Writing Archives - Page 16 of 21 - CIVICS RENEWAL NETWORK

Ratifying the Constitution

February 15, 2016 Anti-FederalistsFederalistsratification

This lesson introduces students to the vigorous debates between the Federalist and the Anti-Federalists surrounding the ratification of the Constitution that took place in the state conventions.

In the state ratification conventions, delegates argued the wisdom of adopting the Constitution. Elected specifically to serve in these conventions, they came from a range of backgrounds, from the very elite and highly educated, to those of humbler birth and station. State delegates grappled with questions about the nature of democracy, the distribution of wealth and power in society, the rights of individuals and minority groups, and the role of dissent in a republic.

Creation of the Bill of Rights: “Retouching the Canvas”

February 15, 2016 Anti-FederalistsFederalistsratification

This lesson will focus on the arguments either for or against the addition of a Bill of Rights between 1787 and 1789. By examining the views of prominent Americans in original documents, students will see that the issue at the heart of the debate was whether a Bill of Rights was necessary to secure and fulfill the objects of the American Revolution and the principles of the Declaration of Independence. Students will also gain an understanding of the origins of the Bill of Rights and how it came to be part of what Thomas Jefferson called “the American mind,” as well as a greater awareness of the difficulties that proponents had to overcome in order to add the first ten Amendments to the Constitution.

Washington and the Whiskey Rebellion

February 15, 2016 executive powerGeorge WashingtonWhiskey Rebellion

Students weigh the choices Washington faced in the nation’s first Constitutional crisis by following events through his private diary.

This lesson plan examines a critical episode in George Washington’s second administration, when federal efforts to collect an excise tax on liquor sparked armed resistance in the frontier communities of western Pennsylvania. Students first review the events that led up to this confrontation, then read from the diary that Washington kept as he gathered troops to put down the insurrection.

Abraham Lincoln’s Fragment of the Constitution & the Union (1861): The Purpose of the Union

February 15, 2016 Abraham LincolnCivil WarDeclaration of IndependenceIndividual Liberty

This lesson will examine Abraham Lincoln’s brief but insightful reflection on the importance of the ideal of individual liberty to the constitutional structure and operation of the American union.

Democracy in America: Alexis de Tocqueville’s Introduction

February 15, 2016 democracyequalityrevolution

Tocqueville’s sojourn in America led to the writing of Democracy in America. This great book with its profound reflection on equality and freedom remains arguably one of the most important books on America political life.

Birth of a Nation, the NAACP, and the Balancing of Rights

February 15, 2016 Jim CrowNAACPracismsegregationslavery

In this lesson, students learn how The Birth of a Nation reflected and influenced racial attitudes, and they analyze and evaluate the efforts of the NAACP to prohibit showing of the film.

Norman Rockwell, Freedom of Speech—Know It When You See It

February 15, 2016 freedom of assemblyfreedom of speechTown HallWorld War II

This lesson plan highlights the importance of First Amendment rights by examining Norman Rockwell’s painting of The Four Freedoms. Students discover the First Amendment in action as they explore their own community and country through newspapers, art, and role playing.

Twelve Angry Men: Trial by Jury as a Right and as a Political Institution

February 15, 2016 jury systemtrial by jury

Twelve Angry Men, originally written for television by Reginald Rose in 1954 and subsequently adapted for stage (1955), film(1957) and television again (1997), effectively conveys the central importance of the right to a jury trial afforded by Article III of the Constitution as well as Amendments V, VI, and XIV.

Scottsboro Boys and To Kill a Mockingbird: Two Trials for the Classroom

February 15, 2016 ELAEnglish Language ArtsScottsboro Boystrial by jury

In this lesson, students will perform a comparative close reading of select informational texts from the Scottsboro Boys trials alongside sections from To Kill a Mockingbird. Students analyze the two trials and the characters and arguments involved in them to see how fictional “truth” both mirrors and departs from the factual experience that inspired it.

To Kill A Mockingbird and the Scottsboro Boys Trial: Profiles in Courage

February 15, 2016 discriminationracesegregationtrial by jury

Students study select court transcripts and other primary source material from the second Scottsboro Boys Trial of 1933, a continuation of the first trial in which two young white women wrongfully accused nine African-American youths of rape.

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