Join our panel of Presidential scholars and advisers for a vibrant and
insightful discussion on the history and execution of Presidential powers
exploring how and why Presidents make decisions, the application of and
implications on the Constitution from those decisions, and the far ranging
impacts of those decisions.
Program Description:
Constitution Day 2011: The Powers of the President will focus on the
executive branch of our federal government. The separation and balance of
powers between our three branches of government is a central and vitally
important element of our Constitution. The Framers of the Constitution
debated a great deal about the powers of the presidency. On the one hand,
they did not want to create a monarch like that of Great Britain, but on
the other hand, the reason they were meeting was that the lack of executive
power under the Articles of Confederation was one of its major weaknesses.
How much power the President should have was a major argument the
Federalists and Anti-Federalists engaged in during the ratification
process.
Recent history demonstrates how timely and continually vibrant this issue
of balance remains as each of our branches of government has debated the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, health care policy, and deficit reduction.
For this year's program we'll look at specific events of U.S. history as we
explore several questions: What powers are enumerated in the Constitution
for the President and how have those powers been interpreted throughout our
nation's history? How has the balance of power shifted between the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches as a result of how Presidents
have employed their powers? How has Congress acted legislatively to respond
to Presidential use of power? How accurately does the modern display of
Presidential power reflect the framers' vision of our Chief Executive?
The 2011 Constitution Day Program will have two different live events: The
10:00 a.m. CDT program will focus on the President and domestic issues, and
the 1:00 p.m. CDT program will focus on the President and international
issues. Our scheduled panelists of political scientists, Presidential
scholars, and Presidential advisors will be able to provide great insights
into the questions above and your students' questions as well as we discuss
the powers of the President. Viewers will also hear directly from President
George H.W. Bush and President William J. Clinton through video messages
created specifically for the program. The program will air from the
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site in St. Louis, Missouri.
PLEASE NOTE: The 10 a.m. CDT program will focus on Presidential powers in
the domestic arena, and the 1:00 p.m. CDT program will focus on
Presidential powers in the foreign policy arena. Interactive
videoconference space is limited to four schools per program with
additional view only videoconference spaces also available. View only
videoconference participants can e-mail questions during the program to
live@hectv.org,
As always with HEC-TV Live!, the programs will also be broadcast live on
TV in the St. Louis metropolitan area (Charter Digital 989 or 118-26 and
AT&T U-verse channel 99) and shown live world wide over our station website
at http://www.hectv.org. TV and Internet viewers can e-mail us questions
during the program to live@hectv.org and also e-mail us at that address to
receive program preparatory and related curriculum materials.
Program Objectives:
Students will be able to:
1. Explain the purpose of Article II of the United States Constitution.
2. Evaluate and defend the role of the President in the American
Constitutional System.
3. Explain how the executive branch has evolved since 1787 and the
implications of this evolution.
4. Compare and contrast the executive branch of George Washington's
presidency with the present day presidency.
Program Format:
Pre-Program Information: ”The Constitution Day Study Guide prepared by The
Missouri Bar is available as a download with this web exhibit if you enroll
for our program. It is also available for anyone's use at www.mobar.org in
the Educators' section under Constitution Day. The guide will include
Constitutional issues to consider, questions, worksheets and other
activities designed to get your students thinking about the issues that
will form the focus of the program.
Program Order: ”The videoconference program will consist of the following
segments. Student questions and comments will be welcomed throughout the
program. Please note the 10 a.m. CDT program will focus on Presidential
powers in the domestic arena, and the 1:00 p.m. CDT program will focus on
Presidential powers in the foreign policy arena. A finalized program
agenda detailing the specific powers to be explored in segment 2 below and
specific examples of decision-making referred to in segment 3 below will be
sent to schools upon their enrollment in the program.
1. Welcome and Introduction: Student groups and experts will be introduced
and welcomed to the program.
2. Powers of the Presidency: This section of the program will explore the
Presidential powers enumerated in the Constitution and the historical
background and debate for determining those powers.
3. Process of Presidential Decision-Making and Implications of
Presidential Action: ”This section of the program will look at historic
examples of Presidential decision-making, processes used to make those
decisions, and implications of those decisions on the separation and
balance of power between the three branches of government as well as on the
nation as a whole.
4. Summary and Closing: We'll summarize the major Constitutional
implications of the program's discussion and close the program.
Featured National and State Standards:
Schools from across the country are invited to join in the program.
Missouri state standards are provided for Missouri schools since funding
for this program comes from The Missouri Bar Association. (Missouriâ's
civics standards are based on the Civics national standard.)
The Missouri Bar Constitution Day provides the content and teaching
methodology, based upon inquiry instruction necessary to meet the Missouri
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Show Me Standards,
Course Level, and Grade Level Expectations (GLE) that complement the
standards for several areas of social studies. Note: Only the goals,
CLEs, and GLEs that are relevant to Constitution Day activities are
included in this document. These standards are both from the Government
and U.S. History standards. Note: Lettered outcome objectives are not
sequential because they reference DESE documents.
Grades 7-8
Principles of Constitutional Democracy
1. Knowledge of the principles expressed in documents shaping
constitutional democracy in the United States.
A. (1) Principles expressed in documents shaping constitutional democracy
in the United States.
Principles and Process of Governance Systems
3. Knowledge of principles and processes of governance systems
C. (2) Processes of governmental systems.
G. (2) Effects of laws and events on relationships.
I. (3) Changing ideas, concepts and traditions.
Grades 9-12
Principles of Constitutional Democracy
2. Knowledge of the principles expressed in documents shaping constitutional democracy in the United States.
A (1)
Principles of Constitutional Democracy in the United States.
Assess the changing roles of government.
Understanding the relevance and connections of constitutional principles.
B (3) Roles of citizens and governments in carrying out constitutional
principles.
Principles and processes of governance systems
3. Knowledge of principles and processes of governance systems
(1) Principles and purposes of government.
Participant Preparation:
1. Participants should come to the program with an interest in the
Constitution and the issue of Presidential authority and decision-making.
2. Participants should utilize preparatory materials provided for the
program and other resources of their own to better understand the context
of the program's subject and to think in advance of questions they wish to
ask the experts. Any questions determined in advance, can be e-mailed to
us prior to the program at live@hectv.org.
3. Interactive schools are requested to send us three to five “burning
questions' they would definitely like to ask during the program.
Questions, along with the first name of the student who will be asking it,
should be e-mailed to us no less than three days prior to the program date
to live@hectv.org. These questions will be forwarded to the experts
joining us for the program so they are aware of areas of student interest.
Some of these questions will definitely be included in our organization of
the program. We will send a response e-mail to you with the questions
selected and will call on the student(s) by name during the program.
Students will also have the opportunity to ask spontaneous questions during
the program.
4. Participants should have pencil and paper ready to use during the
program to jot down ideas and additional questions as they come to mind.
Pre-Program Activity Suggestions:
A variety of pre-program activities are included in the Constitution Day
Study Guide prepared by the Missouri Bar and included in this program's
exhibit on the CILC website. It is also available for anyone's use at
www.mobar.org in the Educators' section under Constitution Day. If you
have difficulty downloading the document from either of these sources,
please e-mail us at live@hectv.org, and we will e-mail you a copy.
Post-Program Activity Suggestions:
A variety of post-program activities are included in the Constitution Day
Study Guide prepared by the Missouri Bar and included in this program's
exhibit on the CILC website. It is also available for anyone's use at
www.mobar.org in the Educators' section under Constitution Day. If you
have difficulty downloading the document from either of these sources,
please e-mail us at live@hectv.org, and we will e-mail you a copy.
We look forward to connecting with you,
Tim Gore
Interactive Coordinator
live@hectv.org
314.531.4455
