{"id":11862,"date":"2025-08-31T20:42:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T00:42:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/?page_id=11862"},"modified":"2025-09-09T15:52:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T19:52:00","slug":"amdm2025september02","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/amdm2025\/amdm2025september02\/","title":{"rendered":"September 2nd: The Constitution of the United States"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/founding-docs\/constitution-transcript\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Constitution of the United States<\/a><\/strong> (National Archives)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Announcements<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><span style=\"background-color:yellow\">Charlotte Debate Team Practices<\/span><\/strong><br><strong><span style=\"background-color:yellow\">Tuesdays, 5:30pm-6:30pm<\/span><\/strong><br><strong><span style=\"background-color:yellow\">Room: Fretwell 219<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>First Tournament is Online<br>Friday, September 26th, and Saturday, September 27<br>Plenty of time to be ready!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Charlotte Speech Team\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Meets Wednesdays in Colvard 5090 (or really close by)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For those interested in:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Prose<\/strong> (plot-focused), <strong>Poetry<\/strong> (combination), <strong>Dramatic Interpretation<\/strong>, <strong>Oral Interpretation<\/strong> (combination), <strong>Informative Speaking<\/strong>, <strong>Persuasive Speaking<\/strong>, <strong>After Dinner Speaking<\/strong> (humorous), <strong>Rhetorical Analysis<\/strong>, <strong>Impromptu<\/strong> (2 min to prepare, 5 to speak), <strong>Extemporaneous Speaking<\/strong> (30 min to prepare, 7 mi speech)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>National Tournaments have <strong>Impromptu Sales<\/strong> (2 min prep, 5 min sales pitch)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Plan for the Day<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Heads Up on Class Fun!\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Test 1 next week<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rationale for the reading order over the next few weeks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/amdm2025\/amdm2025august28\/whatisanamerican\/#religion\">Places not to overlook with de Cr\u00e8vecoeur<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/amdm2025\/amdm2025august26\/meckdecsaga1775\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence<\/a><\/strong>, May 20, 1775 (???)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Madison, James. The Constitution of the United States<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Although <strong>federalism<\/strong>, <strong>preemption<\/strong>, <strong>separation of powers<\/strong>, <strong>judicial review<\/strong>, and <strong>checks &amp; balances<\/strong> are extremely important to the Constitution, we&#8217;ll cover those topics in more detail when we get to these founding\/living documents:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bill of Rights<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Key Amendments<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Federalist Papers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Democracy\/Liberty\/Freedom\/ETC. quotation:<br><strong><span style=\"background-color:yellow\">Getting to the actual source<\/span><\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Below is the &#8220;typical&#8221; excerpt of today&#8217;s quotation from James Madison:<br>&#8220;The advancement and diffusion of knowledge\u2026is the only guardian of true liberty.&#8221;<br>&#8211;letter to George Thomson, 30 June 1825, <em>Letters and other Writings of James Madison<\/em> (1865) vol. 3 [c.f. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordreference.com\/display\/10.1093\/acref\/9780191826719.001.0001\/q-oro-ed4-00006987\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oxford Reference<\/a>]<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The full excerpt is this:<br>&#8220;Your old friend, Mr. Jefferson, still lives, and will close his illustrious career by bequeathing to his Country <strong>a magnificent Institute for the advancement and diffusion of knowledge; which is the only Guardian of true liberty<\/strong>, the great cause to which his life has been devoted.&#8221;<br>&#8211;Madison, James. Letter to George Thomson. 30 June 1825.&#8221; <em>Letters and other Writings of James Madison: Fourth President of the United States<\/em>. vol. 3, R. Worthington, 1884, pp. 490-492. (1865) vol. 3<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The &#8220;Institute&#8221; is the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.virginia.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">University of Virginia<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What&#8217;s lost in the full quotation?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Abridged Excerpt<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Full Excerpt<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&#8220;The advancement and diffusion of knowledge\u2026is the only guardian of true liberty.&#8221;<\/td><td>&#8220;Your old friend, Mr. Jefferson, still lives, and will close his illustrious career by bequeathing to his Country <strong>a magnificent Institute for the advancement and diffusion of knowledge; which is the only Guardian of true liberty<\/strong>, the great cause to which his life has been devoted.&#8221;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I know you&#8217;ve been patiently waiting for our discussion of The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, and your wait is over! After a brief overview of today and Thursday, we&#8217;ll get right to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/amdm2025\/amdm2025august26\/meckdecsaga1775\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the bizarre history of Meck-Dec<\/a><\/strong> and what it means for both America&#8217;s early democracy and also license plates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Constitution of the United States<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s time to reiterate how we&#8217;re approaching this document. This rhetorical approach looks for the messages of the text as they relate to broader American ideals, themes, values, etc.&#8211;ideology or, more specifically, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/hegemony\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hegemony<\/a><\/strong>. This is NOT the historical, political science, and Constitutional scholarship approaches we would expect in a legal studies context. Several of you might aspire to practice law, so you&#8217;ll dive deeper into the legal rulings based on constitutional interpretations over the Nation&#8217;s history. If you want a preview into the law, I recommend our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/legalstudies.charlotte.edu\/areas-emphasis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Legal Studies Minor<\/a><\/strong>. Also, if you plan to be a (good) attorney or judge, I highly recommend honing your debate skills, and I have just the activity for you: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/charlotte-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Charlotte Debate Team!<\/a><\/strong> The last two times I interacted with lawyers, they shut down the conversation because they weren&#8217;t able to deny the merits of my arguments. This level of rhetorical prowess can be taught, and it&#8217;s been practiced for thousands of years, and it is AI-proof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Map of the 13 Original Colonies<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at the shape of Colonial America, specifically, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/etc.usf.edu\/maps\/pages\/2600\/2685\/2685.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the 13 Original colonies<\/a><\/strong>. Consider these questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What do you notice about them geographically?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What patterns do you see?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What regional differences are there?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>James Madison, The Father of The US Constitution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>James Madison is credited as the biggest contributor to drafting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He, along with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, championed the ratification of the Constitution by authoring the Federalist Papers (we&#8217;ll get to the Bill of Rights and a few Federalist Papers in a couple weeks). Here are some key aspects of his life and career:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Born in Virginia to a wealthy plantation-owning family<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Went to the College of New Jersey (now Princeton)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Classical Education<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/American_Whig%E2%80%93Cliosophic_Society\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Debater!!!<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Along with George Mason, he was a major figure in writing the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Constitution_of_Virginia#1776\">Virginia Constitution<\/a><\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_Madison\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fourth President of the United States<\/a><\/strong> (1809-1817)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Economic Depression<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Caught in the crossfire of Great Britain and France (ruled by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Napoleon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Emporer Napoleon<\/a>&#8230;)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>War of 1812 led to patriotic feelings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Although not without criticism, Madison&#8217;s presidency is condsidered pivotal in maintaining the young Republic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Helped establish the University of Virginia<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Aritcles I-VI of the Constitution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ll cover the Bill of Rights (Amendments I-X) and select Amendments in a few weeks. For now, let&#8217;s focus on the Articles to locate any values they seem to convey to readers. Also, <strong>specifically consider the 1808 sunset clauses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Preamble<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider the rhetorical strategies of the following line in relation to our other texts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;&#8230;establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare,&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity&#8230;&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Article I: The Legislature<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Notice that it starts by defining the Legislative Branch<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 2<\/span>: &#8220;The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year <strong>by the People of the several States<\/strong>&#8230;&#8221;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>All the People? Consider the idea of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/suffrage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suffrage<\/a><\/strong>, being franchised to vote.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What about Senators?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Decennial census<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Establish a Congressional journal&#8230;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/congressional-record\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the <em>Congressional Record<\/em><\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jump to Article I, sec. 10<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Impeachment power lies with the House of Representatives; Senate tries Impeachments<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 4<\/span>: &#8220;<strong><span style=\"background-color:yellow\">The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections<\/span><\/strong> for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in <strong>each State by the Legislature<\/strong> thereof; <strong>but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations<\/strong>, except [in choosing] Senators.&#8221;<ul><li>Let&#8217;s pause on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/manner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">manner<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 6<\/span>: Senators or Representatives cannot be arrested going to and from the Capitol.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 7<\/span>: &#8220;All Bills for <strong>raising Revenue<\/strong> shall originate in the House of Representatives&#8230;&#8221;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Passing laws<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Presidential vetoes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 8<\/span>: Taxes, Tarriffs, Defense, and General Welfare\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000\">To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts<\/span><\/strong>, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Militias, bases, and barracks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 9<\/span>: &#8220;The Migration or Importation of such Persons&#8230;<strong>shall not be prohibited<\/strong> by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight&#8221; (1808&#8211;about 20 years after drafting the Constitution)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>First clause: &#8220;The Migration or Importation&#8230;exceeding ten dollars for each Person.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fourth clause: &#8220;No Capitation, or other direct, Tax&#8230;directed to be taken.&#8221;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article V<\/strong> has language &#8220;sunsetting&#8221; these two clauses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What can be said about this language and what was going on among the drafters of the Constitution?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Special vocabulary: (more information from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.annenbergclassroom.org\/article-i-section-9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Annenberg Guide to the United States Constitution<\/a>)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Habeas Corpus<\/em>: law enforcement must explain why they &#8220;have a body,&#8221; the prisoner; therefore, the <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Habeas_corpus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">writ of habeas corpus<\/a><\/strong><\/em> means law enforcement must explain to the courts why someone is being held.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Bill of Attainder<\/em>: declaring someone or group guilty without a trial.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Ex post facto Law<\/em>: passing a law that condemns people who did things in the past that are now illegal.<br>*Compare to the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Post_hoc_ergo_propter_hoc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>post hoc ergo propter hoc<\/em> logical fallacy<\/a><\/strong><br>**Nothing to do with your &#8220;ex&#8221; and the legal system&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States&#8230;&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Foreign Emoluments Clause&#8211;no gifts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Section 10: Preserving the Union\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation&#8230;&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Letters of Marque and Reprisal<\/em>: authorization to attack vessels at sea\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Think of it as a &#8220;hall pass&#8221; that designates you a privateer; without it, you&#8217;re a <strong>pirate<\/strong>!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<strong>No State shall<\/strong>, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, <strong>enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power<\/strong>, or engage in War&#8230;&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Article II: The Executive<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors&#8230;&#8221;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For the first half of my life, winning the Electoral College but losing the Popular Vote was mainly a theoretical discussion of a past &#8220;issue&#8221;. During the second half of my life, it&#8217;s been a not uncommon result.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>President can&#8217;t get a raise during the term<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Oath of Affirmation:&#8211;&#8216;I do solemnly swear (or affirm)&#8217;&#8230;&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 2<\/span>: Appointments and Pardons<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 4<\/span>: &#8220;&#8230;<strong>Impeachment<\/strong> for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.&#8221;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Framers specifically left our &#8220;maladministration&#8221; (which some State constitutions had) as an Impeachable offense (<a href=\"https:\/\/constitution.congress.gov\/browse\/essay\/artII-S4-4-2\/ALDE_00000699\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Constitution Annotated<\/a>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;The Framers were determined to limit the grounds on which an officer could be impeached in order to safeguard another constitutional principle: <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000\">the separation of powers&#8221;<\/span><\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/constitutioncenter.org\/the-constitution\/articles\/article-ii\/clauses\/349\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Neil J. Kinkopf<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Article III: The Judiciary<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 1<\/span>: Supreme Court<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 2<\/span>: &#8220;The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury&#8230;&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Section 3: Penalty for Treason\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<strong>&#8216;Corruption of blood&#8217;<\/strong> is a reference to English common law, which <strong>prohibited family members from\u2014among other things\u2014receiving or inheriting property from a person convicted of treason.<\/strong> Under the Constitution, that punishment may not extend beyond the life of the person convicted of treason&#8221; (<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/constitutioncenter.org\/the-constitution\/articles\/article-iiI\/clauses\/39\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Paul T. Crane<\/a><\/strong>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Article IV: The States<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 1<\/span>: &#8220;<strong>Full Faith and Credit<\/strong> shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 2<\/span>: Must give citizens of other States fundamental rights&#8230;but you can make them pay more&#8230;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Section 4<\/span>: &#8220;The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union <strong>a Republican Form of Government<\/strong>, and shall protect each of them against Invasion&#8230;&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Article V: The Amendments<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Two-thirds and three-fourths<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;&#8230;Provided that no Amendment which may be made <strong>prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight<\/strong> [1808] shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article;&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;&#8230;and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.&#8221;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000\">They wanted to balance States&#8217; power<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Article VI: Oaths and Stuff<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Superseding the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Articles_of_Confederation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Articles of Confederation<\/a><\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Dickinson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">John Dickinson<\/a>, chief writer)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;&#8230;bound by Oath or Affirmation&#8230;&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;&#8230;but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Article VII: Ratification<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;&#8230;by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven [<strong>9\/17\/1787<\/strong>] and of the Independance of the United States of America the Twelfth&#8230;&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, States need to get to ratifying, so they can have &#8220;bragging rights&#8221; on their license plates and coins!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Next Class<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ll return to anything we missed with the Constitution and then move on to Alexis de Tocqueville&#8217;s chapter from his massive tome <em>Democracy in America<\/em> (1835). Look at your Discussion Post #2 due Friday, 9\/5, 11:07pm. Set a reminder to do these Posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Works Cited<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Crane, Paul T. &#8220;Common Interpretation.&#8221; The National Constitution Center, <a href=\"https:\/\/constitutioncenter.org\/the-constitution\/articles\/article-iiI\/clauses\/39\">https:\/\/constitutioncenter.org\/the-constitution\/articles\/article-iiI\/clauses\/39<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kinkopf, Neil J. &#8220;The Scope of the Impeachment Power: What are &#8216;High Crimes and Misdemeanors&#8217;?.&#8221; The National Constitution Center, <a href=\"https:\/\/constitutioncenter.org\/the-constitution\/articles\/article-ii\/clauses\/349\">https:\/\/constitutioncenter.org\/the-constitution\/articles\/article-ii\/clauses\/349<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Constitution of the United States (National Archives) Announcements Plan for the Day Abridged Excerpt Full Excerpt &#8220;The advancement and diffusion of knowledge\u2026is the only guardian of true liberty.&#8221; &#8220;Your old friend, Mr. Jefferson, still lives, and will close his illustrious career by bequeathing to his Country a magnificent Institute for the advancement and diffusion [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":598,"featured_media":0,"parent":11703,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11862","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P2HAOx-35k","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/598"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11862"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11962,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11862\/revisions\/11962"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}