The Liberty! Teacher’s Guide is designed to fully engage students in the drama and rich educational information presented in the six-part PBS series LIBERTY! THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. The plans are flexible and can be easily adapted.
Given the overt political nature of this topic, an additional theoretical postulate, the Triadic Theory of Power was also presented as another framework to conceptualize the external and internal forces which shape the formation of contemporary education policy. Predicated upon the scholarship of Nobel laureate James Q. Wilson, Andrew McFarland (1987) a British scholar and political scientist postulated that legislation and policy development emerged from a continuous conflict between divergent forces such as grassroots political activists, appointed cabinet members, elected legislative representatives, and lobbyists employed by special interest groups. The utilization of either of these theoretical assertions would be extremely beneficial in the event of a partisan shift in any given legislative chamber. This literature review provides the documentation that creating legislation reflective of the electorate’s values is not an easy process for the nation’s cadre of elected officials. With perseverance, these leaders must attempt to maintain state constitutional fiduciary obligations, while securing the revenues necessary for implementing partisan proclivities and constituent programs. Within this system of policy development, the influence of lobbyists representing various special interest groups has created an additional layer of representation in the state capitals.
