Unit 1: What Are the Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System?

• Lesson 1 - What Would Life Be Life in a State of Nature?
• Lesson 2 - How Does Government Secure Natural Rights?
• Lesson 3 - What Did the Founders Learn About Republican Government from the Ancient World?  
• Lesson 4 - How Did Modern Ideas of Individual Rights Develop?
• Lessons 5 & 6 - What Were the British Origins of American Constitutionalism? How Did Representative Government Begin in England?
• Lesson 7 - What Basic Ideas about Rights and Constitutional Government Did Colonial Americans Have?
• Lesson 8 - Why Did the American Colonists Want to Free Themselves from Britain? What Basic Ideas about Government Did the Founders Put in the Declaration of Independence?

• Lesson 9 - What Basic Ideas about Governments Did the State Constitutions Include? How did the New States Protect Rights?

Unit 2: How Did the Framers Create the Constitution?

• Lesson 10 - Why Did the Founders Want to Change the Articles of Confederation of 1781?
• Lessons 11 & 12 - Who Attended the Philadelphia Convention? What Did They Agree to Do? Why Did the Framers Use the Virginia Plan to Create the Constitution?
• Lesson 13 - What Powers Were Granted to the Legislative Branch?
• Lesson 14 & 21 - What Powers Were Granted to the Executive and Judicial Branches? What is Judicial Review? Why Is It Controversial?
• Lesson 15, 16, & 17 -  What Conflicting Opinions did the Framers Have about the Completed Constitution? What Was the Anti-Federalists’ Position in the Debate about Ratification? & What Was The Federalists’ Position in the Debate about Ratification?

Unit 3: How Did the Values and Principles Embodied in the Constitution Shape American Institutions and Practices?

• Lesson 18 -  How Was the Constitution Used to Organization the New Government?
• Lesson 19 - What Rights Did the Constitution protect?  How Was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?
• Lesson 20 - What Caused the Rise of Political Parties?
• Lesson 21 - See Lesson 14
• Lesson 22 - Is Power Divided between the Federal and State Governments?

Unit 4: How Have the Protections of the Bill of Rights Been Developed and Expanded?

• Lesson 23 - What Were the Constitutional Issues That Led to the Civil War?
• Lessons 24 & 26 - What Amendments to the Constitution Were Added to Protect the Rights of African Americans? & How Did the Civil Rights Movement Use the Constitution to Achieve Its Goals?
• Lessons 25 & 32 - How Did the Fourteenth Amendment Expand Constitutional Protections of Rights?; What Is the Importance of Procedural Due Process?
• Lesson 27 - How Has the Right to Vote Expanded Since the Adoption of the Constitution?
• Lesson 28 - To What Extent Can the Law Correct Injustices and Other Problems in American Society?

Unit 5: What Rights Does the Bill of Rights Protect?

• Lessons 29 & 30 - Why Does the First Amendment Limit the Government’s Power over Religion? How Does the First Amendment Protect Freedom of Expression?
• Lesson 31 - How Does the First Amendment Protect Freedom of Assembly, Petition, and Association?
• Lesson 32 - What Is the Importance of Procedural Due Process?
• Lesson 33 - How do the Fourth and Fifth Amendments Protect Us Against Unreasonable Law Enforcement Procedures?
• UPDATING - Lesson 34 - How Do the Fifth through Eighth Amendments Protect Our Rights within the Judicial System?

Unit 6:  What Are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy?

• Lesson 35 - What Does It Mean To Be a Citizen?
• UPDATING - Lesson 36 - How Do We Use Our Citizenship?
• Lesson 37 -  How May Citizenship Change in the Nation’s Third Century?
• Lesson 38 - What Can American Citizens Learn about Constitutionalism from Other Countries?
• Lesson 39 - What are Some Constitutional Issues Facing United State Citizens in the Nation’s Third Century?
• Lesson 40 - What Is Meant by Returning to Fundamental Principles?

Additional Resources

• UPDATING - Website Links