed the revolution”? _____
12. Does the story explain why the other representatives are angry with your idea? _____
13. Does the story state how you defend your idea or abandon your idea of giving the
executive more power? _____
14. Does the story contain dialogue? _____
Total Points______/14
Overall Point of View
(What did you think of the story?)
8