Below are the reading guide and questions for the Constitution. You are to answer the questions to the fullest abilities and analyze the texts.
There is also a version of the Constitution in the back of your book. The goal of this assignment is for you to dig deeper into texts than is just on the surface, and integrate course knowledge and materials into reading materials. To earn the most points possible, you need to incorporate knowledge and content that is not present in the text, this can be from the course text book, or class lecture.
1. What does the Preamble outline? What is meant by the idea of, "promote general Welfare"? How does the government do this?
2. Article I is about the Legislative powers, what are these? Where did the idea of taxation and representatives come from? Why would the colonists want taxation to originate from the House of Representatives? Who, key word originally, choose the Senate? Why would the "Founding Fathers" want this?
3. Who establishes the rules about Naturalization of citizens? Why would this be given to this branch? During the Founding Father's time period, who was considered a "naturalized" citizen?
4. Under the United States Constitution, how is a President elected? How is this different than what we think the system works? Is this a fair system? What are the duties of the President?
5. Article III is about the Judicial powers, who is in the Judicial branch of government? What are the roles of the Judicial Powers? Why is treason written in the Judicial section of the Constitution?
6. How are new states to be admitted to the Union? Who chooses these states? What was the last state to be admitted into the United States? What was the last territory to want to be admitted to the Union and when was this?
7. How can there be new amendments to the Constitution? What is the process? What was the first amendment added after the Constitutional Convention? What was the last amendment to the Constitution?
8. What is the first amendment? What does it mean that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion?" Where did this idea come from? How did the Founding Father's think about religion? Do we follow these ideas today?
9. What is the text of the Second Amendment? What was the original purpose of this amendment? How do we think about this amendment today differently than the Founding Fathers?
10. What is the ninth and tenth amendment to the Constitution? What are some of the powers not spelled out in the Constitution that fall under the tenth Amendment? What does the ninth amendment mean? Why does the Constitution rely on state's so heavily?