In our second week, we will focus on the foundation of Constitutional law, the foundation for the rest of the course. Constitutional law deals with the fundamental principles by which the government exercises its authority. We delve into the past when the United States was just a dream and we were known as colonists, rather than American citizens. Most of us think of the Constitution in a very limited way, focusing on particular amendments, rather than looking at the broad scope of its authority and its fundamental purposes. We also are likely not to grasp the historical context of the Constitution, so we will focus on famous American leaders such as George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson and the practical concerns they had in creating a separate country through the law. There are many contentious issues from the time, such as slavery and Native American peoples, that were not addressed by the Constitution, yet had a significant historical and social impact on the development of the country.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify the three main groups that coexisted in 1775 in the land that would become the United States of America and which of these groups U.S. history tends to ignore.
2. Know when, where, and why the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress convened and what each resulted in.
3. Name the document that formally severed the American colonies’ ties with Great Britain and know when this document was signed.
4. Clarify what the primary purpose of the Constitution is and how it is achieved.
5. Describe how the balance of power was established.
6. Summarize what the Bill of Rights is and why it was included with the Constitution.
7. Pinpoint the glaring omission in the Constitution and Bill of Rights that contradicted the Declaration of Independence.

Workflow: 

Read: The Constitution and Its Origins: https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/pages/2-introduction

Read: PowerPoint – AmericanGovernment2e-Ch02

Watch: