Enumerated
Powers vs. A Living Constitution
You Decide
Instructions
You will find in your required reading, arguments for enumerated powers in excerpts from Roger Pilon's October 25, 2005 testimony before a U. S. Senate committee. We have presented an equal amount of material advocating the concept of a living constitution in excerpts from both President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Constitution Day Speech delivered on September 17, 1937 and the draft of that speech prepared by Felix Frankfurter who was soon to be nominated by FDR and seated on the Supreme Court in 1939. You will find numerous resources to explore as you wish.
In your essay, state your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with Roger Pilon that “most of what the federal government does today is unconstitutional. If you believe Pilon’s assertion of illegitimacy, should we correct the illegitimacy by going through ratification procedures? Why or why not? If you don’t subscribe to Pilon’s assertion of illegitimacy, provide your substantiated reasoning.
Use the required reading and resources we have provided. Of course you may conduct your own Internet research. Substantiate your conclusion with facts as well as reasoned opinion.
1- Email submittals only
All essays must be submitted via email. Do not send print copies.
We suggest that the most computer-literate student in the class assume the responsibility for seeing that all essays reach the Foundation via email.
Please do not submit essays until all are ready. The body of the email should list the name and address of the school, school fax and phone numbers, teacher’s name and email address and the name of every student-participant exactly as he/she would like it to appear on a certificate. We will accept essays as attached MS Word documents, or in Rich Text Format (rtf). We are not responsible for documents that are lost or distorted during transmission or that reach us in a format that we cannot open.
2- Grammar, Spelling and Misconceptions
All essays must be checked by the teacher for grammatical and spelling errors and these must be corrected by the student. In the past we have done a great deal of editing for the sake of the public that visits our web site. We recently decided that a better policy is to allow the students to benefit from editing their own papers under the teacher’s guidance. Faulty reasoning and misconceptions should also be corrected under a teacher’s guidance, if possible in the form of a classroom discussion.
3- Quotations
All quotations used in essays must be noted and
cited at the end of the work. The only notation in the body of the
paper should be quotation marks. No quote should exceed four sentences.
4- Format
Example for centered Heading for each essay:
Green Valley High School
Green Springs, Kentucky
Teacher: Jane Doe
Title of Particular Paper
By John Doe
12th grade
line
1= name of school (address and phone/fax)
line 2 = town and state
line 3 = name of teacher
line 4 = student's own title for the essay (not subject title)
line 5 = student's name
line 6 = grade
Single spacing 14 pt font. (Arial preferred but we can change any font submitted) No indented paragraphs. Use doubling spacing between paragraphs.
5- Photos
If you want student photos displayed, send email
attachments clearly labeled with the student’s name.
6-
Required Reading
Print the Required Reading and Questions and make sure each student has a
copy. Students should use the required reading for background and to answer
the questions.
7-
Questions
Papers must be accompanied by answers to the questions. Students should
state each question before giving their answer.
Please be sure to keep copies at your end until you receive your awards.
Essays will be posted on the Foundation web site as they are read. Entries, upon submittal, become the property of The Harry Singer Foundation.
If you have questions or problems: email staff@singerfoundation.org or phone (831) 625-4223 fax (831) 624-7994
[Home] [Main Menu] [Another Way] [New Programs] [Essay Contests][ [Archives]