Third Quarter Project
Complete one of the following projects below. Your project is due no
later than Wednesday March 28, 2007
Project #1 The Great Compromise: How Roger Sherman Saved the Constitution
What do you do when you disagree with a friend? Suppose your friend
wants to play video games, while you want to go to the park and skate. Your
friend thinks skating is boring, but you don’t want to be cooped up inside. What
do you do? Do you argue until one of you gives in? Or do you find a solution that
makes both of you happy? Sometimes finding solutions means that each person
has to give something up. For example, maybe your friend will agree to skate
with you tomorrow if you play video games today. Solutions like these are called
compromises. Like you and your friend, the delegates at the Constitutional
Convention of 1787 had disagreements. One argument was so bitter that it
nearly wrecked the Convention. What saved the Convention—and the
Constitution—was a compromise. The man who came up with this compromise
was Roger Sherman of Connecticut. Many Americans today don’t know about
Roger Sherman, but they should. He is one of the heroes who gave us the
government we have today. This is his story.
Roger Sherman began serving in public office in Connecticut when he
was in his 20s. He was part of the American Revolution from the beginning. Along
with John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, he was on the committee that wrote
the Declaration of Independence. Later, he helped to write the Articles of
Confederation. Sherman was a Patriot, but he wasn’t a hothead. Other Patriots
respected him because he was thoughtful and persuasive. John Adams called
Sherman "a solid, sensible man." Thomas Jefferson once pointed to him and said,
"That is Mr. Sherman of Connecticut, a man who never said a foolish thing in his
life." Sherman had a way of keeping his head when others were losing theirs. He
tried to understand other people’s opinions. And he was very good at getting
other people to understand his own point of view. These talents served Sherman
well when tempers got hot in that steamy summer of 1787.
The Constitutional Convention nearly fell apart almost as soon as it began.
The issue was how many votes each state should have in the national legislature.
(Later, the legislature was called Congress.) Most delegates from bigger states
wanted a system of proportional representation. This meant that states with
bigger populations would get more votes in Congress than smaller states. These
delegates believed that power in the government belonged to the people, not
the states. Giving bigger states more votes was only fair, they argued. That way,
every person’s vote would count the same, no matter where they lived. James
Madison put forward this idea in the Virginia Plan. But Madison’s plan alarmed
many delegates. Those from smaller states were especially worried. They were
afraid that the bigger states would gang up to outvote the smaller ones. Power,
these delegates argued, belonged to the states. It was the states that were
getting together to form a national government. For this reason, every state
should count the same. Delegates who favored this idea rallied behind the New
Jersey Plan. Under this plan, every state would get the same number of votes in
Congress.
Roger Sherman understood both sides in the great debate. His home state
of Connecticut was one of the smaller states. At the same time, Sherman
understood why the bigger states wanted proportional representation. Early in
the Convention, Sherman suggested a way of combining the two ideas. Let
Third Quarter Project
Complete one of the following projects below. Your project is due no
later than Wednesday March 28, 2007
there be two houses of Congress, he proposed. In one house, every state will
have an equal vote. In the other, representation will be proportional. Delegates
from smaller states liked Sherman’s idea. They thought it was a fair compromise.
But the bigger states weren’t interested in compromise. They were committed to
their own idea of fairness. And they had the votes to pass their plan. Sherman’s
proposal got nowhere. As the debate went on, tempers rose to the boiling point.
Delegates shouted and pointed at each other. Some delegates from smaller
states threatened to go home. The Constitutional Convention—and the nation—
were in danger of falling apart. The Convention got through the crisis by
delaying a final vote on the issue. This decision gave Sherman and others time to
win support for his compromise. James Madison and his allies continued to fight
for proportional representation. But in the end, most of the delegates agreed to
compromise. Keeping the country together was more important than getting
everything they wanted. Although some of the details changed, the Convention
adopted Sherman’s idea. This agreement is known as the Great Compromise.
The delegates would make many more compromises before their work was
done. But it was the Great Compromise that saved the Convention—and gave
us the Congress we know today.
In later years, Roger Sherman served in both houses of the Congress that
he helped to create. He continued his career in public service until he died at
the age of 72. Roger Sherman isn’t nearly as famous today as George
Washington or Benjamin Franklin. No one calls him the Father of the Constitution.
(That honor goes to James Madison.) But Sherman is one of the Constitution’s
true heroes. Sherman might not have been a great soldier or a fiery
speechmaker. But he was something else that democracies need. He was fairminded and practical, and he was devoted to his country. When others
disagreed, he tried to find solutions that everyone could accept. Roger Sherman
set an important example for future Americans. People will often disagree about
issues they care deeply about. In a democracy, we can solve these
disagreements peacefully by finding ways to compromise. Qualities like these
might not get your picture on a dollar bill. But maybe they should!
Questions:
1) What was the great compromise?
2) Explain why John Adams called Roger Sherman “a solid, sensible man?”
Cite at least two examples from the text.
3) How did Sherman’s actions compare to George Washington or James
Madison?
4) Look at the presidents on our one dollar, five dollar, ten dollar and twenty
dollar bills. What qualities did these men have that made them worthy of
having there picture on our US currency?
5) The US treasury department has decided print a $15 bill. They are holding
a contest to decide who will be on that bill. Write a persuasive essay
explaining who you would like to see on that new bill. Also, design how
you think the bill should look.
History Alive! America’s Past, Enrichment Essay
Third Quarter Project
Complete one of the following projects below. Your project is due no
later than Wednesday March 28, 2007
Project #2 America’s Federal System of Government
Have you ever traveled from one state to another? If so, did you notice
that some things were different, while others were the same? For example, you
might have traveled along a U.S. Interstate highway, yet the speed limit in the
two states was different. When you went shopping, you paid with United States
money in both places. Yet you might have paid a sales tax in one state but not in
the other. One day you might have visited a national park staffed by U.S. forest
rangers. Another time you might have camped in a state park, where you were
greeted by state employees. These similarities and differences reflect America’s
federal system of government. In a federal system, smaller governments share
power with one central government. The central, or national, government makes
laws for the whole country. Smaller governments make laws for smaller areas,
such as states. Our federal system comes from the Constitution. Like so many
parts of the Constitution, it is the result of a compromise. Nearly all the delegates
at the Constitutional Convention agreed that America needed a stronger
central government. They realized that all Americans had many interests in
common. For example, the country needed a single system of money. It also
needed a government that could deal with other nations and defend its citizens
in times of war. At the same time, few delegates wanted to give up their state
governments. They were used to being citizens of separate states with separate
laws. And most of them thought this was a good thing. For example, Virginians
had different needs than New Yorkers. As a result, Virginia and New York should
be able to have different laws.
So, should America have one government, or many? Faced with this
question, the delegates compromised. They gave the national government
certain powers so that it could take care of the needs of the country as a whole.
At the same time, they let the states keep all powers that were not given to the
national government. America’s federal system of government has changed
over time, but the basic idea remains the same. The national government has
power over those things that concern the whole country. For example, only the
national government can print and coin money, and only Congress can declare
war. The national government also has power over issues that involve more than
one state. For example, Congress can pass laws regulating commerce (business)
that crosses state lines. That is why the interstate highway system was a federal
(national) project. But most of the laws that affect our day-to-day lives are
made by states and by the local governments they create. Speed limits are one
example. Another example is education. The laws that affect schools are made
by state legislatures, not Congress. In turn, state legislatures may give some
powers to local school districts. Although states are free to make their own laws,
these laws have to obey two important rules. First, no state law can conflict with
the Constitution itself. Second, no state law can conflict with a national law.
Finally, the state and national governments share some powers. For
instance, both can raise taxes to pay for their expenses and programs. That’s
why most taxpayers have to pay both state and federal taxes. The following
table shows some of these divisions of power. The result of these shared powers is
the unique system of federalism that governs the United States. Ours is a country
Third Quarter Project
Complete one of the following projects below. Your project is due no
later than Wednesday March 28, 2007
of separate states that are united under a single national government for the
common good.
National Government Powers
• Only those powers spelled out
in the Constitution
State Government Powers
Shared Powers
• All powers not given to the
national government in the
Constitution
• Create taxes
• Establish local governments
• Build roads
• Regulate schools, marriage,
businesses, and professions
• Maintain public lands
• Borrow money
• Print and coin money
• Maintain armed forces
• Make agreements with foreign
nations
• Declare war
• Regulate trade with other
nations
• Regulate commerce between
states
• Keep public order
• Protect public health and
safety
• Conduct elections
• Make and enforce state laws,
as long as these laws do not
conflict with the Constitution or
with national laws
• Run postal service
• Pass laws for the national
capital (Washington D.C.)
• Define requirements for U.S.
citizenship
• Make and enforce new laws
that are necessary to fulfill the
government’s duties under the
Constitution
Activity
Look over the chart of government powers. Create a comic that illustrates the
powers for each level of government. The comic must include the following
information:
 Each level of government should have there own section in the book
 One page must be devoted to each power at each level
 The book must have clean, colorful illustrations
 The characters in your book should have speech or thought bubbles
explaining the power
History Alive! America’s Past, Enrichment Essay