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fandomhigh2006-02-01 12:50 pm
professor-lyman.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2006-02-01 12:50 pm
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US Government (Wednesday, February 1, 4th period)
Josh was reading the transcript of the State of the Union and rolling his eyes when the government students filed into the classroom.
"That speech," he sputtered. "Seriously? Seriously?" He coughed. "Sorry. Last night was a demonstration of Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution. 'He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge them necessary and expedient...'" Josh rolled his eyes. "At no point did the Constitution stipulate that it be interesting."
"Last class we discussed the preamble and the concept of separation of powers. Today we're going to discuss a couple of the mistakes that the Founders made." Josh looked down at his notes. "Even though the document begins 'We the people,' the Founders at the time were thinking more 'we the white guys with property.' Native Americans weren't considered part of the people and weren't given citizenship until the 14th Amendment passed after the Civil War. And it wasn't until 1968 that Native Americans living under tribal law on reservations were guaranteed the full rights of American citizens."
Josh made a face. "Sometimes, we kind of suck. Another example of this was the continuation of slavery that was allowed under the Constitution. The delegates from the slave states--South Carolina and Georgia in particular--wouldn't approve the Constitution if there was a part in it outlawing slavery. So the Founders punted and allowed slavery to continue until 1808, which then led into the cotton gin being invented and it was pretty much a straight line straight to Civil War, but if you want that story, take the US history class."
He looked back at his notes. "Okay. The two big deals that we haven't dealt with are known as the Three-Fifths compromise and the Great Compromise, and both deal with representation the Congress. The Great Compromise, despite its catchy name, wasn't that much of a compromise. Everyone was pretty much agreed on having a bicameral--two bodied--legislature. The makeup of the lower body--the House of Representatives--would be decided by population. The question then turned to how the Senate would be made up. The small states were very concerned that the three largest states would be able to outvote them on a sheer population basis in the Senate, too." Josh paused. "Much in the way that California can now outvote the rest of the West in the House."
He smiled. "The Connecticut Compromise, or the Great Compromise, allowed for the House makeup to be decided by population. In the Senate every state would have an equal amount of say--two votes per state. This leads to very interesting political differences between them. In the House, for instance, the Great State of South Dakota has exactly one vote of 435. In the Senate, with two out of a hundred, they wield a much more powerful stick."
He turned back to his notes. "Deciding that the House would be based on population brought up the incredibly unpleasant question of who counts as a person." He wrinkled his nose. "Yeah. The compromise was that slaves in the South would be counted for taxing and census purposes as three-fifths of a free person. This section was rightfully stricken from the Constitution in the 14th Amendment."
He cleared his throat. "Which brings us to the Amendments. The Founders knew they hadn't come up with answers to everything and provided a way for the Constitution to be amended. To amend the Constitution, the amendment must pass through both the House and the Senate with two-thirds approval, then be ratified by three-fifths of the states. Instead of going through the Congress, the states could also request a national convention, which has only been used once, to ratify the 21st Amendment repealing prohibition." Josh smirked. "Because trying to ban alcohol in this country was a deeply stupid idea. We've changed it 27 different times--ten of them immediately after the Constitution was ratified."
He pointed to the board where he had written "The Bill of Rights" in big letters. "Let's see how well you remember what you read." He pointed to a student at random. "Starting from the First Amendment and going down to the Tenth--give me an example of what the amendments say you are guaranteed right a right to in this country."
Before he dismissed the class, Josh stood up. "I'd forgot to mention my attendance policy at the beginning of the year because I'm a grown-up and just assumed that people would be showing up, thrilled to hear about the ins and outs of US history and government." He looked down at his class roster. "Apparently some of you are more thrilled about this than others. So beginning today, if you miss three classes in a row, I'm going to have to ship your name off for detention. And I don't want to be that guy. So everyone show up, okay? Thanks. You've got a test on Friday. Memorizing the preamble would not be an incredibly dumb thing to do. Just saying. Now get out of here."
"That speech," he sputtered. "Seriously? Seriously?" He coughed. "Sorry. Last night was a demonstration of Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution. 'He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge them necessary and expedient...'" Josh rolled his eyes. "At no point did the Constitution stipulate that it be interesting."
"Last class we discussed the preamble and the concept of separation of powers. Today we're going to discuss a couple of the mistakes that the Founders made." Josh looked down at his notes. "Even though the document begins 'We the people,' the Founders at the time were thinking more 'we the white guys with property.' Native Americans weren't considered part of the people and weren't given citizenship until the 14th Amendment passed after the Civil War. And it wasn't until 1968 that Native Americans living under tribal law on reservations were guaranteed the full rights of American citizens."
Josh made a face. "Sometimes, we kind of suck. Another example of this was the continuation of slavery that was allowed under the Constitution. The delegates from the slave states--South Carolina and Georgia in particular--wouldn't approve the Constitution if there was a part in it outlawing slavery. So the Founders punted and allowed slavery to continue until 1808, which then led into the cotton gin being invented and it was pretty much a straight line straight to Civil War, but if you want that story, take the US history class."
He looked back at his notes. "Okay. The two big deals that we haven't dealt with are known as the Three-Fifths compromise and the Great Compromise, and both deal with representation the Congress. The Great Compromise, despite its catchy name, wasn't that much of a compromise. Everyone was pretty much agreed on having a bicameral--two bodied--legislature. The makeup of the lower body--the House of Representatives--would be decided by population. The question then turned to how the Senate would be made up. The small states were very concerned that the three largest states would be able to outvote them on a sheer population basis in the Senate, too." Josh paused. "Much in the way that California can now outvote the rest of the West in the House."
He smiled. "The Connecticut Compromise, or the Great Compromise, allowed for the House makeup to be decided by population. In the Senate every state would have an equal amount of say--two votes per state. This leads to very interesting political differences between them. In the House, for instance, the Great State of South Dakota has exactly one vote of 435. In the Senate, with two out of a hundred, they wield a much more powerful stick."
He turned back to his notes. "Deciding that the House would be based on population brought up the incredibly unpleasant question of who counts as a person." He wrinkled his nose. "Yeah. The compromise was that slaves in the South would be counted for taxing and census purposes as three-fifths of a free person. This section was rightfully stricken from the Constitution in the 14th Amendment."
He cleared his throat. "Which brings us to the Amendments. The Founders knew they hadn't come up with answers to everything and provided a way for the Constitution to be amended. To amend the Constitution, the amendment must pass through both the House and the Senate with two-thirds approval, then be ratified by three-fifths of the states. Instead of going through the Congress, the states could also request a national convention, which has only been used once, to ratify the 21st Amendment repealing prohibition." Josh smirked. "Because trying to ban alcohol in this country was a deeply stupid idea. We've changed it 27 different times--ten of them immediately after the Constitution was ratified."
He pointed to the board where he had written "The Bill of Rights" in big letters. "Let's see how well you remember what you read." He pointed to a student at random. "Starting from the First Amendment and going down to the Tenth--give me an example of what the amendments say you are guaranteed right a right to in this country."
Before he dismissed the class, Josh stood up. "I'd forgot to mention my attendance policy at the beginning of the year because I'm a grown-up and just assumed that people would be showing up, thrilled to hear about the ins and outs of US history and government." He looked down at his class roster. "Apparently some of you are more thrilled about this than others. So beginning today, if you miss three classes in a row, I'm going to have to ship your name off for detention. And I don't want to be that guy. So everyone show up, okay? Thanks. You've got a test on Friday. Memorizing the preamble would not be an incredibly dumb thing to do. Just saying. Now get out of here."
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Re: Discussion question