The Constitution in Action: Strict vs. Loose Construction

History is the chronicle of choices made by actors/agents/protagonists in specific contexts. This simulation places students in the Early Republic and asks them to engage with questions of Constitutional interpretation faced by President Washington and the First Federal Congress. Did the Constitution empower Congress to charter a national bank? Finance and maintain lighthouses? Regulate working conditions of merchant seamen? Support higher education?

http://consource.org/static/lesson-plans/make-a-nation-early-republic/05_Strict_vs_Loose_Construction-1class.pdf
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Resource provided by ConSource: The Constitutional Sources Project

Grades

9, 10, 11, 12

Subjects

Federal Government

Resource Types

Modules (Teaching Unit), Lesson Plans, Primary Sources, Interactives

Teaching Strategies

Small Group Discussion, Small Group Deliberation, Debate, Simulation/Role-play, Analysis, Primary Source, Informational Text, Whole Class, Whole Class Discussion, Whole Class Deliberation, Small Group

Civic Days

Constitution Day, Law Day

Duration

50 minutes

Constitution Articles

Constitution Day, Meaning of Constitution

Tags

First Bank, constitutional interpretation