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History, Civics & Social Studies · Grade 8

Constitutional Government and Federalism

Learners investigate why the first US government under the Articles of Confederation struggled, how delegates in 1787 built a new Constitution through hard compromises (including compromises over slavery), and how the Constitution divides power among three branches and between the nation and the states. They read the Preamble, the Tenth Amendment and Federalist No. 51, and weigh the ratification debate.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 115 minutes
  • Constitution and federalism check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: fill in the blanks, choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, type a number and put in order
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What learners will discover

  • Explain the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and how events such as Shays' Rebellion led to the Constitutional Convention.
  • Explain the major compromises of the 1787 Convention, including the Great Compromise and the compromises over slavery.
  • Explain separation of powers, checks and balances and federalism, and classify powers as national, state or shared.
  • Analyze the ratification debate, the Bill of Rights and the amendment process using primary sources.

Lessons

  1. Why the Articles struggled 5 steps3 practiceabout 27 min
  2. A bundle of compromises 6 steps3 practiceabout 30 min
  3. Dividing power 6 steps4 practiceabout 30 min
  4. Ratification, rights and amendment 8 steps5 practiceabout 28 min
  5. Constitution and federalism check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

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Guide for grown-ups