Civics Quarter 1: bellwork 3 (Florida Standards)

Learning Objectives: Language Arts Focus: Analyze/Evaluate Text Structure

Social Studies Content: Origins and Purposes of Law and Government Social Studies Skill: Synthesize information      

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Federalists & Anti-Federalists

Federalism: What Is It?

Federalism is a system of government that divides powerbetween a central government and smaller units of government, such as state or local governments. The term federal government refers to the central government that unites all the smaller governments. The United States has a federal system: There is a central United States government, but at the same time each state has its own independent government. Some powers belong to the federal government, some powers belong to state governments, and some powers belong to both.

Who Needs a Central Government?

As the United States was being born, the Founders experimented with several types of government. The first one was organized under an agreement called the Articles of Confederation. It created a central government that had very little power. Most of the power was given to the state governments. This gave the states a lot of independence, but it also created problems. So the Founders tried again, and this time they wrote theConstitution. Signed by representatives from every state, the Constitution created a stronger central government that shared power with the states. But when the Constitution was sent to the states for approval, some of the founders fought against it. People split into two groups that argued bitterly about certain parts of the proposed Constitution.

Anti-Federalists: Down with Central Government!

Anti-federalists wanted a small central government. They believed local government’s best understood what citizens needed and would best protect citizens’ freedom. Anti-federalists opposed parts of the Constitution they thought limited the power of the states. They feared that a strong central government would overpower state governments, and eventually state governments would lose their independence and influence. They also didn’t like that the original Constitution did not guarantee citizens any specific rights. They feared that a central government would become so powerful it would be just like having a king.

Federalists: Yay for Central Government!

Federalists wanted a strong central government. They believed that a strong central government was necessary if the states were going to band together to form a nation. A strong central government could represent the nation to other countries. It could also control individual states that would not cooperate with the rest. Federalists also believed that a strong central government could best protect individual citizens’ rights and freedoms. Federalists were not afraid of the central government created by the Constitution because it had three branches—the executive, legislative, and judicial—that could limit each other’s power. That way, the central government could not become too powerful.

 

Question for the day

Question for day 1: L.A. 1.7.2.: Authors Purpose   a. The author’s purpose: How do we maintain the power in the United States government and insure that control is still in the peoples hands? a. The United States is too large to have a central government. b. By having a government with Articles of Confederation to keep power in the states. c. By having all the states ratify the government. d. By dividing power between state and national governments.

Question for day 2: LA.7.2.2.1: The student will locate, use, and analyze specific information from organizational text features (e.g. table of contents, headings, captions, bold print, italics, glossaries, indices, key/guide words).   b. Analyze the text to determine what “independent governments” is referring to? “There is a central United States government, but at the same time each state has its own independent government.” . The national government is in control of all aspects of government in the United States. . The state governments have their own powers and responsibilities. . The state governments carry out the orders of the national government. . The national government has to ask the states what to do.

Question for day 3: LA.7.1.7.3: The student will determine the main idea or essential message in grade-level text through inferring, paraphrasing, summarizing, and identifying relevant details   3. Examine to determine the main idea of the passage above:“They feared that a central government would become so powerful it would be just like having a king.” What is meant by the phrase: . The phrase describes the fear of not having a strong enough government to hold the country together. . The phrase describes the fear that one state might take power over the other states. . The phrase describes the fear that the people of the United States would live under a tyrant ruler again. . The phrase describes the meaning of the wordFederalism.

Question Day for 4:LA.7.1.6.3: use context clues to determine meanings of unfamiliar words.     4. Determine the meaning of the word Federalism   using context clues from the above passage. . to make it necessary for somebody to do something in government. . is a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government, federal and state.  . Is the federal government is given enough power to overpower the states. . Is the federal government is given just a few powers that are very well defined.

 

The Dispute Comes to an End

 

A Compromise

In the end, the federalists and anti-federalists found a compromise and the Constitution was accepted. Federalists agreed to add ten amendments, or changes, to the end of the Constitution. These amendments guaranteed a list of rights to citizens and are known as the Bill of Rights. The anti-federalists were pleased with this addition because the Bill of Rights limited the central government’s power.

The Constitution of the United States sets forth the nation'sfundamental laws. It establishes the form of the national government and defines the rights and liberties of the American people. It also lists the aims of the national government and the methods of achieving them. Previously, the nation's leaders had established an alliance among the states under the Articles of Confederation. But the Congress created by the Articles lacked the authority to make the states work together to solve national problems.

The Preamble (opening) of the Constitution says, “We the People…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The people created this Constitution. That is enough to make sure the government will never violate peoples’ rights. The Federalists believed we didn’t need an extra Bill of Rights!

The Bill of Rights includes: Freedom of speech, Freedom of religion, Freedom of the press, No unreasonable searches, Right to due process of law, No cruel punishments, Right to a lawyer, Right to a fair trial, and more.

 

Quiz

1: L.A. 1.7.2.: Authors Purpose   1. The Federalist and Anti- Federalist in the end came to a Great Compromise. With this came a document that achieved all their goals. Which best describes this compromise?   a) The Constitution lays out the fundamental laws, but has the ability to be altered through adding amendments. b) The states made an alliance to help each other in times of trouble. c) The compromise meant that the Federalistswon. d) The compromise is explained in the Preamble to the Constitution.

2: LA.7.2.2.1: The student will locate, use, and analyze specific information from organizational text features (e.g. table of contents, headings, captions, bold print, italics, glossaries, indices, key/guide words).   2. Analyze the text to determine the meaning of this section of the Preamble: “We the People…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”   a) The Federalists approved the Constitution. b) The Anti-Federalists approved the Constitution. c) The states created the Constitution. d) The people established the Constitution.

3: LA.7.1.7.3: The student will determine the main idea or essential message in grade-level text through inferring, paraphrasing, summarizing, and identifying relevant details.   The Articles of Confederation were not working and needed to be changed. What were the views of the Federalists andAnti-Federalists on this subject?   a) Anti-federalists wanted a small state government. Federalists wanted a weak central government. b) Anti-federalists wanted a small central government. Federalists wanted a strongcentral government. c) Anti-federalists wanted a large central government. Federalists wanted a weak central government. d) Anti-federalists wanted a strong central government. Federalists wanted small a central government.

4: LA.7.1.6.3: use context clues to determine meanings of unfamiliar words Determine the meaning of the word compromise using context clues from the above passage.   a) To give up and quit trying to agree b) To change their point of view so that one side gives in to the other side c) To each give up part of what they want in order to reach an agreement d) To have an outside judge make the decision