Assessment+on+the+Constitution

By the end of this week (March 19), I expect you to know the following:

-- 1777-1787, the Confederation -- states were like small countries, "a firm friendship" between states -- a weak national (federal) government -- the document (piece of paper) that told them what to do: the Articles of Confederation
 * the kind of government we TRIED to set up after the American Revolution


 * why the Confederation didn't work

-- limited power (they were afraid of a king with too much power!) -- power from the people -- shared power between states and the federal government -- separation of powers into THREE branches
 * what kind of government the Framers wanted to set up


 * the six GOALS of the government (what a government should do), as expressed in the Preamble


 * what the three branches of our government are (and details about how the legislative branch is set up -- Senate has two seats from each state; House has seats depending on state's population)

-- why they're important -- what SPECIFIC powers each branch of gov. has over the other two branches
 * what checks and balances are

-- why amendments should be hard to make (only 27 passed out of 9,000 proposed) -- what some of the other amendments are (end slavery, give women the vote, etc.) -- what the 1st Amendment says (five freedoms)
 * what amendments are


 * WHY WE SHOULD CARE ABOUT ALL OF THE ABOVE

-- show me what you know about that topic -- explain to me why you, as a teenager in the U.S., should care
 * Using the outline of what I wanted you to learn in the past two weeks, please write a paper in which you address EACH starred section in a separate paragraph. Each paragraph should do the following:

EMAIL TO ME AT BROOKSS@JSD.K12.AK.US BY MARCH 28, 2010 (SUNDAY).**