LADOE High School Civics | Unit 2: Government Structures, Powers, Functions, and Interactions
70 items
The Constitution
Primary Source - 8549 Words
Primary Source
8549 Words
The Constitution was written in the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by delegates from 12 states, in order to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new form of government. It created a federal system with a national government composed of 3 separated powers, and included both reserved and concurrent powers of states.
Essay: Popular Sovereignty and the Consent of the Governed
Essay - 890 Words
Essay
890 Words
The Founders believed that the government’s authority needed to come from the people. Under the reign of King George III, the colonists believed that they were not consenting to be governed by the British government through representatives, and, therefore, the British could not force their laws upon the colonies. The Founders made sure to uphold this right in the American Constitution. The people, through their representatives at state ratification conventions, had to ratify the document in order for it to become law.
The Enlightenment and Social Contract Theory
Lesson - 4 Activities
Lesson
4 Activities
What were the major ideas of the Enlightenment? How did the Enlightenment influence the United States’ Founding?
What Are the Origins of the Bill of Rights?
Lesson - 4 Activities
Lesson
4 Activities
60 Min
How did the the events and philosophies from British and colonial history shape the Founders' ideas about natural rights as well as the rights of Englishmen? How do these rights affect our daily lives in a free society?
60 Min
The Creation of the Bill of Rights
Lesson - 3 Activities
Lesson
3 Activities
How does the Bill of Rights protect individual liberties and limit the power of government? How is this seen in our everyday lives?
Bill of Rights Organizer
Activity
Activity
An activity to help students grasp the major ideas found in the first ten amendments.
The Bill of Rights and Liberty
Unit - 2 Lessons
Unit
2 Lessons
Explores the unenumerated rights reserved to the people with reference to the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments, with a focus on rights including travel, political affiliation, and privacy. Probes the ways the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments have been used to claim rights to personal liberty.
Who Should Protect Our Fundamental Freedoms?
Lesson - 4 Activities
Lesson
4 Activities
55 Min
The effects of incorporation have been far-reaching and the role of the federal government has been significantly transformed. The basic responsibility of the Federal government to protect fundamental rights has not changed. However, citizens and the courts are still working to determine exactly what those rights are and who should protect them. This lesson examines that question and the debate concerning "Who should protect our fundamental freedoms?".
55 Min
Principles and Virtues
Resource
Resource
How do We the People are better able to protect and advance freedom and opportunity for all?
The Constitution, the First Amendment, and Religious Liberty
Lesson - 5 Activities
Lesson
5 Activities
40 Min
How did leading Founders and religious dissenters contribute to religious liberty in America? Analyze primary source documents concerning the relationship between church and state, assess arguments for and against an established religion and a public role for religion in civic life and gain an appreciation for the philosophical and political process of the American experiment in religious liberty.
40 Min
The Bill of Rights and Free Speech
Unit - 2 Lessons
Unit
2 Lessons
Focuses on First Amendment protection of free speech, free assembly, and petition of government. The unit also examines the evolution of the definitions of protected expression in speech, petition, assembly, art, and demonstration.
Why Are the Rights to Assembly and Petition Important to Liberty?
Lesson - 3 Activities
Lesson
3 Activities
20 Min
The Founders knew that an individual's voice is at its most powerful when he can freely come together with citizens of like mind and speak as one. People in the United States have organized, demonstrated, petitioned, and protested in a variety of ways and on a variety of topics, many controversial, since our very beginnings. These rights, however, are not unlimited and must find balance with the rights and safety of others. This lesson explores this balance.
20 Min
Why Does a Free Press Matter?
Lesson - 3 Activities
Lesson
3 Activities
70 Min
How does a free press make self-government possible? Examine the history and importance of press freedom and encourage students to seek out information on constitutional issues from multiple sources.
70 Min
The Bill of Rights and Guns
Unit - 2 Lessons
Unit
2 Lessons
Explores the origins of the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. Also explores relevant Supreme Court decisions and engages students in the current debate over gun regulation.
How Does the Fifth Amendment Protect Property?
Lesson - 4 Activities
Lesson
4 Activities
50 Min
The Founders believed that property is among the natural rights governments exist to protect. One of the ways the Founders protected property rights was in the Fifth Amendment. This amendment restricts the government's ability to take property and ensures that when it does take property, it must pay for it. This lesson explores the Fifth Amendment and its applications.
50 Min
How Do Due Process Protections for the Accused Protect Us All?
Lesson - 4 Activities
Lesson
4 Activities
65 Min
The Founders paid close attention to the rights of the accused because they realized that the government had the power both to prosecute and convict. Protections were needed to guard against the government's abuse of these powers. Understanding how the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments operate to guarantee such protection and how they work to ensure both individual liberty and limit government is vital to maintaining free citizenship. This lesson explores these amendments and the protections they provide.
65 Min
Expansion of Franchise
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
45 Min
How has the expansion of voting rights helped shape and secure participation in democracy?
45 Min
The Reconstruction Amendments: Thirteenth Amendment, 1865, Fourteenth Amendment, 1868, and Fifteenth Amendment, 1870
Activity
Activity
Commerce and the Progressive Era
Lesson - 3 Activities
Lesson
3 Activities
80 Min
The twentieth century saw the rise of a widespread but not very clearly defined group of reformers known as the progressives. The basic belief that united them was that the industrialized, urbanized United States of the nineteenth century had outgrown its eighteenth-century Constitution.
80 Min
Women’s Suffrage and the Nineteenth Amendment
Lesson - 2 Activities
Lesson
2 Activities
75 Min
Use this Lesson with Alice Paul and the Struggle for Women's Suffrage Narrative, the Elihu Root vs. William Jennings Bryan on Women's Suffrage, 1894-1914 Primary Source, and the Carrie Chapman Catt, Open Address to the U.S. Congress, 1917 Primary Source to further explore the journey of the women's suffrage movement.
75 Min
The Structure of the National Government
Lesson - 5 Activities
Lesson
5 Activities
305 Min
The Framers thought the best way to protect the rights of citizens would be through a government powerful enough to fulfill its constitutional obligations yet limited enough to prevent it from encroaching on the rights of individuals. A large national republic that divided power horizontally (within governments) and vertically (among different levels of government—local, state, and national) seemed the best way to achieve their goals.
305 Min
Slavery and the Constitution
Lesson - 11 Activities
Lesson
11 Activities
105 Min
Today there are few more controversial topics in the study of American history and government than the issue of slavery and the Constitution. On the surface, the Constitution seemed to protect slavery in the states, prohibited Congress from banning the slave trade for twenty years, and required that fugitive slaves, even in the North, be returned to their masters. Because of these apparent constitutional protections, a bloody Civil War was fought to free the slaves and win ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to end slavery in the U.S. forever. The Constitution, therefore, in the eyes of some scholars, seems to be a contradiction to the universal ideals of liberty and equality in the American Founding and the Declaration of Independence which proclaimed “all men are created equal” and endowed with “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
105 Min
The Battle for Balance
Lesson - 9 Activities
Lesson
9 Activities
70 Min
The Framers of the Constitution had a rich intellectual foundation and long practical experience with representative legislatures from which to draw as they framed the new Constitution and founded a new nation. The Framers at the Constitutional Convention debated the principles of republican government, federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances throughout the summer of 1787. They unanimously agreed that the government would be republican, or representative of the sovereign people, who gave their consent to form a government to protect their natural rights.
70 Min
The Constitutional Powers of Congress
Lesson - 6 Activities
Lesson
6 Activities
55 Min
The national legislature created by the Articles of Confederation lacked sufficient powers to govern the country properly. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 created a stronger Congress with adequate powers to govern. The legislative powers were enumerated, or listed, in Article I, Section 8, whereas Article I, Section 9 enumerated powers which Congress was constitutionally restricted from exercising. Article VI made constitutional congressional laws and treaties part of the supreme law of the land.
During the 1787-1788 ratification debate over the Constitution, the Federalists defended the strengthened, though limited, legislative branch and its relationship to the executive and judicial branches. The Anti-Federalists were critics of the Constitution including the Congress because they argued that it had unlimited powers and would destroy liberty.
55 Min
The Nature of Representation in the U.S. Congress
Lesson - 5 Activities
Lesson
5 Activities
105 Min
The framers of the Constitution set up a system of representation for the United States, which although informed by the experiences of other republics, was different from them. Outside the U.S. today, the main system of representation in republics is the parliamentary system, which lacks separation between the executive and the legislative branch. Under a parliamentary system, the chief executive, usually called a prime minister, is a member of parliament, but the Constitution establishes the legislature and the executive as two independent, but closely connected, branches. Members of the U.S. Congress experience a fundamental tension between being a trustee for the interests of the people and being their delegate. They also must balance the demands of the district with the interest of the nation, as well as determining the appropriate level of political party loyalty.
105 Min
Constitutional Connection: Impeachment and the Constitution
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
20 Min
This lesson allows students to analyze the Constitution and ask questions about how the Constitution allows for impeachment of the President.
20 Min
The Balance of Power between the Legislative and Executive Branches
Lesson - 6 Activities
Lesson
6 Activities
70 Min
The constitutional principles of the American Founding that guided American politics before the Civil War were increasingly altered as a new approach to governance become predominant in the early twentieth century. The rise of an administrative state centralized more power in the hands of federal agencies in the executive branch and blurred the relationship of the branches of government and their respective constitutional powers. Even though the Constitution specifically granted authority to Congress to regulate interstate commerce in its enumerated powers in Article I, Section 8, Congress increasingly delegated that authority to the executive branch.
70 Min
Constitutional Connection: The President and Federal Power (V1)
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
20 Min
This lesson allows students to analyze the Constitution and ask questions about how the Constitution lays out the President's powers.
20 Min
Constitutional Connection: The President and Federal Power (V2)
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
20 Min
This lesson allows students to analyze the Constitution and ask questions about how the Constitution bestows federal power to the President.
20 Min
Constitutional Connection: War and the Constitution (V1)
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
20 Min
This lesson allows students to analyze the Constitution and ask questions about how the Constitution lays out the President's powers.
20 Min
Constitutional Connection: The President as Chief Diplomat
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
20 Min
This lesson allows students to analyze the Constitution and ask questions about how the Constitution describes the President as Chief Diplomat.
20 Min
Constitutional Connection: The President as Enforcer of the Law
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
30 Min
This lesson allows students to analyze the Constitution and ask questions about how the Constitution allows the President to enforce the law.
30 Min
Primary Source: Scaffolded U.S. Constitution, Article II
Activity
Activity
A scaffolded version of Article II of the U.S. Constitution and corresponding comprehension questions.
Due Process and Fair Trials
Lesson - 14 Activities
Lesson
14 Activities
240 Min
Does the Supreme Court still have a responsibility to abide by fair trials, due process, and the Constitution during wartime? Evaluate the contradictory viewpoints concerning liberty and security.
240 Min
Lee Yick: Equal Justice Under Law
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
45 Min
In this lesson, students will consider the actions of Lee Yick regarding the injustices of a discriminatory city ordinance in San Francisco. They will consider ways in which they can promote or fight for justice in their own lives.
45 Min
Effects of Supreme Court Decisions
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
45 Min
What political, social, and/or economic effects come from the intended and unintended consequences of Supreme Court decisions?
45 Min
Levels of the Courts Handout
Activity
Activity
A visual representation to show the responsibilities of the US District Courts, US Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court.
Primary Source: Scaffolded U.S. Constitution, Article III
Activity
Activity
A scaffolded version of Article III of the U.S. Constitution and corresponding comprehension questions.
Unit 5: A Living Constitution?
Page
Page
This unit examines how the Constitution of the United States and the government it proscribes has adapted and changed throughout its history. The Constitution would provide a framework in which each successive generation would work to tackle the challenges and opportunities they faced.
The Role of Government
Lesson - 9 Activities
Lesson
9 Activities
The Framers of the U.S. Constitution knew that the new government they crafted must be more powerful and effective than the government under the Articles of Confederation. They studied history and human nature to create a government strong enough to promote the public good, but not so strong that it would become a threat to individual liberties.
The Progressive Era
Lesson - 3 Activities
Lesson
3 Activities
Part of the Civil War’s legacy was a shift in the role of the national government. The defeat of the South, Reconstruction, and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment gave the national government growing power over the states and the people. The Fourteenth Amendment gave the national government power (though exactly how much power was still being debated) to ensure state laws did not violate the rights of the freedmen. Additional amendments during the Progressive Era (the 1890s - 1920s) continued this transfer of power to the national government. In the name of giving power to the people, the national government was given power to tax incomes; states lost their representation in Congress, the manufacture and sale of alcohol was banned, and women achieved the right to vote.
Alexander Hamilton and the National Bank
Essay - 2382 Words
Essay
2382 Words
Why did Hamilton want the U.S. to have a national bank?
McCulloch v. Maryland | BRI’s Homework Help Series
Video
Video
4 Min
McCulloch v. Maryland was the 1819 Supreme Court case dealing mostly with the issue of Federalism. The creation of a National Bank was encouraged by Alexander Hamilton, but opposed by Thomas Jefferson, due to lack of authority given by the Constitution. A National Bank was chartered, but then died 20 years later. In 1816, a National Bank was re-instated to help deal with debts from the War of 1812. This Second National Bank, established in Maryland, was taxed heavily by Thomas Jefferson and the State of Maryland. Federal Bank Cashier, James McCulloch, refused to pay the tax, stating that the state did not have the right to tax an institution of the Federal Government. Ultimately, the Supreme Court stated that Congress had the right to create the National Bank, under the Necessary and Proper Clause. Also, the State of Maryland did not have the right to tax the National Bank and the Federal Government under the Supremacy Clause.
4 Min
“Strict” or “Loose”: Was the National Bank Constitutional?
Activity
Activity
40 Min
Two scholars debate this question.
Handout A: How Has the Supreme Court Interpreted the Commerce Clause? (Background Essay)
Activity
Activity
Handout A: Background Essay – The Commerce Clause and the Expanding Powers of Congress
Activity
Activity
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
E Lesson
E Lesson
20 Min
This month we spotlight one of the earliest cases exploring the division between state and federal power: Gibbons v. Ogden (1824). In this Commerce Clause case, the Supreme Court affirmed Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce, and held that by virtue of the Supremacy Clause, state laws “must yield” to constitutional acts of Congress.
U.S. v. Lopez | BRI’s Homework Help Series
Video
Video
6 Min
This Homework Help narrative explores the landmark case of U.S. v. Lopez and its lasting impact on federalism. Students will study the topic of federal power and street crime while forming their own opinions on the merits of the case.
6 Min
What is the Commerce Clause?
Lesson - 3 Activities
Lesson
3 Activities
35 Min
Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce, granted in the Commerce Clause, is often invoked as justification for laws regulating a wide variety of economic activities. How much power does the Commerce Clause allow the federal government to have over the states? This lesson examines this question by looking at the principle behind this clause, the Founders intentions, and how the Supreme Court has interpreted the clause throughout American History.
35 Min
The Commerce Clause and the Expanding Powers of Congress
Lesson - 9 Activities
Lesson
9 Activities
60 Min
During the first century of the United States, the Congress acted upon the powers delegated to it by the Constitution, particularly those enumerated in Article I, Section 8. While this entailed some regulation by the national government, most economic policies were enacted at the state and local levels, and the federal government exercised little regulation of the economy.
In the decades that followed the Civil War, the scope of power of Congress would grow exponentially. This expansion of power was fueled by new interpretations of the Commerce Clause in Article I, Section 8, which empowered Congress to “regulate interstate commerce.” However in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries it was interpreted to justify a regulatory state that encompassed almost every aspect of American public life. These interpretations were confirmed and expanded by a series of Supreme Court decisions. The Supreme Court allowed Congress to exercise new powers in the name of commerce and to delegate its regulatory authority to the executive.
In recent years there has been more resistance to this course of expansion. The Supreme Court more narrowly defined what commerce is and restricted the scope of congressional power. This has been further advanced by rules changes in the House of Representatives that require new bills to be more closely aligned with the enumerated powers of the Constitution.
60 Min
United States v. Nixon | BRI’s Homework Help Series
Video
Video
4 Min
Can the President of the United States withhold certain information from Congress and the courts? During the Watergate Scandal, President Richard Nixon attempted to withhold recording tapes from the White House from investigators. The Supreme Court’s ruling would have huge impacts on the system of checks and balances within the United States' governing system.
4 Min
Theodore Roosevelt and the Bully Pulpit
Lesson - 2 Activities
Lesson
2 Activities
50 Min
While many of President Theodore Roosevelt’s predecessors saw themselves as servants of Congress, Roosevelt saw the President as the servant or agent of the people. He transformed the legislative role of the President from nominal legislative advisor to outspoken advocate of policies that he thought would strengthen America. Where the Founders believed that powers not granted were forbidden, Roosevelt asserted that powers not forbidden were granted. He was aware that he was shaping the Presidency in a way his detractors would criticize. In his autobiography, Roosevelt wrote that he did not “usurp” power, but that he did “greatly broaden” executive authority. One way he did this was to use his position as a “bully pulpit.”
50 Min
Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the War Powers Resolution
Lesson - 5 Activities
Lesson
5 Activities
95 Min
Beginning in 1812 and for the next hundred years, US Presidents asked for and received congressional declarations of war against England, Mexico, Spain, Japan, and European powers. During the Cold War, President Harry Truman sent troops to Korea as part of a UN force without a congressional declaration of war. President John F. Kennedy sent troops to defend South Vietnam. Congress never declared war, but years later passed the Tonkin Resolution authorizing President Lyndon Johnson to use force against North Vietnam. In reaction to US involvement in Vietnam, Congress passed the War Powers Act which limited the President’s authority to commit American troops abroad without Congress’s approval. The law was passed over the veto of President Richard Nixon, who argued the law was an abridgement of the President’s authority as Commander in Chief. The Act raises the questions: How far does the President’s power as Commander in Chief extend? And, how much of that power can be limited by Congress?
95 Min
The National Bank Debate
Lesson - 3 Activities
Lesson
3 Activities
65 Min
This activity should be completed after students have completed the Actions of the First Congress Lesson, The Compromise of 1790 Decision Point, and George Washington, First Inaugural Address, 1789 Primary Source Activity. This Lesson should be followed by the Alexander Hamilton and the National Bank Narrative or the "Strict" or "Loose": Was the National Bank Constitutional? Point-Counterpoint, either of which can be completed as a homework assignment to follow this Lesson.
65 Min
Federalism
Lesson - 9 Activities
Lesson
9 Activities
110 Min
This lesson includes a variety of activities and primary source excerpts, providing students with a comprehensive study of federalism. Through the Constitution’s system of federalism, power is divided between national and subnational governments. Federalism allows citizens to make policy decisions at state and local levels. Decentralization draws individuals out of private life and compels civic engagement.
110 Min
State and Local Government
Lesson - 7 Activities
Lesson
7 Activities
90 Min
From the Founding generation to the present day, controversy continues regarding the proper division of power between state and national government. What the Founders did not find debatable was the wisdom of dividing power both among and within governments. In short, they considered the federal system to be a critical part of the American constitutional order.
90 Min
Louisiana’s Congressional Districts
Lesson
Lesson
60 Min
How do congressional districts in Louisiana impact representation and elections?
The Unique Legal System of Louisiana
Lesson
Lesson
What is the civil law system and why is Louisiana the only state to use it?