Chapter 2: The Founding and the Constitution

Study Plan

In this chapter, we will:

• assess the political backdrop of the American Revolution, which led to the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.
• consider the conditions that led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the great issues that the framers debated. To understand the character of the Founding and the meaning of the Constitution, it is essential to look beyond the myths and rhetoric and to explore the conflicting interests and forces at work during the period.
• examine the Constitution that ultimately emerged as the basis for the national government. The framers sought to create a powerful national government, but guarded against possible misuse of that power through the separation of powers, federalism, and the Bill of Rights.
• examine the first hurdle that the Constitution faced, the fight for ratification. Two sides, the Federalists and the Antifederalists, vigorously debated the great political issues and principles at stake.
• explore how the Constitution has changed over the past two centuries. The framers designed an amendment process so that the Constitution could be changed, but the process has succeeded only on rare occasions.
• ask what liberty, equality, and democracy meant to the framers of the Constitution. Although the framers established a system of government that would eventually allow each of these political values to thrive, they championed liberty as the most important of the three.

As you work through the below assignments, don't forget to generate a Progress Report. Fill out the sections you have completed and send a copy to your email account.

Organize

1. Follow this Study Plan to access your chapter assignments.
2. Print out the Chapter Outline and bring it to lecture to help structure your note-taking and check-off topics covered in class.
3. Access Quiz+! The results of this chapter quiz create a Custom Study Plan that links you directly to materials that will assist your pre-exam review.

Learn

1. Read Chapter 2 in your textbook or ebook.
2. Read the Chapter Review of Chapter 2. Note any material you have difficulty remembering from the text.
3. Master the key terms for this chapter by working through the deck of Flashcards.

Connect

1. Explore the Interactive Politics Simulation and the questions that follow.
2. Complete the You Decide Exercise after reading the Policy Debate box in Chapter 2 of your textbook or ebook.
3. Answer the Questions for Discussion and Thought and articulate your own point of view on the chapter's material.
4. Complete the What Government Does Exercises to understand the structure of American government and how it affects your life in a direct way.
5. Complete the Get Involved Exercise to see how you can use what you have learned in this chapter to effect change in politics and policy.
6. Watch the Video Exercises for this chapter and answer the accompanying questions.
7. Mobilize for political action with Mobilize.org!

Links

Norton Website
College Books
Professional Books
Trade Books
Help Desk

About W. W. Norton

W. W. Norton & Company has been independent since its founding in 1923, when William Warder Norton and Margaret D. Norton first published lectures delivered at the People's Institute, the adult education division of New York City's Cooper Union. The Nortons soon expanded their program beyond the Institute, publishing books by celebrated academics from America and abroad. By mid-century, the two major pillars of Norton's publishing program—trade books and college texts—were firmly established. In the 1950s, the Norton family transferred control of the company to its employees, and today—with a staff of 400 and a comparable number of trade, college, and professional titles published each year—W. W. Norton & Company stands as the largest and oldest publishing house owned wholly by its employees.