FACEBOOK INSTRUCTIONS
The organizers of the Federal Convention decided to take advantage of a newfangled piece of
technology – computers. A Facebook or social network has been created for your convention, and you
will create a delegate page that contains information you will need to get your point across and succeed
at the convention.
Getting started …
 Go to Mr. Schild’s Wiki website and click on the link for your class and find the convention homepage.
 Begin to create your profile. For your member name, type in your delegate name and hometown. As you
complete your delegate research, you will be able to add a profile picture and complete your profile
questions.
 Begin to research the views of your delegate and the topics that influenced the delegates at the convention.
Use the packet of information given to you and reliable online resources.
 After you have finished you delegate’s profile, you will participate in a Socratic Circle debating the ideas and
principles in the US Constitution representing the viewpoint of your delegate.
You are expected to complete the following for your delegate Facebook page …
 Biography – Your biography should be pretty general and cover the most important aspects of your
background, and it must be written in first person. You should limit this entry to between 100 and 150 words.
Check out General Washington’s page for examples.
 Answers to profile questions – Use your delegate handouts and online sources to complete these

questions. Each answer should be written in first person and should be understandable to you (in other
words, you may say it in the convention). For two of the questions, you must have an actual quote from the
convention AND be able to explain the quote in your own words. Your profile responses will be evaluated on
accuracy, clarity, and use of quotes. You may want to type these on Word or Google Docs and cut and
paste them into your page. You also want to print these, since they will serve as your “script” for the
convention. This section is the most important part of the preparation process.
Photos Album – While there are no photos of your delegate, there are certainly images of the delegate and
other historical material relevant to your delegate. You should have at least three (3) pictures in your photo
album, each with a caption written as a first person quote historically describing the picture. Each image
should have one meaty historical tidbit of info that lets the delegates know about you. Each image should
also be cited as a comment to the photo. Check out General Washington’s page for examples.
 Blog – Questions will be posted on the Convention blog and you must respond to each question in first
person based on your viewpoints. Your responses must be written in first person and will be evaluated on
perspective, detail, and effort. Try to interact with other’s responses as well!
 Friends – You should browse the other delegates’ pages and determine with whom you will be friends.
Think about location, size of state, and views on the strength of the government.
 Groups – There are a few groups already created that you can join, depending on your perspective.
You
can even create an additional group if you can think of a valid topic! (Big States, Small States, Pro-Slavery
States, Anti-Slavery States, Refused to Sign, Princeton Grads, Virginians, College Grads, Signers of DOI,
Enlightened Ones, Did Not Attend College, etc)
George Washington’s Profile Question Responses …
Q: How about a brief biography? What is your background?
A: I have been told that I am the most respected man in the young nation, due to my leadership of the
Continental Army during the revolution against the crown. I grew up in Virginia and served as a surveyor before
going off to war in the conflict with the French and Indians. I was nominated to lead the Continental Army by the
Second Continental Congress, and we suffered some early defeats and great challenges in the war for
independence. After our victory at Yorktown and eventual independence, I resigned my position as general. I
was very content to retire to Mount Vernon and live my life as a gentleman farmer, but the events of Shays'
Rebellion (and my feeling of civic virtue) convinced me that I must attend this convention. As the presiding officer
of the convention, I will be distinctly neutral in all debates ... and I will run the show with a firm hand. I will only
speak twice during the convention.
Q: Which should be stronger, the state government or the national government? Why?
A: As the presiding officer of the convention, I must be neutral in my words and actions. Therefore, I will not let
my personal opinions be known. I also do not plan to speak much, so there will be no quotes in my section. My
fellow delegates should make sure they have at least two quotes in their profiles.
Q: How should we determine the representation of the states in Congress? By population, money,
equality...?
A: As the presiding officer of the convention, I must be neutral in my words and actions. Therefore, I will not let
my personal opinions be known.
Q: Who should vote for the members of the legislature, and why?
A: As the presiding officer of the convention, I must be neutral in my words and actions. Therefore, I will not let
my personal opinions be known.
Q: Should we have one or more than one chief executive? Why?
A: As the presiding officer of the convention, I must be neutral in my words and actions. Therefore, I will not let
my personal opinions be known.
Q; What kind of powers should the Chief Executive or Executives have?
A: As the presiding officer of the convention, I must be neutral in my words and actions. Therefore, I will not let
my personal opinions be known.
Q: Who should elect the chief executive(s)?
A: As the presiding officer of the convention, I must be neutral in my words and actions. Therefore, I will not let
my personal opinions be known.
Q: What should be done about slavery in the United States? Should it be kept or outlawed?
A: As the presiding officer of the convention, I must be neutral in my words and actions. Therefore, I will not let
my personal opinions be known.
Q: Should slaves count in the population toward representation? Why or why not?
A: As the presiding officer of the convention, I must be neutral in my words and actions. Therefore, I will not let
my personal opinions be known.
Q: Should the national government be able to regulate the commerce of the United States? Why or why
not?
A: As the presiding officer of the convention, I must be neutral in my words and actions. Therefore, I will not let
my personal opinions be known.
Links
1. The Constitutional Convention
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/
2. The US Constitutional Convention: Delegates
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_founding_fathers.html
3. Which Founder Are You Quiz?
http://constitutioncenter.org/foundersquiz/
4. Notes on the Debates on the Federal Convention
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/debcont.asp
5. James Madison and the Federal Constitution
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/madison_papers/mjmconst.html
6. The Debates in the Federal Convention
http://www.constitution.org/dfc/dfc_0000.htm
7. The Constitutional Convention
http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_ccon.html
8. Shmoop. Com~The US Constitution
http://www.shmoop.com/constitution/
Delegates
Connecticut
William. Samuel Johnson
Roger Sherman
Oliver Ellsworth (Elsworth)*
Georgia
William Few
Abraham Baldwin
William Houston*
William L. Pierce*
Massachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
Elbridge Gerry*
Caleb Strong*
New Jersey
William Livingston
David Brearly (Brearley)
William Paterson (Patterson)
Jonathan Dayton
William C. Houston*
North Carolina
William. Blount
Richard. Dobbs Spaight
Hugh Williamson
William R. Davie*
Alexander Martin*
South Carolina
John Rutledge
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler
Virginia
John Blair
James Madison Jr.
George Washington
George Mason*
James McClurg*
Edmund J. Randolph*
George Wythe*
Delaware
George Read
Gunning Bedford, Jr.
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jacob Broom
Maryland
James McHenry
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
Daniel Carroll
Luther Martin*
John F. Mercer*
New Hampshire
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman
New York
Alexander Hamilton
John Lansing, Jr.*
Robert Yates*
Pennsylvania
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
Robert Morris
George Clymer
Thomas Fitzsimons (FitzSimons; Fitzsimmons)
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouverneur Morris
Rhode Island
Rhode Island did not send any delegates to the
Constitutional Convention.