10.1 History of American Political Parties – American Government and Politics in the Information Age

This lesson understand political parties and their origins.

Material Type: Reading, Textbook

Author: University of Minnesota

I Have A Dream Speech

I Have a Dream Speech. Martin Luther King's Address at March on Washington, August 28, 1963. Washington, D.C.

Material Type: Primary Source

The Road to Civil Rights

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: ● Identify key events of the Civil Rights Movement and their place in time ● Explain the significance of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution in relation to the expansion of rights for African Americans and how they laid the footing for the Civil Rights Movement ● Summarize central ideas of short, dense text ● Apply Tier 2/academic and Tier 3/domain-specific vocabulary associated with the Civil Rights Movement

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment

Author: Brooke Machado

African American Women Unite for Change (Teaching with Historic Places) (U.S. National Park Service)

As a historic unit of the National Park Service, the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The site also is within the boundaries of the Logan Circle Historic District. This lesson is based on the Historic Resources Study for Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, as well as other materials on Bethune and the National Council of Negro Women. The lesson was written by Brenda K. Olio, former Teaching with Historic Places historian, and edited by staff of the Teaching with Historic Places program and Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Brenda K. Olio

Mary McLeod Bethune, Eleanor Roosevelt and Others

The original caption for this photograph reads: "Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt and others at the opening of Midway Hall, one of two residence halls built by the Public Buildings Administration of FWA for Negro government girls."As a presidential advisor of African American Affairs during the Roosevelt administration, Mary McLeod Bethune formed the Federal Council of Negro Affairs, which would become known as the Black Cabinet. The Black Cabinet was instrumental in creating jobs for African Americans in Federal executive departments and New Deal agencies.Bethune’s influence within the Roosevelt administration also allowed her to direct funds created by the New Deal program to Black people. Programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and National Youth Administration (NYA) were successful in employing over 300,000 African Americans during the Great Depression.The original caption for this photograph uses the term "negro" to refer to Black people, which was commonly accepted in that era, but is outdated and inappropriate today.

Material Type: Primary Source

Author: National Archives

Mary McLeod Bethune

A collection of materials provided by Nancy Long to celebrate Florida's new statue of Mary McLeod Bethune in the U.S. Statuary Hall Collection 2022.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Donnis Barkley

James Madison: From Father of the Constitution to President

Even in its first 30 years of existence, the U.S. Constitution had to prove its durability and flexibility in a variety of disputes. More often than not, James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution," took part in the discussion.

Material Type: Lesson

The Constitutional Convention: Four Founding Fathers You May Never Have Met

Witness the unfolding drama of the Constitutional Convention and the contributions of those whom we have come to know as the Founding Fathers.  In this lesson, students will become familiar with four important, but relatively unknown, contributors to the U.S. Constitution Convention: Oliver Ellsworth, Alexander Hamilton, William Paterson, and Edmund Randolph.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Lesson 3: James Madison: Raising an Army: Balancing the Power of the States and the Federal Government

Not everyone in the U.S. supported the War of 1812. What events during Madison's presidency raised constitutional questions? What were the constitutional issues? Where did Madison stand?

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Lesson One. The Omnipotence of the Majority

In this lesson, students are introduced to Tocqueville's argument about the "omnipotent" power of the majority in America and its consequences. After an initial statement that the "very essence" of democracy is majority rule, he contrasts the means by which state constitutions artificially increase the power of the majority with the U.S. Constitution, which checks that power.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Balancing Three Branches at Once: Our System of Checks and Balances

Learn about the checks and balances system of the three branches of the U.S. government.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

The Federalist Debates: Balancing Power Between State and Federal Governments

This lesson focuses on the debates among the U.S. Founders surrounding the distribution of power between states and the federal government. Students learn about the pros and cons of state sovereignty vs. federalism and have the opportunity to argue different sides of the issue.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Lesson 4: James Madison: Internal Improvements Balancing Act: Federal/State, Executive/Legislative

There was general agreement at the beginning of the 19th century that the U.S. would greatly benefit from some internal improvements of a national nature, such as a nationwide network of roads and canals. But how should the funds for such projects be raised? Who should be in control of the projects"”that is, who should administer them?

Material Type: Lesson Plan

9/11 and the Constitution

The anniversaries of the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, and the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, provide us an opportunity to reflect upon who we are as Americans, examine our most fundamental values and principles and affirm our commitment to them, and evaluate progress toward the realization of American ideals and propose actions that might narrow the gap between these ideals and reality. The following lessons are designed to accomplish these goals.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Center Staff

The 25th Amendment: Presidential Disability & Succession and Vice Presidential Vacancies

This eLesson by Dr. Felix Yerace will provide students with an opportunity to learn about the text of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment as well as its historical usage and potential need. It will ask them to consider why such an Amendment was deemed necessary and how it has been, and could be, used. It will also give students the opportunity to debate possible applications of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Tom Marabello

“Congress, the President, and the Constitution: Then and Now”

This lesson will give your students the chance to compare and contrast Articles I and II of the Constitution, and the powers delegated to both the legislative and executive branches.  Students will deeply examine the historic and current relationship between Congress and the President and how power and influence have seemed to ebb and flow between them over more than 200 years, including a look at the War Powers Act and how that has impacted the push-pull between Congress and the President, looking at some case studies from the past 35 years.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Tom Marabello

U.S. History

 U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.Senior Contributing AuthorsP. Scott Corbett, Ventura CollegeVolker Janssen, California State University, FullertonJohn M. Lund, Keene State CollegeTodd Pfannestiel, Clarion UniversityPaul Vickery, Oral Roberts UniversitySylvie Waskiewicz

Material Type: Full Course

Gerrymandering: What it is and Why it Matters

The topic of Gerrymandering can be a difficult one to teach and get students to understand. This lesson includes several options, along with additional resources and information for the new teacher or a teacher who like many Americans may have trouble grasping and explaining gerrymandering and congressional redistricting. The lesson options include having students engage in a Debate and/or activity where they draw or redraw the boundaries of a state or congressional district.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Tom Marabello

Washington DC

Washington, D.C., is the capital city of the United States, located between Virginia and Maryland on the north bank of the Potomac River. The city is home to all three branches of the federal government, as well as the White House, the Supreme Court and the Capitol Building.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Concetta Grasso