Do your students like running things? The new version of Branches of Power allows them to do something that no one else can: control all three branches of the U.S. government.

In Branches of Power your students will:

Pick leaders for each branch of government
Create a presidential agenda and learn about the executive branch powers
Introduce bills and pass laws out of Congress
Apply judicial review to passed laws

Browder v. Gayle (1956) was a District Court case that legally ended segregation on public buses in Montgomery, Alabama. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, allowing the District Court's judgment to stand.

This lesson explores the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which led to the end of legal school segregation and other forms of legal segregation throughout the United States. Access to this resource requires a free educator login.

Case background and primary source documents concerning the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education. Dealing with the principle of Equal Protection, this lesson asks students to assess the role played by the Court as the protector of individual rights against the tyranny of the majority.

The Court decided that state laws requiring separate but equal schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This resource includes teacher materials, guides, and activities for teaching about this Supreme Court case.

In Brown v. Mississippi (1936), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that, under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, forced confessions cannot be admitted into evidence. Brown v. Mississippi marked the first time the Supreme Court reversed a state trial court conviction on the basis that the defendants’ confessions were coerced.

Do campaign donations qualify as speech? In Buckley v. Valeo (1976) the United States Supreme Court held that several key provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act were unconstitutional. The decision became known for tying campaign donations and expenditures to Freedom of Speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

In this lesson, students will study the Supreme Court case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2013). They will examine the facts of the case and analyze the arguments made on both sides through primary source documents and preceding cases. They will then assess the majority and minority decisions for the case.

Case background and primary sources concerning the Supreme Court case of Bush v. Gore. Dealing with the 2000 election, this lesson asks students whether or not they think the United States Supreme Court correctly decided the case.

Short information and humorous video collection on the basics of government form and function, among other subjects

Short video clips designed to complement teaching about the civics, the Constitution, and social studies. See Consitutional Foundation clips onHow Electorial Votes are Counted, SCOTUS' lemon test, Legal Protections for Gun Manufacturers, Internal Fragmentation of Democracies & more. Most topics cover current relevance. To save to your own classroom, you need to create a login (free). Includes many intreviews with historians, making this ideal for history classsrooms.

Join our panelists Thomas Duckenfield, Trustee for the Nomini Hall Slave Legacy Project, Dr. Andrew Levy, Author of The First Emancipator: The Forgotten Story of Robert Carter, the Founding Father Who Freed His Slaves, and Gerry Underdown, Actor Interpreter with Colonial Williamsburg, as they discuss those that physically built the nation, those that built the nation with enlightened ideas, and their combined lasting legacy.
This is part of our national conversation series, US: Past, Present, Future. Learn more at colonialwilliamsburg.org/us.

Calling on her two best known books, A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the US Constitution and Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence, Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor of American Colonial and Revolutionary History at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, briefly discusses some aspects of the American Revolution and the creation of the US Constitution.

This documentary tells the story of Lilly Ledbetter, whose fight for equal pay for equal work eventually involved all three branches of government. Her U.S. Supreme Court case, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., turned on the interpretation of the 180-day statute of limitations for filing a discrimination complaint under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After losing at the Supreme Court, Ledbetter urged Congress to start the 180-day clock for filing a complaint on the date an employee learned of the discrimination. The result was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

Closed captions available in English and Spanish.

This project provides students with an opportunity to apply and showcase what they have learned throughout their study of the Being an American curriculum. Students will identify a topic related to the curriculum that they wish to learn more about, research that topic, and then develop a product to share with the class on an assigned date.

Carroll v. U.S. (1925) was the first decision in which the Supreme Court acknowledged an “automobile exception” to the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Under this exception, an officer only needs probable cause to search a vehicle, rather than a search warrant.

Particularly applicable when teaching first semester government classes, discuss with students Constitution Day and the importance of recognizing and celebrating it. Students can virtually sign a Constitution and the page also links to various resources, including a playlist of videos on different aspects of the Constitution and Constitution Day. Students and teachers can find a transcript of the Constitution, as well as a great overview of the document through "America's Founding Documents: Constitution." In addition, teachers will find a variety of teaching resources, all of which are free.

Dedicated to the civil, nonpartisan promotion of constitutional literacy within our local, state, and national communities. Focus on 5 areas: Educational Programs, Federalism, The Quill Project, Equal Liberty & the Constitutional Rule of Law, and Property & Free Markets.

In this lesson, students will analyze James Madisonâ"s contributions through diligence to the establishment of the United States Constitution and early republic, exploring events that earned him the title, "Father of the Constitution."

The Founders designed a system of checks and balances into our Constitution so we'd avoid abuses of power that had been experienced under British rule. Join James Madison and John Marshall for a discussion along with 21st century politicians to learn if that system still functions as intended.