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| Chapter 2: The Founding and the Constitution |
| Questions for Discussion and Thought |
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| 1. Explain this statement: “The Declaration of Independence is an extremely liberal document and the U.S. Constitution is an extremely conservative document.” |
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2. How might U.S. history have been changed if
- the colonists had lost the American Revolution?
- the Constitutional Convention of 1787 had never been held?
- the Constitution had never been ratified?
- we did not have a Bill of Rights in the federal Constitution?
- slavery had been abolished when the Constitution was adopted?
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3. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were sent to revise the Articles of Confederation, but instead threw them out and wrote an entirely new constitution. These meetings were held in secret because of fear that the public would be angry if they knew what the delegates were doing. Today we have open meeting laws that would prevent such secrecy.
Which do you think is better: meeting in secret or holding open meetings? Explain why. |
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4. Some people want to amend the Constitution to allow for initiative, that is, to allow voters to propose legislation and constitutional amendments, a process allowed in some state constitutions.
Do you think this is a good idea? What advantages and disadvantages do you see in this? |
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