Focus on the Fellows 

 

Peggy Jackson, '02 (NM)
 

Being named a Madison Fellow in 2002 opened many doors for me. I not only received the Fellowship to earn my Master's in Political Science at the University of New Mexico, but I also took on a new identity. Aided by the knowledge gained from my Georgetown days, I became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2003 in the field of Adolescent/Young Adult Social Studies. When I first ran for office in NCSS and made my speech, countless Madison Fellows came up to support me!  Elected to the House of Delegates in 2004 and leading the House of Delegates in 2007, I have now been a member of the NCSS Board since 2011.

 

Being a Fellow provided me countless opportunities for service and civic advocacy. I worked with Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in the original Our Courts--now ICivics--program.  I gained new insights into how to access information for my We the People class. Being a Madison Fellow qualified me to teach Political Science 102 for dual-credit. In 2010, I was named the New Mexico Teacher of the Year, and spoke about the impact of my Madison experiences in my speech. As the oldest in my class at Georgetown, I learned new ideas from all the other Fellows--but I didn't join them in the fountain!

  

Let us hear what you have been up to since receiving your Fellowship.  Submit a brief article (150-200 words) along with a high-resolution photo to cgriffin@jamesmadison.com for possible inclusion in future newsletters.

 Constitution Corner 

 

Dr. David Upham, '93 (VT)  University of Dallas

 

The Framers of both the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution believed that certain important decisions should require the consent of nine of the thirteen states.  Under the Articles, the approval of nine states was required for almost all significant decisions. And under the Constitution, the ratification of nine states was necessary in order for the Constitution to go into effect between states ratifying the same.
 

At first glance, this 9/13 rule seems supermajoritairan rather than majoritarian.  But perhaps the rule actually served a majoritarian purpose.  If Publius was right in characterizing the Union as partly federal and partly national, then majority rule required the consent of both a federal majority and a national majority-that is, a majority of the states and a majority of the people. 

 

The nine-state rule may have served both purposes.  The Framers estimated the relative populations of the states-including 5/5 of free persons and 3/5 of other inhabitants-in Article I's initial allocation of congressional representatives.  According to this allocation, the nine smallest states would have a total of 33 representatives, while the four largest states (Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York) would have 32 representatives.

 

To require the consent of nine states, then, may have been designed to serve the purpose of ensuring that any majority of the states would also represent a majority of the people. In our partly-federal, partly national Union, 9/13 was equal to 51%.  

Teaching Tips

Do you teach the Constitution to international students? If so, you might find it helpful to learn a bit about their systems of government. In my US History course, I connect as much as possible to my students' home countries. We all benefit from learning about how their countries establish (or don't establish) checks and balances or create an appropriate division of powers.  

It is also interesting to learn why their governments are structured as parliamentary, presidential, or totalitarian systems. Similarly, these discussions have helped students understand the nuanced balance between state and federal powers. Even if you don't teach international students, comparing state constitutions shows the variety of issues addressed by those documents.

Do you have a favorite pedagogical approach for teaching about the Constitution?  Submit a brief article (150-200 words) to cgriffin@jamesmadison.com for possible inclusion in future newsletters.

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From the Foundation

Official Annual Reports are due on July 15 for all Fellows currently working on their degree and/or fulfilling their teaching obligations, and should be mailed to Anne Marie at the Foundation offices.  If you are graduating this year (or graduated last December), you also need to submit a certified transcript showing the awarding of your degree.