Controversial Parts of the Constitution

Worksheet Description

The United States Constitution is like a big rule book for the country. But, just like when you play a game and sometimes argue about the rules, people sometimes disagree about parts of the Constitution.

In the early days of the United States, a sad and wrong thing called slavery existed. This means that some people owned other people, called slaves. The Constitution had parts that allowed slavery to continue. Today, we know that owning people is very wrong. Later, changes were made to the Constitution to end slavery, but at the beginning, it was a big disagreement.

The Second Amendment has been the subject of significant debate and interpretation throughout U.S. history. This part talks about people’s right to have weapons. Today, some people believe it’s important for protection and hunting. Others worry that too many weapons can lead to dangerous situations.

The Constitution says that the president is chosen by something called the Electoral College. This means that instead of counting every single vote from every person, there’s a system that gives each state a certain number of votes. Sometimes, a president can win the Electoral College but get fewer votes from people. This part is tricky and makes some people think we should change it.