It happens sooner or later in every presidential race: attack ads drown out the promises of positive campaigns. Do these dark battles have any value?
Voting and Elections in Early America
Google Cultural Institute exhibit by Constitutional Rights Foundation & Barat Education Foundation’s Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program. Long before the pilgrims landed, voting and elections were taking place in America. For example, the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, a powerful alliance of Native American tribes who inhabited territory west of the Colonies, had established a system of representative government sometime around 1500 that lasted until the Revolutionary War. Women played a prominent role in choosing its political leaders.
Presidential Campaign Memorabilia on DocsTeach
This page includes a variety of primary sources in the form of artifacts, photographs, documents, and more; as well as additional online resources. Themes highlight political memorabilia from presidential campaigns from the 1850s through the 1990s. Items come from the holdings of the Presidential Libraries of the National Archives.
Constitutional Index – Amendment 14 State Due Process Clause
The Constitutional Index breaks down the U.S. Constitution by Section, Amendment, and Clause and contains broader topics and themes. These are used to cross-reference Library resources in an effort to annotate constitutional history.
Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government
Go on a learning adventure with Benjamin Franklin. Ben’s Guide is designed to inform students, parents, and educators about the workings of the Federal Government. Site content is divided into age levels. Lesson plans developed by the American Association of School Librarians are available, and games are also offered.
Our American Government
Our American Government is a popular introductory guide for American citizens and those of other countries who seek a greater understanding of our heritage of democracy. The question-and-answer format covers a broad range of topics dealing with the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of our Government as well as the electoral process and the role of political parties. (House Document 108-94)
“What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”
Frederick Douglass earned wide renown as an outspoken and eloquent critic of the institution of slavery. In this speech before a sizeable audience of New York abolitionists, Douglass reminds them that the Fourth of July, though a day of celebration for white Americans, was still a day of mourning for slaves and former slaves like himself, because they were reminded of the unfulfilled promise of equal liberty for all in the Declaration of Independence.
“Corner Stone” Speech
This speech was delivered in Savannah after Georgia and six other states had seceded from the Union but before hostilities had begun with the Confederate assault on Fort Sumter. Stephens lauded the Confederate states for rejecting the radical theories of Thomas Jefferson and the American founders and establishing instead, for the first time in history, a government resting upon the self-evident truth of racial inequality.
The YLI E-Congress Legislative Simulation
Looking for an interactive way to teach about the legislative branch? The Youth Leadership Initiative’s E-Congress program allows students to learn about Congress by writing original legislation and following it through the lawmaking process. Registration is required.
Democracy Corps: A Complete Service Learning Program
Learn about American democracy while serving your community. Serve your community while learning about the responsibilities of American democracy. YLI’s Democracy Corps brings your civics lessons to the community while instilling life- long civic engagement in your students.