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.

The principle of checks and balances prevents one branch of government from becoming too powerful. Examples of checks and balances include vetoing of bill, ratifying treating, judicial review and others. This lesson provides video clips with examples and explanations of checks and balances.

Students will learn what it means to be a U.S. citizen and how citizenship is obtained. They will compare and contrast personal and political rights with social responsibilities and personal duties. Students will explore global citizenship, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens in other countries. They will also learn about community engagement by selecting a problem of their own and creating a plan to solve it.

This lesson will focus on the case Korematsu v. U.S. in comparison with other times in U.S. history when the government was faced with the challenge of how to protect the country during war and, at the same time, protect individual freedoms. Using primary sources, students will examine five events in which U.S. citizens were forced to give up their civil liberties in times of war, highlighting the tension between liberty and security. Students will analyze these events to determine what groups were affected and the reasoning for and against the government action to decide if the government action was justified. Students will be able to form an opinion on the essential question: Is our government ever justified in restricting civil liberties for the security of the nation?

The African-American Civil Rights movement is typically seen as having taken place mostly in the 1950s and 60s, when a confluence of social and economic factors enabled political change. The movement, however, has much deeper roots, and thus our toolkit starts in the 19th Century, some two generations before leaders like King, Parks, and others were born. Viewing the Civil Rights movement as a generational one provides a broader perspective on the ideas and people at the foundation of this work to achieve “a more perfect union” for all Americans. This toolkit provides guiding questions and links to essential documents, resources, and lesson plans related to the Civil Rights movement.

The American Civil War was fought from 1861-1865, and followed by the period of Reconstruction, generally accepted by scholars to have ended in 1877. The following collections include documents essential to gaining and understanding of how the war began, progressed, and ended, and how Reconstruction was conceived and attempted. This toolkit provides guiding questions and links to essential documents, resources, and lesson plans related to the Civil War and reconstruction.

When European colonists came to North America, they faced the challenge of establishing societies that reflected their identity and mission for God. Experiments with economic and civil liberty followed in the name of the common good. Colonists and, later, the Founding generation became convinced that legally requiring individuals to commit their labor or their money towards a communal farm or church, with no regard for individual contribution or conscience, violated principles of justice.

Congressional oversight is the power of the legislative branch to review, monitor and supervise the actions of the federal bureaucracy. This lesson provides an overview of this congressional power and how it is used to as a check on the executive branch. Students will apply their knowledge of congressional oversight to examples of congressional hearings.

In the Constitution, the Congress is given the sole power of impeachment and removing the President and all civil officers from office. This power of Legislative Branch provides a significant check over the Executive and Judicial Branches. This lesson provides explanations of the Constitutional basis of the power, the process for removing officials and the history of impeachments and removing these officials from office. It also provides discussions on the standards of impeachments and how those are interpreted by Congress.

Students will learn how our Constitution was created and what some of its key characteristics are. They will also explore key amendments to the Constitution and their application in protecting citizens' rights.

15 asynchronous modules about the U.S. Constitution. Modules included videos, activites and student/teacher notes/instructions

This lesson has students use C-SPAN's Constitution Clips to explore the provisions of the U.S. Constitution. Using their own devices in class or at home, students will be introduced to the Constitution through C-SPAN video clips. This lesson has students complete an online scavenger hunt to learn more about the structure and rights included in the document. This scavenger hunt is best suited for classes with one-to-one devices or a flipped classroom format.

This comprehensive series of 35 short videos explains the text, history, and relevance of the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, and additional amendments in everyday language. Each video is assignable and ends with a call-to-action question, prompting learners to further explore the topics.

Use this lesson with The Constitutional Convention Narrative and after students have done The Articles of Confederation, 1781 Primary Source activity.

This lesson contains various activites that can be used while teaching about the Constitutional Convention. Some have students compare similiarities/differences between the Convention members. Others deal with comparing the Articles of Confederacy to the Constitution, objections to the Constitution, or Madison's description of 'Federalism.'

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and a group of students discuss the U.S. Supreme Court: its history and evolution; how the justices select, hear and decide cases; and the role of an independent judiciary and other issues crucial to a healthy democracy today.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy leads a discussion with students about the Miranda v. Arizona case, which established that criminal suspects, at the time of their arrest and before any interrogation, must be told of their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and Sixth Amendment right to an attorney. The decision led to the familiar Miranda warning that begins "You have the right to remain silent..."

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and a group of high school students discuss the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure in the context of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Mapp v. Ohio and the importance of the exclusionary rule, which says that evidence gathered in an illegal search cannot be used in court.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer and a group of high school students discuss separation of powers among the three branches of government in connection with the pay discrimination case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. that resulted in a 2009 law called the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer talks with high school students about the role and importance of dissenting opinions when the U.S. Supreme Court decides cases.