Reference no: EM133414277

Question # 1 The Philadelphia Convention (Use my lecture on the Philadelphia Convention: 4 main issues) a. Explain what was the debate at the Philadelphia Convention (1787) regarding the proper Representation of the states in the new U.S. Congress. What were the issues debated and why? Explain what were the Virginia and the New Jersey Plans and what was the final Great Compromise. (4 points) b. Explain in detail what was the 3/5 Compromise, why this compromise gave an advantage to the "slave states" and why was it adopted? Use the data that I provided with the first U.S. Census (1790) in your response to illustrate the number of free white people and the slave population. What is your overall opinion about this political compromise in which slaves were treated both as 3/5 of a person and as property? Do you see any connections between this political deal and the treatment of African Americans throughout this country's history? (4 points) Question # 2 Amending the U.S. Constitution (8 points) ( Use my lecture on "Do we need to change the U.S. Constitution?") The Washington Post reports on February 1, 2023, about a recent "Virtual Convention" meeting organized by the National Constitution Center that brought together a number of distinguish law professors from 3 political teams- conservative, libertarian and progressive - to draft new constitutions from scratch. The 3 political teams agreed on the need to adopt some basic reforms, including the need to strengthen congressional oversight of the president and to increase Congress's control over federal spending and regulations. Encouraged by this consensus, the three teams gathered together for a Zoom convention in August 2022 to see if they could agree on specific amendments to the existing Constitution. After a week of dialogue, deliberation and compromise, the ideologically diverse delegates agreed on proposals for five pathbreaking amendments; a. Choose two (2) of those 5 proposed amendments that you agree or disagree with and provide two (2) reasons why you support or disagree for each one of those amendments you select. Use my lectures on U.S. Constitution & the U.S. Federal Government to support your positions.(5 points) I have those 5 proposed amendments in my lecture titled " Do we need to change the U.S. Constitution? If so, why and what? They are also in the following link to the Washington Post Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/01/ideological-foes-amendment-constitution/ b. Who should be represented in a new U.S. Constitutional Convention? List 3 groups that you would like to be at this new Convention and explain why you think that they should be there. (3 points) Question # 3 (10 points) Reconstruction and Social Justice (Use my lecture on Reconstruction) Civil rights are, at the most fundamental level, guarantees by the government that it will treat people equally, particularly people belonging to groups that have historically been denied the same rights and opportunities as others. The proclamation that "all men are created equal" appears in the Declaration of Independence, also, the U.S. Constitution, in the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, and the 14th Amendment requires that the federal government treat people equally. Yet even though we have these legal provisions in our Constitution and laws, there are still many de facto ways of discriminating against people because of their ethnic background, gender, religion, etc. a. The Struggle for equality in the United States has been long and continues. Explain what was the period of Reconstruction 1 (1865-1877), what were the 3 "Civil War Amendments" (explain each one briefly) (2 points) and why Reconstruction 1 ended with the "election" of Rutherford B. Hayes and the Compromise of 1877? (3 points). Total 5 points. b. The Civil Rights struggle of the 1950's and 1960's has been called "Reconstruction 2". List 2 of the most important civil rights accomplishments of this period and who are two of your your favorite Civil Rights leaders of that era (3 points). Do you think that with the "Black Lives Matter" movement we are currently starting "Reconstruction 3" ? Explain why or why not.