Over the course of about a week in social studies class, we participated in a simulation of a simplified version of the Constitutional Convention in which delegates from six states-Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Virginia- attempted to resolve these four issues respectively; Should the national government or individual states have more power?, Should representation in Congress be equal for all states or based on population?, Should slavery and the slave trade be allowed to continue?, And should there be a strong chief executive for the United States?. The goal at the convention was to create a constitution that every state would obey and benefit from to ultimately prevent the collapse of America. I feel that
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I think that being able to table a motion or amendment was useful because sometimes, a motion contains many smaller issues that should be addressed before an overarching decision is made. Seconding a motion or amendment in order for it to be voted upon was helpful as well because it made sure that we were not voting on a prolonged Constitution of random and pointless ideas. However, standing up to hold the floor was ineffective for our class because most of the time, multiple delegates stood up at once and quarreled over who would speak first. In fact, I was caught in the frustration of this myself when I had to wait many turns to add that the national government should keep every slaves’ paperwork to an amendment that New Jersey made many turns prior. Another aspect of the Parliamentary Procedure that I was frustrated at was that in issue number one, a move to vote was made and seconded before I could make an amendment that Congress must protect the people’s inalienable rights. Perhaps the part of the convention that frustrated me the most though, was that the less populated states had the advantage in the sixty-forty amendment that only forty percent of a state’s slaves will count towards its population, and yet they still voted it down. I think the delegates at the real Constitutional Convention used this protocol to ensure that it stays formal and order is
I think that being able to table a motion or amendment was useful because sometimes, a motion contains many smaller issues that should be addressed before an overarching decision is made. Seconding a motion or amendment in order for it to be voted upon was helpful as well because it made sure that we were not voting on a prolonged Constitution of random and pointless ideas. However, standing up to hold the floor was ineffective for our class because most of the time, multiple delegates stood up at once and quarreled over who would speak first. In fact, I was caught in the frustration of this myself when I had to wait many turns to add that the national government should keep every slaves’ paperwork to an amendment that New Jersey made many turns prior. Another aspect of the Parliamentary Procedure that I was frustrated at was that in issue number one, a move to vote was made and seconded before I could make an amendment that Congress must protect the people’s inalienable rights. Perhaps the part of the convention that frustrated me the most though, was that the less populated states had the advantage in the sixty-forty amendment that only forty percent of a state’s slaves will count towards its population, and yet they still voted it down. I think the delegates at the real Constitutional Convention used this protocol to ensure that it stays formal and order is