It is September 17, 1787, and you are a person in North America seeing the United States Constitution for the first time.
Step 1, gather evidence (statistics, events, and examples) from your textbook and class lectures concerning the Constitutional Convention, as well as the events and issues leading up to the writing of the Constitution. Also carefully read the Constitution in your textbook several times.
Step 2, analyze the evidence. See if you would have been a Federalist (supporting ratification of the Constitution) or an anti-federalist (opposing ratification). Look at all the issues leading up to September 17, 1787. Also consider the Declaration of Independence and what it was protesting back in 1776, as well as the major changes that a ratified Constitution might bring.
Step 3, communicate your findings honestly to yourself and others. Engage in the online debate on Ratification of the Constitution. Go to the “Course Work” tab, select “Discussions,” and go to the appropriate discussion board. Write at least three new posts, and respond to at least three posts.
Cover one specific topic for each of your posts, and show ample evidence about that one topic. The goal here is to try and start several discussions, each one of them specifically addressing a single topic, such as taxation.
Note: You can change your mind during the debate on whether you want to be a federalist or anti-federalist. Keep in mind, the date is September 17, 1787. You don’t know what happens after that.
