Curated OER
The Federalist Papers
Students identify the Articles of Confederation and explain why it failed. They explain the argument over the need for a bill of rights in the Constitution and James Madison's role in securing its adoption by first Congress. Finally,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Ratifying the Constitution
Ratifying the Constitution was no simple task. Using primary sources, such as classic writings from the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, young scholars examine the arguments for and against the Constitution. They then decide: Would they...
Annenberg Foundation
The New Nation
The conclusion of the American Revolution brought about a new conflict—choosing the stye of government for the newly formed United States. Using the views of both Federalists and Anti-Federalists, learners work in pairs and groups to...
Curated OER
What's My Line: Federalists and Anti-Federalists
Fifth graders work in groups to research the historical context and significance of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist movements of the eighteenth century. They create data collection spreadsheets, write persuasive papers, design a...
Savvas Learning
Political Parties
What is a political party, and what major parties exist in American politics today? How did the party system develop in American history, and how are parties organized? These questions and many other details regarding the political party...
Curated OER
The Federalist Debates: Balancing Power Between State and Federal Governments
Students examine the pros and cons of state sovereignty vs. federalism, as argued by the Founding Fathers. They identify the basic positions of each side, complete a worksheet, and write a persuasive essay arguing for Jefferson or Hamilton.
Curated OER
Why a Bill of Rights? What Impact Does it Have?
Students explore the Bill of Rights. In this Bill of Rights activity, students compare the Federalist view of government to the Anti-Federalist view of government. Students consider the impact of the bill of rights as they take notes on...
Curated OER
We the People Lesson 2
Students compare the Federalists and Anti-Federalists visions for the U.S. government. In this government lesson, students conduct research on Federalists and Anti-Federalists figures. Students use their findings to help them write...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Early Political Parties
Pupils examine the platforms of early political parties in the United States. For this political parties lesson, students discover details regarding the attributes and ideals of the federalists and the democratic-republicans. Pupils...
Curated OER
Ratifying the Constitution
After a lecture on ratifying the Constitution, this worksheet would be perfect to reinforce your government (or U.S. History) students' new knowledge. The activity contains ten knowledge-level and comprehension-level questions. This...
Curated OER
Federalist and Antifederalist Papers
Young scholars debate the Federalist and Anti-federal Papers after using the Internet as a research tool.
Curated OER
The New Republic
Learners research the Federalists and Anti-federalists. In the lesson on state legislature, students use primary sources to create a brochure and write an essay that illustrates federalist and anti-federalists viewpoints.
Curated OER
Congress and the Creation of the Bill of Rights
Students participate in inquiry activities to explore powers outlined in the Bill of Rights. In this Bill of Rights lesson plan, students creation of a class Bill of Rights, evaluate and propose amendments, and analyze primary source...
Curated OER
The Last Abortion Clinic: Key Constitutional Issues of the Abortion Debate
Students discuss the Constitution of the United States and its amendments, then apply this discussion by creating a "Who should Decide What?" list, based upon their ideas about whether controversial issues such as abortion and medical...
Curated OER
The Louisiana Purchase
In this Historical Facts worksheet, students read a passage about the Louisiana Purchase and answer 8 fill in the blank and 7 true/false questions.
Curated OER
Constitutional Struggle Over Centralized Power
Students participate in a classroom simulation to discover the issues facing those who formed the new U.S. government. They compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Using resource sheets and working in...
Curated OER
Who Has the Power?
Students explore the concept of federalism and the purpose of government. How government powers are acquired, used, justified, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens are investigated in this lesson.
Curated OER
Worksheet #61 Questions - James Madison
In this James Madison historical term quiz, students define the meaning of several terms relating to the aforementioned topic in order to advance their historical knowledge.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Creation of the Bill of Rights: “Retouching the Canvas”
While the Constitutional Convention lay the foundation of the new government for the United States, the protections given under the Bill of Rights were controversial. Using documents, such as James Madison's and Thomas Jefferson's...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The War of 1812: America’s First Declared War
Free Trade and Sailor's Rights! Pupils dive into America's first declared war, the War of 1812. They analyze the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison through diary entries and historical reasoning. To conclude the lesson, they use their...
Center for Literacy and Disability Studies
The Bill of Rights
Explore the Bill of Rights in-depth with this resource packet that includes the complete text of the document, scenarios and discussion questions for each amendment, role-playing activities, exercises, questions for a Socratic seminar, a...
Bill of Rights Institute
Preserving the Bill of Rights
Consider how America's founding fathers and their experiences contributed to the rights we all enjoy today. A collection of reading, writing, and collaborative exercises prompt high schoolers to think about the ways their current lives...
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights and the Founders
Students explain similarities between historical statements of rights and their modern applications, explore ideas of "Rights of Englishmen" and natural rights, discuss evolution of concept of rights and its impact on Bill of Rights,...
Curated OER
Federalism
Students become familiar with the Federalist papers and the work of the federal government. In this federalism lesson, students find similarities and differences between state and federal government.