The Struggle For Democracy Chapter 2.pdf - The struggle For...

The struggle For Democracy
Chapter Two: The Constitution
Read Struggle Chapter Two
After reading Chapter Two, you should be able to:
● Recognize the legacies of the American Revolution and the Declaration of
Independence.
● Explain why the Articles of Confederation failed as a governing document.
● Describe the political environment that led to the Constitutional Convention
and explain what the Founders intended to accomplish.
● Understand the significance of Shays's Rebellion within the climate of crisis
that led to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution.
● Identify democratic and undemocratic aspects of the Constitutional
Convention.
● Identify the fundamental principles of the U.S. Constitution.
● Describe the major compromises that were adopted at the Constitutional
Convention.
● Explain why the framers of the Constitution feared certain democratizing and
egalitarian tendencies.
● Explain how some democratic practices such as majority rule can lead to
majority tyranny.
Questions
1. What are some key ideas in the Declaration of Independence?
What legacy did it leave?
Key Ideas:
- Human beings possess the rights that cannot be taken away from them,
all humans are created equal, and have rights.
- People create governments to protect these rights.

2.
List and explain the FAILURES of the Articles of Confederation as
a governing document (i.e., what the federal government could not
do?)