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Lessons: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Goals: This lesson is designed to help students understand…

a.

the roles that Congress plays in strengthening and perpetuating the Union.

b.

the role that compromise plays in representative government and the work of Congress.

c.

the overarching problems of sectionalism and federalism in the First Federal Congress.

Focus Questions:

• What were the basic elements of the assumption plan and how did it contribute to the emerging sectional differences within the United States?
• How did the Residence Bill contribute to the emerging sectional differences within the United States?
• What role did the First Federal Congress play in temporarily reducing the sectional tensions that existed within the United States and in helping to "create a more perfect Union?"

Standards Addressed:
Delaware -

• Civics Standard 1 (Grades 6-8): Students will analyze the different functions of federal, state, and local governments in the United States…
• Geography Standard 4 (Grades 6-8): Students will explain how conflict and cooperation among people contribute to the division of the Earth’s surface into distinctive…political territories.

National -

• Grades 5-8: Students should be able to explain how and why powers are distributed and shared between national and state governments in the federal system.

Procedures:
 

1.

Entry Activity: As students enter the room display the following prompt on the overhead and ask the students to provide a written response on a 3" X 5" index card:

This activity is designed to get students thinking about multiple problems
and opportunities for compromise. After you have collected the cards, ask
some students to volunteer their recommendations and discuss the merits
of each. Don’t emphasize any compromises. Just have the students store it
as prior knowledge before beginning this lesson.
 

2.

Assign Roles and Distribute Role Cards (see Handout 6-2): Since the House originally defeated the Assumption plan on April 12, 1790 by a close vote of 31-29, you are encouraged to have approximately 51% of your class (mainly representatives from southern states) play the role of opponents of the assumption bill. [*Note to the Teacher – don’t tell the students but, by a margin of one vote, the Senate attached the assumption bill to the funding bill and it was later passed when Congress agreed to move the nation’s capital to a southern location.]
 

3.

Parliamentary Rules: Distribute copies of Handout 1 so that the students can refer to them during the debates.
 

4.

Lesson Description: Tell the students that they will continue their mock congress today. However, suggest that, since they are now familiar with how the simulation works and you want to move forward with the unit, you are going to have them consider two proposals today instead of one. Do not tell them that you are really presenting them with the two resolutions to see if they can formulate a compromise that achieved the same ends as the Compromise of 1790.
 

5.

Setting the Stage: Create a mindset for the debate on Assumption by asking the students how they would feel if you told them that you were going to pay any debts that they had. Ask them how this would make them feel about you if you really did repay all of their debts?