Each Sixth Grader will play the role of a specific delegate to the Constitutional Convention– see your assignment. Each student will use this template to prepare their speech for the Constitutional Convention.  Use the following resources to learn about your state’s needs so that you would know how to vote and compromise on:

• how to create a fair system of representation in Congress (i.e., give each state one vote? or provide more POPULOUS states a larger number of votes?
• how to count the population for representation if slavery existed in that state
• how to strengthen the federal government while STILL protecting the rights and freedoms you just fought for in the American Revolution? How do you put LIMITS on the powers used by the leaders?
• how to raise money to run the government: should you charge tax according to the PROPERTY that each state has, counting slaves as property?

Databases to use:

(How to Access the Databases)         (Why use databases?)

• Gale’s Biography in Context (search by the name of the person) to learn a little about who they are and what they cared about at the Constitutional Convention
• Gale’s US History in Context (search by topic such as “Great Compromise” or “Virginia Plan”)  If you are logged in to MackinVia, you can view some excellent general resources in this helpful order:
  • this video
  • “Inventing a New Nation: The U.S. Constitution“
  • “Constitutional Convention.”
• Kids InfoBits provides some articles that are shorter and easier to read
• World Book
  • “William Paterson [and the New Jersey Plan.]”
  • “Constitutional Convention” – mentions several important delegates!
• Britannica
  Resources to understand ECONOMY:
  
• 13 Colonies’ Economies.  (How do we understand what an economy IS? See what was grown in each colony. 13 Colonies’ Economies 2.  Compare the wealth in each colony– which were the richest?
• Economies and Communications: if you persist with this long article, starting at the topic of “Land and Agriculture” you can learn a lot about the economy of your state.
• Apply the databases and articles that are sometimes shared in a COLONY project at H-B to show understanding of the natural resources and economy of the state you are representing.

Web sites recommended:

• Census Bureau information: For the population of each colony in 1780, counting both Whites and African Americans, use page 16. To see how many African Americans were imported as slaves and might be taxed as property, use page 21
• Paste this citation for that source into your bibliography:
  “Chapter Z, Colonial and Pre-Federal Statistics.” Historical Statistics of the United States, United States Census Bureau, www2.census.gov/library/publications/1975/compendia/hist_stats_colonial-1970/hist_stats_colonial-1970p2-chZ.pdf?#.
• http://teachingamericanhistory.org/ (use the section on the Constitution. It can give you info on delegates, on what committees they served and how their states voted on some issues. Look at Madison’s Notes. You can get direct quotes from many of the delegates to be used in your paper and in the mock convention.)
• http://www.history.army.mil/books/RevWar/ss/ss-fm.htm This is a really good site for those delegates who served in the military. This is also known as “Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution.”
• http://www.congressforkids.net/Constitution_delegates.htm This is a good site to read to give you an overview of the Convention.
• https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-constitution-amendments/the-constitutional-convention/ Some of the leaders have their information here.

These tools help you to generate citations:

• EasyBib (make sure you use the tab for MLA-8 to be current)
• NoodleTools (If you have used it before, get your free account from the librarian. You will learn more about it in 7th grade.  Use these NoodleTools tutorials.)
• The OWL at Purdue gives models for a huge variety of sources to support your creating of your bibliography:
  • web sites and images you gather from the wide open internet
  • books
• For your Final Draft of your “Works Cited” list…
  • apply this Bibliography Checklist.
  • Here is a model of a bibliography.

Primary sources- so cool!

The Library of Congress and other sources have preserved some documents used in 1787. Here’s what some of them said. Are any documents containing ideas that your delegate would support?

• Charles Pinkney’s Plan
• Bill of Rights
• The New Jersey Plan
• The Virginia Plan