Lesson and activity in which students critique U.S. energy policy and its relationship to national security, then evaluate energy alternatives. Lesson includes article with background information, questions for discussion and...

Lesson and activity in which learners analyze foreign policy challenges on paying ransom. Students study U.S. response to the Barbary pirates and apply their knowledge to modern day terrorism and foreign policy examples.

Activity on the orgins of the U.S. Constitution and the debates surrounding it. Includes questions for discussion and small group learning activity in which students evaluate the fairness of state representation within the structure of...

Lesson and activity on conflict of cultures in which students study U.S. overtaking lands of Mexico and California and form policy on property rights and citizenship of conquered cultures. Activity guidelines, questions for discussion...

Learning activity on the economic and political unification of Europe. Article outlines the history and reasons for a European Union. Includes questions for discussion followed by small group activity asking students to evaluate the idea...

Seven sections of primary resource materials with introductory notes, classroom discussion questions, and supplemental links on the questions, discussion and debate over the U.S. Constitution.

Information about the boundaries of seditious speech and the permissibility of governmental measures which are directly concerned with the content of expression.

This encyclopedia article from Wikipedia gives some background history to the creation of the Bill of Rights and contains a transcription of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution in their original form.

Challenge friends to a duel! As you take this quiz you will be asked to answer 10 multiple-choice questions in this knowledge duel to defend your constitutional honor. Questions will come from categories such as the Constitution, primary...

This site provides the text of all the amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The first ten are the Bill of Rights.

In this lesson, students examine and debate the issue of same sex marriage by studying background information, news articles, legal arguments and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They then draft an amendment of their own to...

Original founding documents supported by explanations and articles. Includes the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

A broad look at the Truman presidency domestically including the labor problems he encountered, his Fair Deal, the instransigence of the Republican Party, and McCarthyism.

A complete and in-depth history of the 1966 U.S. court case of Miranda v. Arizona.

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about James Madison, the fourth President of the United States. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia provides an extensive biography on the life of James Madison. Provides information about his life before and after the presidency as well as his policies on foreign and domestic...

By 1788 eleven states ratified the Constitution, more than enough to put it into effect as the document establishing rules for the nation. Read about the goals of the Federalists in estabilishing a national government and find out how...

Read about how the state governments in the new American nation served as the laboratory to try out new ideas of governing and treating citizens. See how remarkably similar the ideas put forth in state constitutions were to each other.

This resource provides a summary of the case De Jonge v State of Oregon.

Read an excerpt of William Penn's Charter of Privileges- an early manifestation of religious freedom later to be enshrined in the U.S. Bill of Rights- that isolates the provisions Penn made for the free practice of religion in the colony.

Scholastic presents a series of printable panels and a classroom activity in PDF format that highlight the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens.

Activity in which students read and write about the development of democratic ideas in Medieval England, then in small groups, compare U.K. Parliamentary system to U.S. Presidential system.

May, 2006, coverage of a Chicago rally to protest legislation proposed in the House of Representatives that would strengthen border protection as the U.S. tries to halt illegal immigration. Video and photo slideshow of the protest...

This site provides a brief summary of the duties and responsibilities of citizens. The subject of the page focuses on voting. Includes links to citizenship, the Bill of Rights, and more.