Learning Activity

Aired October 8, 2003

California voters turned out in record-breaking fashion on Tuesday to decide whether to cut short Gov. Gray Davis' tenure.

Ask students: How do you think America's Founding Fathers would have felt about the California recall election? Next, divide your class into five groups and assign each group one of the following Founding Fathers: James Madison, John Adams, Patrick Henry, Alexander Hamilton or Thomas Jefferson. Direct students to their texts and online resources to learn about the political orientation and political contributions of their assigned Founding Father. Then, have each group videotape or act out a mock interview for CNN Student News of its Founding Father expressing his views on the California recall election. Ask students to incorporate biographical facts about the Founding Father to substantiate his views on the recall election. Have groups share their interviews with the class and discuss.

Correlated Standards

National Social Studies Standards

Standard II: Time, Continuity and Change: Students will learn about the ways human beings view themselves in and over time.

Students will understand and appreciate differences in historical perspectives, recognizing that interpretations are influenced by individual experiences, societal values, and cultural traditions.

Standard VI: Power, Authority and Governance: Students will understand the historical development of structures of power, authority and governance and their evolving functions in contemporary U.S. society as well as other parts of the world.

Students will explore their natural and developing sense of fairness and order as they experience relationships with others.

The Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/) are published by the National Council for Social Studies (http://ncss.org/).

The National Standards for History

Era 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)

Standard 3A: The student understands the issues involved in the creation and ratification of the United States Constitution and the new government it established.

Standard 3D: The student understands the development of the first American party system.

The National Standards for History (http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/standards/) are published by theNational Center for History in the Schools (http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/).

Related Links

CNN.com: California voters flex their muscle in recall election (http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/07/recall.main/index.html)

CNN.com Special: California Recall (http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/calif.recall/)

Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Origins of U.S. Government (http://go.hrw.com/hrw.nd/arbiter/pRedirect?project=hrwonline&siteId=456)&pageId=2998

The Founding Fathers: Delegates to the Constitutional Convention (http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/constitution_founding_fathers.html)

Keywords

California, recall election, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gray Davis, polling precinct, candidates, voter turnout, Cruz Bustamante