Analyze excerpts from John Lockeâ"s Second Treatise on Government, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and Abraham Lincolnâ"s writings to recognize the main principles of the Founding documents that guide the American Experiment to the present day.
Evaluate the significance of constitutional principles in facilitating self-government for ordered liberty by formulating a response to the lesson-guiding question: Explain the relationship between the apple of gold and the frame of silver. What is the significance of the principles outlined in each Founding document?

This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Through a step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

The U.S. Constitution is one of the most influential legal documents in existence. Since its creation some two hundred years ago, over one hundred countries around the world have used it as a model for their own.

ConstitutionFacts.com is pleased to provide a series of free educational resources and Internet links to help educators comply with the new federal regulation requiring the development of student programming to celebrate U.S. Constitution Day on September 17th of each year.

The U.S. Constitution brought together, in one remarkable document, ideas from many people and several existing documents, including the Articles of Confederation and Declaration of Independence. Those who made significant intellectual contributions to the Constitution are called the "Founding Fathers" of our country.

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" (majority vote) of the Senate.

Can Police Officers Use GPS to Track a Vehicle? In United States v. Jones (2012) the U.S. Supreme Court found that attaching a GPS tracker to a private vehicle constituted an illegal search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

In United States v. Lopez (1995), the United States Supreme Court declared the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 an unconstitutional overreach of the implied powers of Congress under the Commerce Clause. The 5-4 divided decision preserved the system of federalism and reversed the Supreme Court’s 50-year trend of rulings that expanded the powers of Congress.

President Nixon claimed executive privilege and refused to hand over the tapes. President Nixon’s incomplete compliance with the special prosecutor’s demands was challenged and eventually taken to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Court decided that executive privilege is not limitless, and the tapes were released. This resource includes teacher materials, guides, and activities for teaching about this Supreme Court case.

Lieutenant Governor's website covering election information for the State of Utah including voter registration

The history of -- Legal history of Utah -- is examined in an article provided as a PDF document. This article is extracted from the book UTAH HISTORY ENCYCLOPEDIA, published in celebration of Utah's Centennial (1996) and edited by Allan Kent Powell. Over two hundred contributors wrote about the individuals, organizations, locations, institutions, and topics important to Utah history.

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, this Virginia law served as the model for the religious clauses in the First Amendment. It established a clear separation of church and state and was one of Jefferson’s proudest accomplishments. Access to this resource requires a free educator login.

In this lesson, students decide which of the rights included in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights they value the most. First, students discuss the basic rights of all Americans. Next, they read a short story (or watch a video) about a hypothetical alien creature that takes over the world. The creature is not totally hostile and will allow humans to keep five rights. Finally, students work in small groups to prioritize the five basic rights they find important and report back their findings. Access to this resource requires a free educator login.

A basic introduction for visitors to the United States Supreme Court who plan to attend and observe public oral argument

The Warren Court was the period from October 5, 1953, to June 23, 1969, during which Earl Warren served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Along with the Marshall Court of Chief Justice John Marshall from 1801 to 1835, the Warren Court is remembered as one of the two most impactful periods in American constitutional law. Unlike any court before or since, the Warren Court dramatically expanded civil rights and civil liberties, as well as the powers of the judiciary and the federal government.

During World War II, the U.S. government ordered 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry into prison camps. Fred Korematsu, an American citizen of Japanese descent, refused to go, and his case went before the Supreme Court. Access to this resource requires a free educator login.

This course will introduce you to the fundamental principles of the U.S. Constitution and our system of government. It's perfect for teachers and students of civics courses and for anyone who wants to gain an in-depth understanding of American representative democracy. Note: Creating a free account is required to access this resource.