This supplemental lesson/activity from the Center for Civic Education looks at the concept of executive power and the challenges Lincoln faced as president. Students are asked to analyze and evaluate President Lincoln's decisions as they relate to decisions made during the Civil War.

The Center for Civic Education helps students develop (1) an increased understanding of the institutions of constitutional democracy and the fundamental principles and values upon which they are founded, (2) the skills necessary to participate as competent and responsible citizens, and (3) the willingness to use democratic procedures for making decisions and managing conflict. Ultimately, the Center strives to develop an enlightened citizenry by working to increase understanding of the principles, values, institutions, and history of constitutional democracy among teachers, students, and the general public.

This website offers a wide variety of ready-to-use lessons related to the Constitution for students K-12. Developed by the Center for Civic Education, the lessons include: matching with the US Constitution (K); the Constitution Rap (1-3); Basic Ideas in the Preamble (3-6); 9/11 & Civil Liberties (3-5, 9-12); Citizenship & the Constitution (9-12); and so many more topics that lend themselves to celebrating Constitution Day or for a more in-depth study of our government & the founding documents.

Enhance your classroom experience on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day with these teacher-tested lessons from the nationally recognized We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution curriculum. These materials will help inform your students about the national struggle for civil rights and equal protection under the law.

This lesson describes some conflicting points of view of leading Framers about the Constitution. Most of the delegates argued for the adoption of the Constitution, although many had reservations about all or parts of it. The reservations of three were so serious that they refused to sign the document. The position of one of these Framers, George Mason, is explored in detail. You also will examine Benjamin Franklin's statement in defense of the Constitution.

When you have completed this lesson, you should be able to explain the positions of Franklin and Mason, and give arguments in support of and in opposition to these positions.

This lesson is taken from the Justice section of Foundations of Democracy: Authority, Privacy, Responsibility, and Justice.

Purpose of Lesson
This lesson introduces you to some intellectual tools which are useful in resolving issues of corrective justice. When you have completed this lesson, you should be able to explain and use these intellectual tools. Other intellectual tools which you can use to evaluate, take, and defend positions on issues of corrective justice will be introduced in the next lesson.

From Foundations of Democracy

In this lesson you will learn about authority. You will learn where it comes from and who uses it. The lesson activities will help you understand why we need authority, how it helps to solve problems and how we choose people to be leaders. We give our leaders a position of authority. There are things that a person in a position of authority may do. There are some things that they may not do. We must decide what the person in the position may do and what they may not do. Our Constitution tells our leaders in the government what they must do and what they may not do.

We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
In this lesson you will discuss some important questions about the responsibilities of citizens. You must develop your own answers to these questions. We hope this lesson will help you develop good answers.

This lesson introduces students to the concepts of natural rights and the social contract as they act like Enlightenment thinkers discussing the origins and necessity of governments.