First Congress Unit - Lesson 6

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Congress Compromises “to form a more perfect Union”: The Assumption Issue and Residence Bill

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Procedures

6. Distribute Legislative Brief: The Assumption Bill (Handout 6-3 - see Unit Resources): Ask students to read their briefs then clarify any questions they may have about its contents.

7. Debate

8. Table the debate on assumption and introduce the Residence Bill: Before students have a chance to vote on the assumption proposal, suggest that one of them make a motion to table this bill so that the second bill of the day can be discussed before the class period ends. Suggest that they can continue debate on either bill once the Residence Bill brief has been read and discussed.

9. Mapwork: Distribute copies of Handout 6-4 (see Unit Resources) - Map of United States in 1790. Tell the students that their understanding of the Residence Bill requires some geographic knowledge about the United States in 1790. Ask the students to use their pencils and place a dot or star on the map where they estimate the "center" of the 13 United States was in 1790. Ask a few students to share their estimations without explaining why an estimation of "centrality" is important for the pending debate. If the students do not raise the question, ask them what criteria they used to determine "centrality?" Did they consider land area? More specifically, did they consider the western lands? Did they consider the center of population? Did they consider the center (concentration) of the nation’s wealth?

10. Distribute Legislative Brief 3 – Residence Bill (Handout 6-5 - see Unit Resources): Ask student to read their briefs then clarify any questions they may have about its contents.

11. Distribute Copies of Handout 6-6 ("Residence Bill - Points to Consider"): Have student read over the points and suggest that they may propose any site within the United States as a site for the capital of the United States. This may be a good time for a caucus. Students may want to ask other "lawmakers" about their preferences and/or lobby for their own proposals.

12. Debate: Allow students to begin debate on the Residence Bill while suggesting that they must keep the assumption proposal in the back of their minds. Remind them that both bills will require action.

13. Vote

14. Debrief

(a) Reteach—One of the problems that can occur when using simulations as a method of instruction is that students may "learn" that what they did during the simulation actually occurred in history. Be sure that the students conclude the lesson with the understanding that the sectional debates over Assumption and the Residence Bill were so intense that some congressmen spoke of disunion. Had it not been for the compromise ("Compromise of 1790") in which the north got the Assumption Plan in exchange for the agreement to move the nation’s capital temporarily to Philadelphia then permanently to the Potomac, the future of the Union would have been far more uncertain than it already was.

(b) Reflect—Ask students…

  • which aspects of the Assumption plan & Residence Bill caused sectional conflict?
  • what role did cooperation play in the decision to locate the U.S. capital on the banks of the Potomac River?
  • what does the compromise of 1790 tell us about the functions of the federal government?
  • what they learned about the role that Congress plays in the American system of government?

Extension Activities
After the students have voted on the Assumption plan and Residence bill, ask them to put a circle on map (see Handout 6-8 - see Unit Resources) where they estimate the current geographic center of the United States to be. Then, have them use the maps to plot the changing center of population from 1790-2000. Information about the changing centers may be found on Handout 6-8 ("Population Centers from 1790-2000"). Finally, have them debate whether they nation’s capital ought to be moved to a more central location. You may want to assign some of them the role of a congressperson or Senator from various western states to insure a range of opinions.

Teaching Tips:

  1. Do not tell the students about the compromise reached by the First Federal Congress. See if they discover the opportunity on their own.
  2. If the students do not request a caucus during these debates, you may want to organize one as the "presiding officer." Two or three caucus groups representing the northern and southern (and possibly middle) state delegations will be particularly useful for the goals of this lesson. It is during these caucuses that you may want to plant the idea of a compromise in the minds of one or two of the congressmen (unless the students come up with it on their own).

Recommended Readings/Works Cited

Bickford, Charlene Bangs and Bowling, Kenneth R. Birth of the Nation: The First Federal Congress 1789-1791. Madison House Publishers. Madison, WI. 1989.

For more information, contact Fran O’Malley (302-831-8443).