Pe r f e c t i o n L e a r n i n g

We the PeoPle Foundations oF american

Government

Government and current events

Editorial dirEctor Carol Francis

ExEcutivE Editor Jim Strickler

Editorial tEam Kate Winzenburg, Sheri Cooper

art dirEctor Randy Messer

dEsignEr Tobi Cunningham

imagE rEsEarch tEam Anjanette Houghtaling, Rebecca Keay

covEr art © Julie Nicholls / Corbis

© 2013 Perfection Learning®www.perfectionlearning.comAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. For information regarding permissions, write to: Permissions Department, Perfection Learning, 2680 Berkshire Parkway, Des Moines, Iowa 50325.

2 3 4 5 6 7 PP 17 16 15 14 13 12

PP/Logan, Iowa, USA3/12

94325PB ISBN-10: 0-7891-8290-4PB ISBN-13: 978-0-7891-8290-6HB ISBN-10: 1-61383-107-2HB ISBN-13: 978-1-61383-107-6

Printed in the United States of America

does the constitution Work today?

The question above is the essential question that you will consider as you read this book. The selections, activities, and organization of the book will lead you to think critically about this question and to develop a deeper understanding of how effective the Constitution is today.

CLUSTER ONE What ideas shaped the Founders? Critical Thinking Skill ANALyziNg SOURCES

CLUSTER TWO How does the Constitution safeguard against tyranny?

Critical Thinking Skill COmpARiNg pOiNTS Of ViEW

CLUSTER THREE What compromises in the Constitution matter today?

Critical Thinking Skill EVALUATiNg ARgUmENTS

CLUSTER fOUR Thinking on your own Critical Thinking Skill iNTEgRATiNg SOURCES Of iNfORmATiON

Notice that the final cluster asks you to think independently about your answer to the essential question—Does the Constitution work today?

We the PeoPle oF the united states

. . . do ordain and establish this Constitution for

the United States of America.

—from the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution,

written in 1787 and ratified in 1788

6

table oF contents

Preface 3

ProloguefromthePreambletotheu.S.conStitution 4

tableofcontentS 6

CREATiNg CONTExT 9

The Constitution of the United States, with annotations

cluSterone Wh at id e a s sh a P e d t h e Fo u n d e r s? 35

criticalthinkingSkill analyzingSourceS

Magna Carta and Its American Legacy Analysis and Primary Source 36

The Mayflower Compact Primary Source 43

The Pilgrims Had It Good

Victor Landa Article 44

Life in a City on a Hill

Sarah VoweLL Book 46

Reagan’s Farewell Address

ronaLd reagan Speech 50

Religious Tolerance in America

richard rodriguez Essay 52

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

Patrick henry Speech 55

What Makes a Government Legitimate?

John Locke Book 59

Declaration of Independence

thomaS JefferSon Primary Source 62

The Fourth of July and Slavery

frederick dougLaSS Speech 68

Responding to Cluster One

Writingactivity:analyzeaSource 72

6

7

cluStertWo ho W do e s t h e co n s t i t u t i o n sa F e G u a r d aG a i n s t ty r a n n y? 73

criticalthinkingSkill comParingPointSofVieW

The Separation of Powers

Baron de monteSquieu Essay 74

When Is Bombing Constitutional?

ta-nehiSi coateS and BLog contriButorS Blog 78

The Federalist Papers

JameS madiSon Essay 84

Objections to the Constitution

george maSon Article 90

Minnesota Too Polite to Ask for Federal Funding

the onion Humor 94

Responding to Cluster Two

Writingactivity:compareop-edarticles 96

cluSterthree Wh at co m P r o m i s e s i n t h e co n s t i t u t i o n mat t e r to d ay? 97

criticalthinkingSkill eValuatingargumentS

What Would the Founders Do?

richard BrookhiSer Book 98

The Great Compromise

catherine drinker Bowen Book 102

Who Rules? A Case Study in Power

aLec macgiLLiS Analysis 108

Latinos Remake the Electoral Map

henry fLoreS Analysis 114

No More Racial Gerrymandering

Linda chaVez Column 117

Responding to Cluster Three

Writingactivity:evaluatetheargumentforcompromise 120

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cluSterfour th i n k i n G o n yo u r oW n 121

criticalthinkingSkill integratingSourceSofinformation

federalaid

Needy Students Need Aid

eSther cePeda Column Reading One 122

Fat Cat Universities Don’t Need Aid

JaSon mattera Column Reading Two 124

theconstitution

Americans View Basic Freedoms

firSt amendment center Survey Reading One 127

Reverence for the Constitution

J iLL LePore Article Reading Two 129

makingDecisions

The Spoiled-Brat American Electorate

eugene roBinSon Column Reading One 133

The Misguided Elites

thomaS SoweLL Column Reading Two 136

ViewsofPolitics

Why I Hate Politics. That Government Kind.

marcy maSSura Humor Reading One 139

Why I’m Political

margaret cho Essay Reading Two 141

Responding to Cluster four

Writingactivity:evaluatetheconstitutiontoday 144

authorbiograPhieS 145

aDDitionalreaDing 151

acknoWleDgmentS 153

9

C r e a t i n g C o n t e x t

the constitution oF the united states

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article ISection 1 All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section 2 The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

PreambleThe first three words of the Preamble declare that the people, rather than a king or the states, had the legitimate power to create a national government. Read about the source of government authority in “Magna Carta and Its American Legacy,” pages 36–42; “The Mayflower Compact,” page 43; and “What Makes a Government Legitimate?” by John Locke, pages 59–61.

Article I The LegislatureSection 1 Delegates from large states such as Virginia wanted Congressional representation to be based on population. Delegates from small states such as New Jersey wanted representation to be equal for every state. Delegates compromised by creating a new national legislature with two houses, one based on population and one based on equal representation. Read about this compromise in the selection “The Great Compromise,” by Catherine Drinker Bowen, pages 102–107, and how it works today in “Who Rules? A Case Study in Power,” by Alec MacGillis, pages 108–113.

Section 2 The framers wondered whether “the people” should include Native Americans

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When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section 3 The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, thereof for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year.

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall choose their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

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C r e a t i n g C o n t e x t

and African Americans. They decided that only the few Native Americans who owned property and thus paid taxes would be counted, and that enslaved African Americans would count as only three-fifths of a person. This system did not change until 1868, when the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment granted full citizenship to everyone born in the United States. Read about redistricting the House in “No More Racial Gerrymandering,” by Linda Chavez, pages 117–119.

Section 3 Many delegates feared that most people were too uneducated and too short-sighted to make wise political decisions. Alexander Hamilton said “the ancient democracies, in which the people themselves deliberated, never possessed one feature of good government.” To make the Senate less democratic, the framers originally included a provision that state legislators, rather than

CLUSTER ONE

What ideas shaPed the Founders?

criticalthinkingSkill analyzingSourceS

JURY FOR TRIAL OF A SHEEPHERDER FOR MURDER 1936 Ernest Leonard Blumenschein

37M ag n a C a rta a n d I t s a M e r I C a n L e g aC y

maGna carta and its american leGacy

Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” is a landmark document in the development of jury trials, constitutional government, and belief in rule by consent of the governed. The original Magna Carta was written in England in 1215, and then revised in subsequent years. The following selection is from an article written by the National Archives and Records Administration for an exhibit that featured a 1297 edition of Magna Carta. The excerpts are from a translation made by the British Museum of the 1215 version of the document. Spellings have been changed to match Standard American English.

Before penning the Declaration of Independence—the first of the American Charters of Freedom—in 1776, the Founding Fathers searched for a historical precedent for asserting their rightful liberties from King George III and the English Parliament. They found it in a gathering that took place 561 years earlier on the plains of Runnymede,1 not far from where Windsor Castle stands today. There, on June 15, 1215, an assembly of barons confronted a despotic and cash-strapped King John and demanded that traditional rights be recognized, written down, confirmed with the royal seal, and sent to each of the counties to be read to all freemen. The result was Magna Carta—a momentous achievement for the English barons and, nearly six centuries later, an inspiration for angry American colonists.

Magna Carta was the result of the Angevin2 king’s disastrous foreign policy and overzealous financial administration. John had suffered a staggering blow the previous year, having lost an important battle to King Philip II at Bouvines3 and with it all hope of regaining the French lands he had inherited. When the defeated John returned from the Continent, he attempted to rebuild his coffers by demanding scutage (a fee paid in

1 Runnymede: an area about 20 miles west of London 2 Angevin: the period of English history from 1154 to 1399, named for the Anjou region of

France, the homeland of the monarchs who ruled England 3 Bouvines: a place in northern France, near the border with Belgium

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lieu of military service) from the barons who had not joined his war with Philip. The barons in question, predominantly lords of northern estates, protested, condemning John’s policies and insisting on a reconfirmation of Henry I’s Coronation Oath (1100), which would, in theory, limit the king’s ability to obtain funds. (As even Henry ignored the provisions of this charter, however, a reconfirmation would not necessarily guarantee fewer taxes.) But John refused to withdraw his demands, and by spring most baronial families began to take sides. The rebelling barons soon faltered before John’s superior resources, but with the unexpected capture of London, they earned a substantial bargaining chip. John agreed to grant a charter.

The document conceded by John and set with his seal in 1215, however, was not what we know today as Magna Carta but rather a set of baronial stipulations, now lost, known as the “Articles of the barons.” After John and his barons agreed on the final provisions and additional wording changes, they issued a formal version on June 19, and it is this document that came to be known as Magna Carta. Of great significance to future generations was a minor wording change, the replacement of the term “any baron” with “any freeman” in stipulating to whom the provisions applied. Over time, it would help justify the application of the Charter’s provisions to a greater part of the population. While freemen were a minority in 13th-century England, the term would eventually include all English, just as “We the People” would come to apply to all Americans in this century.

While Magna Carta would one day become a basic document of the British Constitution, democracy and universal protection of ancient liberties were not among the barons’ goals. The Charter was a feudal

document and meant to protect the rights and property of the few powerful families that topped the rigidly structured feudal system. In fact, the majority of the population, the thousands of unfree laborers, are only mentioned once, in a clause concerning the use

Marriages —and their economic consequences —were a major topic in Magna Carta.

39M ag n a C a rta a n d I t s a M e r I C a n L e g aC y

what ideaS ShaPed the founderS?

of court-set fines to punish minor offenses. Magna Carta’s primary purpose was restorative: to force King John to recognize the supremacy of ancient liberties, to limit his ability to raise funds, and to reassert the principle of “due process.” Only a final clause, which created an enforcement council of tenants-in-chief and clergymen, would have severely limited the king’s power and introduced something new to English law: the principle of “majority rule.”

Excerpts from Magna Carta

As might be expected, the text of Magna Carta of 1215 bears many traces of haste, and is clearly the product of much bargaining and many hands. Most of its clauses deal with specific, and often long-standing, grievances rather than with general principles of law.

John, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his officials and loyal subjects, Greeting.

Jury trials remain one of the most important legacies of Magna Carta.

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M ag n a C a rta a n d I t s a M e r I C a n L e g aC y

To all free men of our kingdom we have also granted, for us and our heirs for ever, all the liberties written out below, to have and to keep for them and their heirs, of us and our heirs: . . .

When a baron died, he could demand a succession duty or relief (relevium) from the baron‘s heir. If there was no heir, or if the succession was disputed, the baron’s lands could be forfeited or “escheated” to the Crown. If the heir was under age, the king could assume the guardianship of his estates, and enjoy all the profits from them—even to the extent of despoliation4—until the heir came of age.

5. For so long as a guardian has guardianship of such land, he shall maintain the houses, parks, fish preserves, ponds, mills, and everything else pertaining to it, from the revenues of the land itself. When the heir comes of age, he shall restore the whole land to him, stocked with plow teams and such implements of husbandry as the season demands and the revenues from the land can reasonably bear.

The king had the right, if he chose, to sell such a guardianship to the highest bidder, and to sell the heir himself in marriage for such price as the value of his estates would command. The widows and daughters of barons might also be sold in marriage. With their own tenants, the barons could deal similarly.

The scope for extortion and abuse in this system, if it were not benevolently applied, was obviously great and had been the subject of complaint long before King John came to the throne. Abuses were, moreover, aggravated by the difficulty of obtaining redress for them, and in Magna Carta the provision of the means for obtaining a fair hearing of complaints, not only against the king and his agents but against lesser feudal lords, achieves corresponding importance.

6. Heirs may be given in marriage, but not to someone of lower social standing. Before a marriage takes place, it shall be made known to the heir’s next-of-kin.

7. At her husband’s death, a widow may have her marriage portion and inheritance at once and without trouble. She shall pay nothing for her dower,5 marriage portion, or any inheritance that she and her husband held jointly on the day of his death. She

4 despoliation: the act of ruining through theft 5 dower: the part of a man’s estate that is allotted, after he dies, to his widow

41M ag n a C a rta a n d I t s a M e r I C a n L e g aC y

what ideaS ShaPed the founderS?

may remain in her husband’s house for forty days after his death, and within this period her dower shall be assigned to her.

8. No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she wishes to remain without a husband. But she must give security that she will not marry without royal consent, if she holds her lands of the Crown, or without the consent of whatever other lord she may hold them of. . . .

In feudal society, the king’s barons held their lands “in fee” (feudum) from the king, for an oath to him of loyalty and obedience, and with the obligation to provide him with a fixed number of knights whenever these were required for military service. At first the barons provided the knights by dividing their estates (of which the largest and most important were known as “honours”) into smaller parcels described as ‘knights’ fees,’ which they distributed to tenants able to serve as knights. But by the time of King John it had become more convenient and usual for the obligation for service to be commuted for a cash payment known as “scutage,” and for the revenue so obtained to be used to maintain paid armies.

12. No “scutage” or “aid” may be levied in our kingdom without its general consent, unless it is for the ransom of our person, to make our eldest son a knight, and (once) to marry our eldest daughter. For these purposes only a reasonable “aid” may be levied. “Aids” from the city of London are to be treated similarly. . . .

20. For a trivial offense, a free man shall be fined only in proportion to the degree of his offence, and for a serious offence correspondingly, but not so heavily as to deprive him of his livelihood. In the same way, a merchant shall be spared his merchandise, and a villein the implements of his husbandry, if they fall upon the mercy of a royal court. None of these fines shall be imposed except by the assessment on oath of reputable men of the neighborhood.

21. Earls and barons shall be fined only by their equals, and in proportion to the gravity of their offense. . . .

38. In future no official shall place a man on trial upon his own unsupported statement, without producing credible witnesses to the truth of it.

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39. No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.

40. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice. . . .

54. No one shall be arrested or imprisoned on the appeal of a woman for the death of any person except her husband. . . .

61. Since we have granted all these things for God, for the better ordering of our kingdom, and to allay the discord that has arisen between us and our barons, and since we desire that they shall be enjoyed in their entirety, with lasting strength, for ever, we give and grant to the barons the following security: The barons shall elect twenty-five of their number to keep, and cause to be observed with all their might, the peace and liberties granted and confirmed to them by this charter. . . .

63. It is accordingly our wish and command that the English Church shall be free, and that men in our kingdom shall have and keep all these liberties, rights, and concessions, well and peaceably in their fullness and entirety for them and their heirs, of us and our heirs, in all things and all places for ever.

Both we and the barons have sworn that all this shall be observed in good faith and without deceit. Witness the abovementioned people and many others.

Given by our hand in the meadow that is called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth day of June in the seventeenth year of our reign (i.e. 1215: the new regnal year began on 28 May).

72 r e s p o n d I n g to C L u s t e r o n e

Responding to Cluster One

What ideas Shaped the founders?criticalthinkingSkill analyzingSourceS

1. Analyze the purpose of Magna Carta. Explain why it was written in 1215 and how people have used it since then.

2. Create a table to help you analyze the setting in which the Pilgrims wrote the Mayflower Compact and Landa wrote his selection. Identify the time, place, and conditions under which each document was written.

Document Time Place Conditions

The Mayflower Compact

The Pilgrims Had It Good

3. Vowell and Reagan each interprets Winthrop’s use of the phrase “city on [or upon] a hill.” Analyze the type of evidence cited by each. Do they use facts, anecdotes, or reasons to support their interpretation? Explain which you find most persuasive.

4. What tone does Rodriguez use? What tone does Henry use? Analyze the tone in each selection by identifying specific words or phases. Then, explain whether you think they have similar or conflicting views about how to act in a free society.

5. Locke influenced Jefferson’s views on government. Analyze similarities between the two by identifying specific examples of ideas they shared.

6. Analyze the point of view in the speech by Douglass. Cite examples to show how he is speaking both for himself and for others.

Writing Activity: Analyze a Source

Select an article from a recent newspaper, magazine, or Web site that expresses a strong opinion on a current topic. Analyze it by taking notes on the name of the writer and his or her qualifications, the setting for the article, and definitions of any unfamiliar words or references. Then, identify up to five key points and take notes on whether the writer makes each one clearly.

Using your notes, write an essay analyzing the source. Explain whether you think it is a useful source for students to use.

A Strong Analysis

• identifiesthearticle’spurpose,audience,setting

• breaksdownthearticleintopartstocommenton

• pullstogetherpointsinasummary