Alabama Social Studies SS24.US1.2b
The Standard
- SS24.US1.2
- Evaluate how events and issues from the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1783) to the ratification of the Constitution of the United States affected the development of the political system of the United States.
Describe the major issues debated at the Constitutional Convention and analyze the solutions produced, including: the distribution of political power among states and within the federal government; the conduct of foreign affairs, commerce, and trade; the election of the executive; and slavery as a regional and federal issue.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain why large and small states disagreed over seats in Congress. They describe how delegates divided power among states and federal branches, then explain the deals over trade, treaties, presidential elections, and slavery.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students compare population-based House seats with equal Senate seats and explain Congress's power over interstate and foreign trade. They describe presidential treaty negotiations, Senate approval, and elections through electors. They explain how the three-fifths rule and protection of the overseas slave trade until 1808 favored slaveholding states.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students think every state has the same number of seats in both chambers. Others think voters directly elected the president or that he could make treaties alone. Many assume the Constitution ended slavery, rather than giving slaveholding states extra representation and delaying a ban on the overseas slave trade.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Fill a five-row chart for representation, trade, treaties, presidential elections, and slavery. In each row, name the decision and who gained power.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs Virginia (10) and New Jersey (2) population cards; allocate 12 House seats, then two Senate seats each.
Ask: Would you sign the Constitution if your state had few residents? Write two sentences citing the House and Senate deal.
Play a matching game: pair commerce, treaties, electors, and slavery cards with Congress, Senate consent, presidential selection, and the three-fifths rule.
Compare California's 52 House seats and Wyoming's one with their two Senate seats each; ask which compromise explains the difference.
Keep exploring
Related Standards
- SS24.4.7
Summarize the key factors leading to the ratification of the Constitution, including the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, Shays’ Rebellion, and the ...
- SS24.6.11
Analyze how collaboration and compromise were employed to address key issues during the Constitutional Convention, including representation in Congress (Great C...
- SS24.6.13
Describe major ideas, concepts, and limitations of the Constitution of the United States.
- SS24.USG.3
Analyze the major features and structural organization of the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
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