Prologue
From the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution
Creating Context
The Constitution of the United States, with annotations
Cluster One: What Ideas Shaped the Founders?
Thinking Skill: Analyzing Sources
- Magna Carta and Its American Legacy (analysis and primary source)
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- The Mayflower Compact (primary source)
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- The Pilgrims Had It Good (article)
- Victor Landa
- Life in a City on a Hill (book)
- Sarah Vowell
- Reagan’s Farewell Address (speech)
- Ronald Reagan
- Religious Tolerance in America (essay)
- Richard Rodriguez
- Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death! (speech)
- Patrick Henry
- What Makes a Government Legitimate? (book)
- John Locke
- Declaration of Independence (primary source)
- Thomas Jefferson
- The Fourth of July and Slavery (speech)
- Frederick Douglass
Cluster Two: How Does the Constitution Safeguard Against Tyranny?
Thinking Skill: Comparing Points of View
- The Separation of Powers (essay)
- Baron de Montesquieu
- When Is Bombing Constitutional? (blog)
- Ta-Nehisi Coates and Blog Contributors
- The Federalist Papers (essay)
- James Madison
- Objections to the Constitution (article)
- George Mason
- Minnesota Too Polite to Ask for Federal Funding (humor)
- The Onion
Cluster Three: What Compromises in the Constitution Matter Today?
Thinking Skill: Evaluating Arguments
- What Would the Founders Do? (book)
- Richard Brookhiser
- The Great Compromise (book)
- Catherine Drinker Bowen
- Who Rules? A Case Study in Power (analysis)
- Alec MacGillis
- Latinos Remake the Electoral Map (analysis)
- Henry Flores
- No More Racial Gerrymandering (column)
- Linda Chavez
Cluster Four: Thinking on Your Own
Thinking Skill: Integrating Sources of Information
Federal Aid
- Needy Students Need Aid (column)
- Esther Cepeda
- Fat Cat Universities Don’t Need Aid (column)
- Jason Mattera
The Constitution
- Americans View Basic Freedoms (survey)
- First Amendment Center
- Reverence for the Constitution (article)
- Jill Lepore
Making Decisions
- The Spoiled-Brat American Electorate (column)
- Eugene Robinson
- The Misguided Elite (column)
- Thomas Sowell
View of Politics
- Why I Hate Politics. That Government Kind. (humor)
- Marcy Massura
- Why I’m Political (essay)
- Margaret Cho
