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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Mayan Long-Count Calendar

http://www.history.com/topics/2012/videos#2012-the-end-of-time

As you watch the above link, write down at least two statements that are not backed up by facts. As a historian and scholar, it is your job to figure out what is true and what is untrue. The Mayan Long-Count Calendar is a real thing, but does it really predict the end of the world?

Friday, December 14, 2012

PowerPoint Tutorial

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Microsoft PowerPoint, here is a short video that will help you create a professional-looking presentation.


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Federalist Papers Video

Watch the following video on the Federalist Papers. Then, complete the 3-2-1 Activity on a separate sheet of paper.

3 things you learned from the video.
2 questions that you still have.
1 reason why history could have been different without the Federalist Papers.


Monday, December 10, 2012

Attack on Pearl Harbor: 71st Anniversary


Do-Now Questions for Week of 12/10/12

MONDAY:
Name the three branches of government set up by the U.S. Constitution. What is the simple function of each branch (make the laws, carry out the laws, interpret the laws), and what branch do each of the following fall under:
   1. President
   2. House of Representative
   3. Supreme Court
   4. Federal Bureau of Intelligence
   5. Senate
   6. National Security Agency

The three branches of government and their functions are: the legislative branch (makes the laws), the executive branch (carries out the laws), and the judiciary branch (interprets the law). Of the organizations listed, the Senate and House of Representatives (two houses of Congress) are part of the legislative branch. The President, FBI, and NSA, along with all of the other government organizations, are part of the executive branch. Finally, the Supreme Court is part of the judiciary branch.

TUESDAY:
Compare and contrast the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. Specifically, discuss how these two plans differed in terms of the way states would be represented in the national government.

Both plans call for three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judiciary. The Virginia Plan calls for a two-house legislature with representation based proportionally on wealth and population. The New Jersey Plan on the other hand calls for a one-house legislature with representation on an equal basis (one vote per state). In the Virginia Plan, the national government was given many more powers than in the New Jersey Plan (which looked much like the Articles of Confederation).

WEDNESDAY:
Describe the two major compromises made during the Constitutional Convention.

In the Great Compromise, the Virginia and New Jersey Plans were combined to create three branches of government, and a two-house Congress with the upper house (Senate) based on equal representation and the lower house (House of Representatives) based on proportional representation. The 3/5 Compromise stated that slaves would count as 3/5 of a person for the purposes of representation and taxation.

THURSDAY:
What did the Federalists and the Antifederalists each want? How did they both get their message to the general public? Which group ultimately won?

Both the Federalists and the Antifederalists published their writings in newspapers in order to reach the general public. The Antifederalists were actually the first group to do so, and the Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay were a response to Antifederalist criticisms of the Constitution. The Federalists, who supported the ratification of the Constitution, ultimately achieved their goal since the Constitution was adopted as the new law of the land.

FRIDAY:
None

Do-Now Questions for Week of 12/3/12

MONDAY:
None

TUESDAY:
Name two delegates that you remember from yesterday's convention and write one thing that each one is famous for.

Some of the most famous delegates to the Constitution Convention include...
- George Washington - leader of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (later the first president)
- Alexander Hamilton - famous lawyer and aid to George Washington (will later help found the first National Bank)
- James Madison - kept notes of all the proceedings, drafted the Virginia Plan 
- George Mason - refused to sign the Constitution
- Benjamin Franklin - famous inventor and jack-of-all-trades

WEDNESDAY:
None

THURSDAY:
Choose the correct word from each of the following pairs to describe the majority of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Then, tell how these qualities might have influenced the writing of the Constitution.
     1. uneducated / educated
     2. wealthy / poor
     3. religious / atheist
     4. anti-slavery / pro-slavery

The delegates were mostly educated, wealthy, religious, and pro-slavery. These qualities meant that the Constitution would favor these kinds of people and not represent the interests of American as a whole. Slavery would not be made illegal, language would have an obvious Christian slant, and the document would benefit wealthy, educated people.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Do-Now Questions for Week of 11/26/12

MONDAY:
List the five powers denied to the federal government under Article IX of the Articles of Confederation. (Note: There are eight, but we identified the five most important ones.)

1) Cannot engage in war, 2) cannot coin/print money, 3) cannot regulate the value of money, 4) cannot enter treaties/alliances, and 5) cannot borrow money on the credit of the United States.

TUESDAY:
In 1787, Daniel Shays led a group of men to the Springfield Armory in Springfield, MA. 1) Why did they march here, 2) what kind of men joined Shays, and 3) what did they plan to do afterward?

Daniel Shays led his men to the Springfield Armory because they needed weapons. The men under his command, although they were Revolutionary War veterans, were still only farmers and did not have access to the kinds of weapons needed to achieve their ultimate goal: to march on Boston and overthrow the Massachusetts state government.

WEDNESDAY:
Fill in the missing parts of the following flow chart:

--Revolutionary war breaks out.
--Farmers borrow money from Boston merchants.
--1)___________________________________
--The war ends the need for surplus food no longer exists.
--2)___________________________________
--Debtors face three options...
     --3)_________________________________
     --Property seized by bank/creditor
     --4)_________________________________
--Farmers become scared about losing their property and the right to vote
--5)___________________________________


--Revolutionary war breaks out
--Farmers borrow money from Boston merchants
--Farmers use the money to purchase and plant extra seeds
--The war ends the need for surplus food no longer exists
--Farmers cannot repay debts to Boston merchants
--Debtors face three options...
     1. Property sold at auction
     2. Property seized by bank/creditor
     3. Debtor's jail
--Farmers become scared about losing their property and the right to vote
--Shays' Rebellion begins

THURSDAY:
See separate sheet: "Interview Questions" If you need to make up this assignment, ask Mr. Joyal for an extra sheet in class. This will count as both Thursday and Friday's Do-Nows.

--Samuel Adams: "County conventions are dangerous and must be disbanded."
--George Washington to Samuel Adams: "Meet with Shays' and his men and redress their grievances if possible before you face open rebellion."
--Henry Knox: "Shays' Rebellion has shown us that the national government is too weak and must be changed."
--Benjamin Lincoln: "I will raise a mercenary army to face Shays by collecting money from my wealthy friends and then paying my soldiers to fight."
--Daniel Shays: "Closing the courts was a big victory because no more debtors could be sent to jail."

FRIDAY:
See Thursday.

Do-Now Questions for Week of 11/19/12

MONDAY:
Name one power given to the national government under the Articles of Confederation. Name two powers given to the states. Which level of government is stronger under the Articles.

Powers given to the federal government under the Articles of Confederation include 1) appointing military officers, 2) establishing a postal system, and 3) setting up courts. Powers given to the states included 1) taxing residents, 2) regulating trade with other states, and 3) raising militias. Under the Articles of Confederation, the state governments were much stronger than the federal government.

TUESDAY:
Choose one of the following events and explain how it may have been different if the United States was still governed under the Articles of Confederation: 1) September 11, 2001, 2) Israeli-Palestinian Tensions, 3) States voting on issues that would contradict federal laws.

For all three of these examples, the federal government would be very limited in its ability to respond. After September 11th, the government would not have been able to launch attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq because the government would not have a standing army. The same would be the case for the current tensions between Israel and Palestine. While the federal government would have the port to make agreements with these other countries, there is no military to support them. In the third example, states laws would surpass federal laws by design. 

Ten Days that Unexpectedly Changed America: Shays' Rebellion

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Completed Government Chart Study Guide

Use the following chart to study for your quiz on Monday, November 5, 2012. Ten of the boxes will be left blank and everything else will be filled in. If you have any questions, feel free to comment on this post.


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Six Degrees of Separation: Round One

Fill in the missing links in the following chain. Each link relates to the next in the sequence in some way. You have until Monday, November 5th to complete this chain for 10 bonus points on your quiz. (Hint: I have told you what each blank should be: either a person or a place.)

1. George Washington
--> 2.________________ (sculptor)
--> 3.________________ (place in London)
--> 4.________________ (world leader)
--> 5.________________ (actor)
--> 6. Elizabeth Taylor

  

"The Salem Witch Trials and the War on Terror" Writing Assignment

If you are accessing from home and would like to view the sources for your writing assignment, I have included them here. Remember, I am looking for quality not quantity in your essay! The assignment itself is at the bottom of this post.

"Hunting Witches in the War on Terror" by Mary Beaudoin
http://consortiumnews.com/2011/11/01/hunting-witches-in-the-war-on-terror/

"In Search of History: The Salem Witch Trials"


 

Friday, October 26, 2012

To those of you finishing your governments chart for homework over the weekend...

If I can find more useful links over the weekend, I will post them. You should be able to find more than enough information from the places I have listed below though. If you have any questions, you can leave them as comments on this post, and I will respond. Also, don't forget to identify one corresponding country for each of the eight types of government in your chart. Good Luck!
-Mr. J

Thursday, October 25, 2012

More Links for "Type-O-Gov" WebQuest

Try this site: http://www.politicalsystems.com/ to find missing answers for several different kinds of governments listed on your chart. If you still cannot find the information you need, continue to the following links that relate to specific kinds of governments listed on your chart...

REPUBLIC (Representative Democracy) vs. DIRECT DEMOCRACY:
http://www.c4cg.org/republic.htm

ABSOLUTE MONARCHY vs. LIMITED (Constitutional) MONARCHY:
http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/politics/difference-between-absolute-monarchy-and-constitutional-monarchy/

OLIGARCHY:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-oligarchy.htm

THEOCRACY:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-theocracy.htm


Links for "Types of Government" WebQuest

I have listed several online sources below from which you can draw information to complete your "Types of Government" WebQuest project. You may not use Wikipedia or other websites.

CIA World Factbook:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2128.html

Winter Soldiers:
http://www.wintersoldiers.com/types-of-government.html

Scholastic New Book of Knowledge:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/forms-government

Different Types of "-ocracies":
http://wdb.sad17.k12.me.us/teachers/bburns/com/units/government/types_of_government.htm

World's Worst Dictators:
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~banfi22c/classweb/dw1/typesofgov.html