Civics_Ch2_webquest_at-the-convention

=**At your convention**= Before you begin writing your nation's new constitution, you must first agree on basic principles involved in writing your document.


 * 1.** You get to be the **George Washington** of your convention...a.k.a. the one in charge (make sure to put on your __vocabulary__ section that Washington was in charge of the convention)! Your first decision is whether or not to hold a public meeting and allow the press to cover the discussion or keep your meeting a secret and not allow the press to come in. Which do you want to do: public or secret? Click on which one you want. On your noteguide - **(a)** Which did you originally choose? **(b)** Why? **(c)** Why did the Founding Fathers choose the one they did? **(d)** Who do you agree with more - yourself or the Founding Fathers or did you agree with the Founders the whole time?


 * 2.** As your meeting continues, there are debates on where to start and as is usually the case not everyone agrees. Disagreements turn into arguments and some of the delegates threaten to leave. At this point, a wise delegate who had a long career in the field of politics stood up to keep peace and made a suggestion when he said "...//And have we now forgotten that Powerful Friend? I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid//?" Basically, this statement is saying that God is involved in everything that happens on the earth and a nation can only be successful if built based on reliance on God. In your notebook - **(a)** Do you agree or disagree with using this statement as guidance for convention meetings? **(b)** Why or why not? Click here to see what the Founding Fathers did. **(c)** Do you agree with the Founding Fathers after reading the link?


 * 3.** After getting your delegates calm and deciding if faith will be one of your principles, you next need to decide who is going to have power. Are you going to have a monarch (king/queen), a dictatorship, or one with consent of the governed? In your packet - **(a)** Which did you choose? **(b)** Why? **(c)** Did you agree with the Founding Fathers?


 * 4.** Whether you decided immediately to form a government based on the consent of the governed or delegates had to talk you into, the bottom line is that your new government will be a democracy. The question is, do you want a direct democracy in which the people vote on every government decision or a representative style of government in which the people elect representatives to make government decisions on their behalf. Direct democracy or representative democracy: click on the one you want. In your notebook - **(a)** Which did you originally choose? **(b)** Why? **(c)** Why did the Founding Fathers choose the one they did? **(d)** Who do you agree with more?


 * 5.** After you've selected the style of democracy that will exist on your island nation, you then have to decide how power will be divided in terms of levels. The island is currently being ruled by each ship captain and is in reality 13 independent nations. You recognize that this system isn't working and need more centralized structure to work together instead of competing against each other. **(a)** Are you going to allow the 13 subdivisions to still exist and have some localized control while the centralized government has ultimate power or are you going to eliminate the 13 subdivisions? **(b)** Why did you make this decision? Click here to see what our Founders set up.


 * 6.** Okay...you've decided the basics of power in your new government. Now, you have to decide if there will be restrictions to how much power the government has over individuals. Everyone at your convention understands the benefits of elections (you know the dangers of a dictatorship or monarchy since historically they aren't successful). How much authority do you want elected officials to have over individual CHOICES? This is the next dilemma to consider. So, here are the choices: limited government or progressive government. There is a third choice, which is unlimited government, but all at the convention realize that giving a government unlimited authority over the people would eventually lead to a dictatorship. Decision time! Limited government restricts how much authority the elected officials have in making decisions for the people. It allows people to work hard and receive benefits such as wealth if they work hard, which means hard work pays off - there is an incentive. On the other hand, those who don't work hard, may not have as much as others. Also, people may make decisions that aren't the wisest, but limited government would allow such people to learn from mistakes. Progressive government allows elected officials to make more decisions for the people. This takes away some of the peoples' individual freedom and ability to make choices, but does make sure everyone makes the "right" choice ("right" is in quotes because the government would be saying what is the right choice, not the individual). Here's an example - Eating healthy is obviously better for you than eating fatty foods. Limited government allows people to make the choice on what to eat, even though some people may choose unhealthy foods. Progressive government would force restaurants and stores to sell healthy foods, which makes sure people make the "right" choice, but does take away individual freedom in terms of choices. So, which do you want: Limited government or Progressive government? **(a)** Which did you decide? **(b)** Why? Click here to view our Founding Fathers' decision.


 * 7.** Next, you have to decide how you're going to break down the new government's power in terms of laws. Government is responsible for the following: (1) making laws, (2) enforcing or carrying out the laws, and (3) interpreting or deciding whether or not the laws are fair. Here is your choice: you can divide these three responibilities into three different groups (one group makes laws, one group enforces laws, and one group interprets laws) or you can have the same group make, enforce, and interpret the fairness of laws. **(a)** Which did you decide? **(b)** Why? Click here to view our Founding Fathers' decision.


 * 8.** Finally, in terms of principles, you have to decide if you're going to make sure the government leaders cannot abuse their power. If you decide in #7 to put all of the powers in one person or body, are you going to set up a way to make sure that body doesn't abuse its power? If you chose to divide the powers into separate branches for #7, do you think it's a good idea to give each branch the ability to make sure the others don't abuse their power? **(a)** What decision did you make? **(b)** Why? Click here to view our Founding Fathers' decision.


 * Compare your principles to the Founding Fathers.** Click here to see how close you are to our Founders.


 * Did you meet the objectives?** Click here to be sure you can answer key questions.