Monday, November 26, 2007 The Most and Least Representatives in Congress

The Capital Building in Washington, DC. The home of the legislative branch of government.



Inside view of the House of Representatives.

• The House of Representatives is one of the two bodies that make up what we call Congress.
  



• The framers of our Constitution wanted one body of Congress to stay in close touch with the people back home—and respond to their desires and wishes.
  



• Throughout our history, many of the key laws were proposed by members of the House of Representatives.
  



• Each state gets to elect a number of representatives based on its population. Some big states, like California, have a lot of Representatives, while small states, like Vermont, have only 1 or 2.
  



• Representatives face elections every two years back home in their states. This means that they must pay very close attention to what the voters in their states think and want—or they may find themselves voted out!
  
  In this activity you will identify the 10 states with the most representatives (called congressmen, congresswomen or congressperson) and the ten states with the least representatives.
  
  You will need to sign onto your blog and begin a new post. Copy and paste the above title into the title area of your new post.
  
  You will also need to open the Paint program and copy/paste the following map into Paint:
  
  
  

Use the data table (the link is further down this page) to determine the 10 states with the most representatives.

Then use the paint bucket tool in Paint to fill the 10 states with the most representatives with the color blue.

Repeat this process to determine the 10 states with the least representatives (Alphabetically). Fill these states in red.

Save the map to your folder. Filename: (Your Last Name) Most and Least Representatives By State Map

Ask Me how to Add an Image to your blog.

After adding the image, type the following list

The 10 States with the Most Representatives

1. State - # of Representatives

Then type the following:

The 10 States with the Least Representatives

1. State - # of Representatives

Here is an example of what your post should look like:



The Ten States with the Most Representatives

1. California - 53

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The Ten States with the Least Representatives

1. Alaska - 1

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Here is the link to the table:

http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/tab01.txt

Here is a map to help you locate the states:

http://www.maps.com/ref_map.aspx?nav=RM&cid=680,747,1303&pid=11467

Friday, November 16, 2007 The Three Branches of the Federal Government

Todays post is about the three branches of the federal government created in the U. S. Constitution. Sign onto your blogsite and start a new post. Copy and paste the title of this post into the title area of your new post. Copy and paste the questions below into your post. Then use this page and the listed links to answer the questions.

The Founding Fathers, the framers of the Constitution, wanted to form a government that did not allow one person to have too much authority or control.

With this in mind the framers wrote the Constitution to provide for a separation of powers, or three separate branches of government. Each has its own responsibilities and at the same time they work together to make the country run smoothly and to assure that the rights of citizens are not ignored or disallowed. This is done through checks and balances. A branch may use its powers to check the powers of the other two in order to maintain a balance of power among the three branches of government.

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/national/legislative.html

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/national/executive.html

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/national/judicial.html

1. What are the three branches of government?

2. What are the two parts or “houses” that make up the Congress?

3. Who is the head of the executive branch?

4. What court heads the judicial branch?

5. What does the legislative branch do?

6. What does the executive branch do?

7. What does the judicial branch do?

8. How is a balance of power maintained between the three branches of government?

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 The Constitutional Convention of 1787

Painting of the Constitutional Convention of 1787

Shays' Rebellion made leaders of our nation stand up and take notice. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was held to make the Articles of Confederation better and stronger. The members of the Convention instead decided to draft a new constitution.

1. How many states had to approve this constitution before it went into affect?


2. How many states ended up ratifying it?


3. Which states were the first 5 to ratify the Constitution?


4. Which was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution?


5. Which were the last two states of the original 11 to ratify the Constitution?


6. Why were some people against ratifying the Constitution?


7. In order to avoid any violation of certain civil rights, the First Congress of the United States introduced 12 amendments to the constitution. Amendments 3 - 12 were accepted and became known as the

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Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007 Shays's Rebellion

Click on the link to read about Shays's Rebellion: Daniel Shays

and answer the following questions:

1. What did Shays and his fellow farmers seek relief from?

2. What caused the scarcity of money?

3. What did the farmers demand?

4. What was the most significant impact of Shays's Rebellion?

Below is a mock news article about Shays's rebellion:

January 25, 1787 Shots are fired as farmers riot in Massachusetts


Good God!…Notwithstanding the boasted virtue of America, we are far gone in every thing that is ignoble and bad.”—George Washington

Desperate to stop foreclosure on their lands, farmers in western Massachusetts have taken up arms. Led by former Army captain Daniel Shays, they’ve forced the courts to close.

Today, nearly 2,000 farmers stormed a government arsenal.
Something’s gone terribly wrong, and it isn’t just in Massachusetts. Factions plague many states. Maryland and Virginia have been squabbling over fishing rights. Britain and Spain harass our borders.The powerful state legislatures seem unwilling to impose order. And our weak Congress is unable to.

Do we need a stronger national system? The states will send delegates to a meeting in Philadelphia in the spring to discuss reforms.If delegates can’t fix the situation, this new republic will be like most other republics in history: short-lived.

Monday, Nov. 12, 2007 The Articles of Confederation

The United States Constitution is the plan of government that Americans have lived under for over two hundred years. Before the Constitution, the the thirteen colonies that became the thirteen states had a loose partnership known as a confederation.

The Articles of Confederation is the document that described this partnership.

Click on the following link to read about The Articles of Confederation and answer the following questions (Sign onto your history blog site, create a new Post, title the post: Monday, November 12, 2007 The Articles of Confederation Webquest):

http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/articles/

1. On what date were the Articles adopted?

2. On what date did the Articles become operative?

3. What did the Articles establish between and among the 13 states?

4. Under the Articles, for what 3 things was Congress responsible?

5. List 3 things the Articles of Confederation did not allow Congress to do.

Click on the following link to view a PowerPoint presentation with more information about the Articles of Confederation:

http://yorkcountyschools.org/teachers/wpelkey/Constitutional%20Period/Articles%20of%20Confederation.ppt