Internet Exercises


1			Read Shlomo Slonim's article Motives at Philadelphia, 1787: Gordon Wood's Neo-Beardian Thesis Reexamined. (http://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/lhrtoc/lhr16_3frm.html). How does Sonim depict the relationship between Beard and Wood's interpretations of the Constitutional Convention? Based on his evidence, would you agree with his characterization of Wood as a "neo-Beardian"?




2			What interpretation of these events does Sonim offer? How do his arguments differ from those of Beard and Wood?




3			Read Gordon Wood and Jack Rakove: Conflicting Views of the Constitution (http://psncentral.com/articles/bonessay4.htm). How does the author characterize Wood and Rakove's respective views of the creation of the Constitution? Does this author's view of Wood's arguments differ from that of Sonim? If so, how?




4			According to this author, what do Wood and Rakove see as the primary forces that led to the creation of the Constitution? Does this view differ from the one presented in the textbook?




5			How do this author's interpretations of Wood and Rakove correspond and contrast to those described in Where Historians Disagree? Do you find this author's interpretations credible? Why or why not?




6			What impact do historians' interpretations of the motivations of the creators of the Constitution have on the contemporary United States? Why do you think this topic remains among the most hotly debated in all of American history?




7			Other sites with primary and secondary sources about the creation of the Constitution include: Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789- Library of Congress site http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bdsds/bdsdhome.html

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