Encouraging Students to Consider How News of the Constitution First Spread

Lee Ann Potter

On May 27, 1787, just two days after the federal convention assembling in Philadelphia entire Constitution and in most cases, had finally achieved a quorum, George Mason, one of the delegates from Virginia, its accompanying documents, as well. wrote a letter to his son. In it, he reported that George Washington had been unani- In the following two weeks there mously appointed president of the convention, that Major Jackson had been appointed were six more known newspaper print- secretary by a vote of five states to two, that the credentials of the delegates were read, ings. And before the first of the states, and that a committee had been appointed to establish the rules of the proceedings. Delaware, met to discuss ratification In addition he wrote, on December 3, the printings of the Philadelphia papers on September Constitution likely totaled more than It is expected our doors will be 20 and 21. Also on the 21st, the 150.5 shut, and communications upon Constitution appeared in at least two In addition to newspapers mak- the business of the Convention out-of-town newspapers, the New York ing the Constitution available both be forbidden during its sitting. Daily Advertiser and the New-York on their pages and in the form of This I think myself a proper pre- Packet. broadsides produced on their print- caution to prevent mistakes and On Saturday, September 22, the ing presses, the delegates also shared misrepresentation until the busi- Constitution and the supporting docu- it widely. On September 18, George ness shall have been completed, ments (including the resolution of the Washington sent two copies of it to when the whole may have a very Convention and the letter of transmittal France—to Thomas Jefferson (who different complexion from that from George Washington that accom- was serving as the U.S. Minister in which the several crude and panied the document to Congress) were to France) and to the Marquis de indigested parts might in their printed by John McLean in New York as Lafayette (the French aristocrat and first shape appear if submitted a separate four-page Supplement to the military leader who fought in the to the public eye.1 Independent Journal that is featured in American Revolution and became a this article.4 close friend of Washington). He was right. Two days later, the del- In 1787, no newspapers were printed To Lafayette, he wrote, “In the midst egates agreed, “That nothing spoken in on Sundays, so none appeared on of hurry, and in the moment of my the House be printed, or otherwise pub- September 23. But the following week departure from this City I address this lished, or communicated without leave.”2 saw the Constitution printed in the letter to you. The principal, indeed While the delegates worked through- Baltimore Maryland Journal, the the only design of it is, to fulfil [sic] out the summer, they did so in secret. Trenton (NJ) Weekly Mercury, New the promise I made that I would send But, almost immediately after the del- Haven Connecticut Journal, and more. you the proceedings of the Fœderal egates finished their work and signed And it was published in German by two Convention as soon as the business the Constitution on September 17, the Pennsylvania papers, The Gemeinnutizge of it was closed.” And he continued, delegates and the press ensured that its Philadelphische Correspondenz and complete text was widely shared. the Neue Unpartheyische Lancaster It is the production of four On the morning of September 19th, Zeitung. months deliberation. It is now a the Constitution appeared in five By October 6, less than three weeks Child of fortune, to be fostered Philadelphia newspapers, including after the Federal Convention, at least by some and buffited [sic] by The Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily 55 of the approximately 80 newspa- Advertiser.3 It appeared in two other pers of the period had printed the continued on page 237

Social Education 234 September 2021 235 Social Education 236 SOURCES AND STRATEGIES the proposed Constitution for that the newspaper simply reprinted the from page 234 the U. States. I forbear to make complete text of the Constitution and the any observations on it; either on others. what will be the General accompanying documents without addi- the side of its merits or its faults. tional editorial information or reaction. opinion on, or the reception of it, The best Judges of both will be is not for me to, decide, nor shall You may also wish to share the letters those who can combine with a from Mason, Washington, and Madison I say any thing [sic] for or against knowledge of the collective & it—if it be good I suppose it will and encourage a discussion about reflec- permanent interest of America, a tion time and its value in allowing dis- work its way good—if bad it will freedom from the bias resulting recoil on the Framers.6 course and the forming of opinions. from a participation in the work.7 You might also encourage students to conduct original research to find out James Madison sent the Constitution Begin a class discussion with your stu- more about how news of the Constitution as an enclosure with a letter to Edmund dents about how they hear and access spread. For example, they could investi- Pendleton, a friend and colleague who news today. Then share with them infor- gate its appearance in foreign newspapers had served in the First Continental mation from this article along with copies or its mention in other manuscript col- Congress, on September 20. He wrote, of (or links to) the four-page Supplement lections. They might also look into when to the Independent Journal. Lead a class newspapers began publishing reactions I have waited for this opportu- discussion with students about the sup- to the document. Informing them that the nity of inclosing you a copy of plement. They might find it interesting first of the 85 Federalist Papers, written

Additional Constitution-related Resources from the Library of Congress

In addition to newspapers and manuscript collections such as those featured in this Sources and Strategies article, the Library of Congress makes available numerous other Constitution-related resources that might be particularly useful as you and your students prepare for Constitution Day, September 17. Some relate specifi- cally to the U.S. Constitution, while others relate to the founding documents of other nations, including sovereign Indian nations. Here are four that may be of particular interest:

Research Guide Native American Constitutions and Legal Materials Constitution of the United States: Primary Documents in https://loc.gov/collections/native-american-constitutions-and- American History legal-materials/ https://guides.loc.gov/constitution This Law Library of Congress collection contains a variety of Native This guide provides access to digital collections at the Library of American legal materials. The Law Library holds most of the laws Congress, external websites, and print materials related to the and constitutions from the early nineteenth century produced by Constitution. the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole who were forced to leave the Southeast for the Indian Territory after passage Research Guide of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. Some of these documents are Framing of the United States Constitution: in the vernacular languages of the tribes. This collection includes A Beginner’s Guide nineteenth-century items and those constitutions and charters https://guides.loc.gov/framing-us-constitution drafted after the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. This guide contains sources regarding the creation and ratification The recognition of Indian nations or tribes by the federal gov- of the United States Constitution. ernment formally began with the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. Today, there are 574 federally recognized sovereign Indian nations The Constitution Annotated and tribes operating under constitutions and charters within the https://constitution.congress.gov U.S. federal and state structure. The constitutional organization The Constitution Annotated provides a comprehensive overview of tribal entities is expressed in the corporate component such as of how the Constitution has been interpreted over time. It includes Community, Association, or Community Association, Native Village, legal analysis and interpretation of the United States Constitution Traditional Council, Village of Council, or Corporation added to based on a comprehensive review of Supreme Court case law. the name of the tribe.

September 2021 237 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay was published on October 27, 1787, might provide them with a good start. They might look into which newspapers carried the essays. One was the Independent Journal, responsible for printing the Supplement featured in this article. Try the NCSS On Demand Video Library

Notes An Issue-Centered Approach to Media Literacy Town Hall 2020 1. For the text of George Mason’s letter to his son, see Classroom Debate & Deliberation The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 National Geographic’s Geo-Inquiry (Farrand’s Records): http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ Analyzing Change Over Space and Framework Part 1 and 2 ampage?collId=llfr&fileName=003/llfr003.db&recNum Time in Social Studies with Web =36. Mapping Tools The Origins of Race and Anti-Black 2. See The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 Racism in the U.S. (Farrand’s Records): http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ Bayard Rustin: Shifting a Civil Rights ampage?collId=llfr&fileName=001/llfr001.db&recNum Leader from the Shadows to the Putting Social Studies in its Place: =42. Spotlight Using GIS in the Classroom 3. For digitized images of The Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser, see: www.loc.gov/resource/ #BecauseofHerStory: Exploring Untold Stalin’s Cover Up of the Ukrainian cph.3b06077/ and www.loc.gov/item/2005692143/. Stories Through Portraiture and Genocide: The Holodomor, 1932–1933 4. For digitized images of the Supplement to the American Art Teaching Inquiry About Race and Independent Journal, see: www.loc.gov/resource/ Democracy Through Primary Sources bdsdcc.n002001/?st=gallery. Beginning the Year in a Pandemic: 5. For additional information about the printing his- Meeting Social-Emotional Needs Teaching Sociology and the C3 tory of the Constitution, see Rapport, Leonard. Connecting the Dots in World History Framework “Printing the Constitution: The Convention and Part 1 and 2 Newspaper Imprints, August-November 1787,” Teaching the 2020 Election: Rights Prologue, Fall 1970; available at: rapport-full-article-. Culturally Responsive Teaching in and Responsibilities pdf (wisc.edu). Social Studies Teaching the EU: Bringing Modern 6. For the letterbook copy of George Washington’s letter to Lafayette, see: www.loc.gov/resource/ Democracy is not a Spectator Sport Europe to your Classroom mgw2.014/?sp=154. For his letter to Thomas Design Thinking and the C3 Teaching with Primary Sources to Jefferson, see: www.loc.gov/resource/mgw2.014/ Prepare for Civic Engagement ?sp=155. Framework: Social Studies 7. For James Madison’s letter to Edmund Pendleton, Possibilities! U.S. Census Bureau: Statistics in see: www.loc.gov/item/mjm023129/. Educator Strategies for Addressing Schools 8. See also Lee Ann Potter, “Resolution and Letter to Racism and Current Issues: A Unsettling Narratives: Teaching About Congress from the Constitutional Convention,” Perspectives Consciousness Approach Social Education (Sept 2005). the Genocide of Indigenous Peoples From Headline to Homework: Teaching Current Events Through Using Music to Teach America’s Wars Anti-Bias Framework Using Music to Teach Social Protest Hands-on Human Geography for a and Social Change Rapidly Changing Planet Using Popular Music in the Social If you try these suggestions, or a varia- “IDMifying” Inquiry Instruction in Your Studies Classroom tion of them, with your students, tell us Social Studies Methods Course about your experience! During the last Using Relevant Children’s Literature in week of September, the Teaching with The Indigenous Land You Live On: the Elementary Social Studies the Library of Congress Blog at blogs. Going Beyond Territory Classroom loc.gov/teachers/ will feature a post tied Acknowledgements What if Everything You Knew about to this article and we invite you to com- KidCitizen: See, Think, and Wonder Hinduism was Wrong? ment and share your teaching strategies. with Primary Sources Woodstock at 50: The 1960s and the The Knowledge Gap: What It Is and Transformation of American Society How to Narrow It Parts 1–4. Lee Ann Potter is the Director of Professional Lessons Learned from Controversies Working Toward a Culturally Relevant Learning and Outreach around the Country in World Classroom Initiatives at the Library of Religions Classes Congress and serves as the Young People are Talking about editor of the “Sources and The Library of Congress for Teachers: Politics, Whether or Not They’re in our Strategies” feature. For more “Layer Upon Layer of Awesome” Classrooms information on the education programs of the Library of Congress, please visit www.loc.gov/teachers/. www.socialstudies.org/professional-learning/demand-video-library

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