This course provides a basic history of American social, economic, and political development from the colonial period through the Civil War. It examines the colonial heritages of Spanish and British America; the American Revolution and its impact; the establishment and growth of the new nation; and the Civil War, its background, character, and impact. Readings include writings of the period by J. Winthrop, T. Paine, T. Jefferson, J. Madison, W. H. Garrison, G. Fitzhugh, H. B. Stowe, and A. Lincoln.

On 12 September 1787, during the final days of the Constitutional Convention, George Mason of Virginia expressed the desire that the Constitution be prefaced by a Bill of Rights. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts proposed a motion to form a committee to incorporate such a declaration of rights; however the motion was defeated. This lesson examines the First Congress's addition of a Bill of Rights as the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

In this lesson, students will examine a copy of twelve possible amendments to the United States Constitution as originally sent to the states for their ratification in September of 1789. Students will debate and vote on which of these amendments they would ratify and compare their resulting “Bill of Rights” to the ten amendments ratified by ten states that have since been known by this name.

From the framers of the Constitution, who were worried about books and pamphlets, to present-day stakeholders, who are concerned about DVDs, MP3s, and the Internet, the story of copyright law is an ongoing struggle to balance copyright holders' rights with and the public interest. New technologies constantly challenge that balance.

In this lesson, students will examine the historical relationship between copyright law and technological innovation in the U.S. Working in teams, they will research a technology and assess how it may have affected users and copyright holders, as well as whether or not a public controversy resulted from its use. With this historical context in mind, students will then examine current copyright policy debates about music downloading and file-sharing.

Centuries of Citizenship: A Constitutional Timeline is an interactive timeline of events marking more than 200 years of our constitutional history. These events tell the evolving story of our Constitution and the role it continues to play in our lives. See headlines, hear debates, explore maps and graphs.

This site includes documents from the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention and ratification debates, and the first two federal congresses. These documents record American history in the words of those who built our government.

This site features primary documents that shaped U.S. history. See images of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Learn about the Articles of Confederation, Constitutional Convention, Marbury v. Madison, Louisiana Purchase, slavery, Civil War, 13th Amendment, immigration, and woman suffrage.

This lesson asks students to visualize the Civil War by studying dozens of period photographs, and illustrates how the Civil War threatened the very purpose of the Constitution as stated in the Preamble. This lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Social Sciences. It also has cross-curricular connections with history, American studies, and language arts.

By reading and re-reading the Constitutional passages closely combined with classroom discussion about it, students will explore the questions Monk raises and perhaps even pursue additional avenues of inquiry. When combined with writing about the passage and teacher feedback, students will form a deeper appreciation not only of MonkŐs argument and the value of struggling with complex text, but of the Preamble of the Constitution itself. This close reading exemplar is intended to model how teachers can support their students as they undergo the kind of careful reading the Common Core State Standards require. Teachers are encouraged to take these exemplars and modify them to suit the needs of their students.

INTRODUCTION "We the People..." The Preamble to the United States Constitution starts with that phrase. What does it mean? How do "We, the people" actually do anything together with one another, in a country as large and diverse as our country is? How do we maintain a sense of union over time? One way is through exercising shared responsibility for certain services the government provides. These services are paid for through a system of taxation. What are the services that the federal government provides, and why should everyone in the country pay for them? This lesson will help you understand the government's role in providing some protections and services to all our country's citizens -- and the reason we pay taxes to fund those protections and services.

This lesson plan casts students in the role of politically active citizens in 1787, when the Federal Convention in Philadelphia presented the nation with a new model of government. Students, using primary documents from American Memory, produce a broadside in which they argue for or against replacing the Articles of Confederation with the new model of the Constitution.

Constitution Day is September 17, the day in 1787 when our U.S. government was born. Meet your Constitution Day education requirement with this engaging lesson plan that shows how the U.S. Constitution sets up our government. Students will learn how Articles I-III describe the structure, function and powers of the three branches of government. Readings and activities will guide students through the articles, as well as the concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances.

This lesson focuses on the drafting of the United States Constitution during the Federal Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. Students will analyze an unidentified historical document and draw conclusions about what this document was for, who created it, and why. After the document is identified as George Washington’s annotated copy of the Committee of Style’s draft constitution, students will compare its text to that of an earlier draft by the Committee of Detail to understand the evolution of the final document.

This lesson explores the important Constitutional mechanism providing for the separation of powers of government among three branches so that each branch checks the other two. Lesson plans use the New Deal to help teach this concept.

This lesson plan examines Constitutional issues surrounding the resignation of President Nixon and looks at the specific question: Should the Watergate Special Prosecutor seek an indictment of the former President?

Connect particular phrases and ideas set down in the Constitution with texts that preceded it.

In Do I Have A Right?, you’ll run your own firm of lawyers who specialize in constitutional law. You’ll need to decide whether potential clients “have a right,” and if so, match them with the right lawyer. The more clients you serve and the more cases you win, the faster your law firm will grow! Can you think on your feet? You're going to have to!

The Fourteenth Amendment established the equal protection clause, later used in key desegregation cases.

The Supreme Court's opinion in Brown II reflects the struggle between federal and state governments on how and when school desegregation would occur.