Summary
Students will listen to the lyrics from Hamilton to consider why the US Constitution needed to be defended. In collaborative groups, students will work to understand and create point-of-view statements for both Federalists' and Anti-Federalists' viewpoints on ratifying the U.S. Constitution. Next, students will discuss how these debates influenced government structure and policy in the United States throughout the nation’s history. Finally, students reflect on what they have learned in this lesson to answer the essential question using the exit ticket strategy.
Essential Question(s)
How did the debate of ideas between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists influence the ratification of the U.S. Constitution?
Snapshot
Engage
Students listen to the song "Non-Stop" from the musical Hamilton and consider why Hamilton would describe the U.S. Constitution as his "client" in need of defending.
Explore
Working in collaborative groups, students read the "Debate Over Ratification" article. Each group creates 3–5 statements from the Federalist and Anti-Federalist points of view regarding ratification of the Constitution.
Explain
Using a Card Sort strategy, student groups sort a series of statements into "Federalist" and "Anti-Federalist" categories, examining the evidence each statement gives for supporting or opposing ratification of the Constitution.
Extend
Students create social media posts to represent Federalist and Anti-Federalist views on ratifying the Constitution. Then, the class discusses how the Federalist and Anti-Federalist debate over ratification shaped the structure of the Constitution.
Evaluate
The class discusses major issues currently debated on social media or in other public forums. Students consider how these debates influence government structure and policy today. Lastly, students reflect on their learning by completing an exit ticket in response to the essential question of this lesson.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
"Non-Stop" Lyrics (attached; one per student)
The Debate Over Ratification (attached; one per student)
Federalist/Anti-Federalist Card Sort (attached; cardstock; cut out; one per group of three to four students)
Federalist/Anti-Federalist Card Sort for Teachers (attached)
Social Media Debate: Alexander Hamilton and George Mason (attached; one per group of three to four students)
Social Media Post (attached; one per group of three to four students)
Sticky Notes
Notebook Paper (one per group)
Plastic bags or envelopes (optional; one per card sort)
Engage
25 Minute(s)
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the lesson. Begin by introducing students to the essential question on slide 3, “How did the debate of ideas between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists influence the ratification of the United States Constitution?” Advance to slide 4 and review the learning objectives of this lesson.
Next, display slide 5 and pass out a copy of the attached "Non-Stop" Lyrics from the musical "Hamilton" to each student. Explain to students that the lyric sheet contains only a short portion of the song. Ask students to consider the question on the slide that is also printed at the bottom of the lyric sheet:
“Why does Alexander Hamilton describe the U.S. Constitution as his ‘client’ that needs defending?”
Ask students to underline statements or phrases that might answer the question as they listen. Direct students to their lyric sheet when that part of the song is playing. Display slide 6 and play the song Non-Stop by clicking on the embedded video.
When the song is over, move to slide 7 and give students 1–2 minutes to discuss the question using the Elbow Partner strategy. Ask students to share their responses. Based on those responses, facilitate a short class discussion and connect students' prior knowledge of the Constitutional Convention to the debate over ratification of the Constitution.
Explore
20 Minute(s)
Moving to slide 8, transition by explaining to the class that, once the Constitution was made public, two major groups developed: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. These groups influenced the public debate over whether or not the Constitution should be ratified, and as a result, helped to determine the ultimate structure of our current government.
Now, sort the class into groups of three to four students. Hand out the attached Debate Over Ratification article to all students. Moving to slide 9, ask students to work collaboratively with their group to explore different viewpoints of Federalists and Anti-Federalists as they read. Have students use a modified form of the Categorical Highlighting strategy in which they underline Federalist viewpoints and circle Anti-Federalist viewpoints.
After the class has finished reading, move to slide 10. Ask each group to reference the information they marked to create one point-of-view statement, or summary statement, for the Federalist viewpoint and one for the Anti-Federalist viewpoint. Each of these statements should be three to five sentences in length, written on a sheet of notebook paper with all group names listed.
Call on each group to share their point-of-view statements. As others read, have students correct any misinformation they might have in their own statements.
Explain
15 Minute(s)
Move to slide 11. Have students use the Card Sort strategy and pass out the attached Federalist/Anti-Federalist Card Sort to each group. Ask students to work together and apply their knowledge of Federalist and Anti-Federalist perspectives on ratification to complete the activity. Each card contains a statement made by Federalists or Anti-Federalists, for or against ratification. Ask students to sort the cards into "Federalist" or "Anti-Federalist" viewpoint categories based on what they know. After all groups have finished the activity, call on each group to explain why a given statement supports the Federalist or Anti-Federalist point of view.
Extend
20 Minute(s)
Move to slide 12 and give each group a copy of the attached Social Media Debate: Alexander Hamilton and George Mason handout. Ask students to read the mock Social Media exchange between Alexander Hamilton (representing the Federalist side) and George Mason (representing the Anti-Federalist side) as they debate over ratifying the Constitution.
Either in groups or individually, have students use attached Social Media Post handout to create one new post for Alexander Hamilton and one for George Mason that accurately represent each view on ratifying the Constitution.
Once students have created their social media posts, ask two students from each group to represent the two opposing viewpoints. Have students who represent the Federalist viewpoint line up on one side of the room and students who represent the Anti-Federalist viewpoint line up on the opposite side. Ask students to share aloud their posts one at a time, alternating viewpoints to mimic a debate—first a Federalist post, then an Anti-Federalist post.
After sharing their posts, move to slide 13. Have students discuss the following question:
“How did the Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist debate over ratification impact the structure and function of our government today?”
Give each group 2–3 minutes to discuss how the arguments of both Federalists and Anti-Federalists influenced the structure and functioning of our government. Then call on different groups to share answers with the class. Move to slide 14 for more examples that may be discussed as a class if they have not already been mentioned.
Evaluate
10 Minute(s)
Move to slide 15 and ask the class to brainstorm issues debated on social media or in other public forums today, similar to the way ratification of the Constitution was debated in the late 1700s. With the class, make a list of these current issues by writing the responses on the board. Discuss how each issue influences or is influenced by government structure and policy and, by extension, our daily lives.
Proceed to Slide 16. Have each student complete an Exit Ticket at the end of class on a sticky note or a piece of paper that asks them to write an answer to the lesson’s essential question.
How did the debate of ideas between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists influence the ratification of the U.S. Constitution?
Resources
Hamilton: Non-Stop. (2017, May 9). https://youtu.be/_YHVPNOHySk?si=cbp-K_XR3eqLABci
K20 Center. (n.d.). Card sort. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/147
K20 Center. (n.d.). Categorical highlighting. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/192
K20 Center. (n.d.). Elbow partners. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/116
K20 Center. (n.d.). Exit ticket. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/125
K20 Center. (n.d.). Desmos classroom. Tech tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/1081
We the People Resource Center. (n.d.). What was the anti-federalist position in the debate for ratification of the Constitution? Center for Civic Education. https://www.civiced.org/resourcecenter/level3/unit2/lesson13
