The Quill Project: The Process of Compromise Activity
An interactive activity originally developed by the Quill Project based out of Oxford that helps students understand the various compromises made at the Constitutional Convention.
The Quill Project is a research project based at Pembroke College, Oxford, that studies the history of negotiated texts, such as the U.S. Constitution.
Directions:
Go to the Quill Project site: https://www.quillproject.net/quill.
Watch the introductory video (7 minutes, 40 seconds).
Discussion Questions:
1. The video asserts that foundational texts are not written by individuals but negotiated by groups in formal settings. Why do you think individuals, such as James Madison, are often closely associated with foundational texts like the U.S. Constitution?
2. “The final text is the product of hundreds or even thousands of proposals and votes taken over the course of weeks, months, or years.” Why are the records left by this process sometimes hard to understand?
3. How does the Quill Project make this process easier to understand?
Directions:
Go to the Library and click on the Secretary’s Desk tool for the United States Constitutional Convention 1787: https://www.quillproject.net/secretary_desk/6/.
Click and explore each of the committees.
Discussion Questions:
4. Which committee met first in the convention? Why does this make sense?
5. Which committee met last? Why does this make sense?
6. Which individual served on both the Rules Committee and Committee of Style?
Directions:
Click on the Activity Summary: https://www.quillproject.net/activity_summary/
6. Search “Slavery”.
Discussion Questions:
7. How many times did this topic appear in the work of the various committees?
8. On the basis of this visual, what can you conclude about the negotiations at the Convention?
Directions:
Click on the Calendar view: https://www.quillproject.net/calendar_view/6.
Discussion Questions:
9. When was the busiest time for the Convention as a whole?
Directions:
Click on the Summary Statistics: https://www.quillproject.net/convention_statistics_visualize/6.
Discussion Questions:
10. Which delegation was the most active overall?
11. Which delegation issued the most rejection votes?
Directions:
Click on the Summary Statistics: https://www.quillproject.net/convention_statistics_visualize/6.
Discussion Questions:
12. What words in this word cloud do you think are still applicable to the work of government today? Explain your top five selections. mybri.org>>Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness >> Unit 3 >>Handout C: The Quill Project: The Process of Compromise tConclusion:
13. Based on your exploration of this site, what are your impressions of the day-to-day work that went on at the 1787 Convention?
14. Which tool on the Quill Project Website gave you the greatest appreciation for the task of negotiation and process that went on in Philadelphia in 1787? Explain.
15. In the background essay, the author asserts that “The 1787 Convention, then, should be celebrated for the constitutional text that it produced…But it should be celebrated most as a triumph of what members of the modern Congress now call ’regular order.’” Based on your exploration of the Quill Project site, do you agree with his argument? Explain.
16. How can the kind of analysis done by the historians at the Quill Project help us better understand the role of compromise in American history?
Final Assessment:
Choose one of the following options to complete and turn in as the culminating assignment for this activity.
Option A:
The Writer The Constitution has often been called a “Bundle of Compromises.” To what extent and in what ways is this description accurate? How does the work of the Quill Project illustrate the complexity of the compromise process?
Option B:
The Artist The scholars at the Quill Project have created several visualizations to allow users to appreciate the complexity and detail of the work behind creating the U.S. Constitution. Create your own annotated illustration or cartoon that depicts the process of compromise that occurred in Philadelphia in 1787, rooted in the data provided by the Quill Project. Your illustration should also indicate how the Quill Project’s work challenges the traditional historical narrative of the Convention’s work being a blend of the Virginia and New Jersey Plans.