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Make your own history! Are you team Federalist or AntiFederalist?
Discover how William Blackstone and his Commentaries on the Laws of England influenced America’s founders, founding documents, and legal system.
With the end of the Revolutionary War, America’s geographical size doubled… but how should new territory be added to the United States? Learn about the issues raised by this…
From the time Columbus first set foot in North America, Europeans were interested in the continent. In this American colonization lesson, students learn about the three main…
From the first settlers in Jamestown to the first shots at Lexington, American colonists set up their own governments. How did colonial government take shape and what exactly did…
What was the new nation's first stab at a written constitution? Why the Articles of Confederation, of course! Find out about America's first written rules and how they eventually…
Welcome to the Constitutional Convention! In this lesson, students learn how delegates met at the Convention with different ideas and came out of the Convention with a compromise…
The relationship between Native nations and the U.S. federal government is important to understand. This mini-lesson provides an overview of tribal sovereignty from the past to the…
Look into the ideas and writings of the Italian thinker and politician, Niccoló Machiavelli (1429-1527).
The Enlightenment was a period of time, starting around 1715, when people developed new ideas about human existence, including people's basic rights and the purpose of government.…
Introduce students to the ideas and writings of John Locke that influenced the likes of Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers.
Meet the Baron de Montesquieu, one of the great thinkers of the 18th century. He spent a lot of time thinking about how governments should be created and maintained. These ideas…
Explore the ideas of Enlightenment thinker, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His writings on natural and social freedom, the social contract, and democracy shaped the American system of…
We've heard a lot about the role the Founding Fathers played in the early United States, but what role did our Founding Mothers play? Discover the contributions of women in the…
"The First American", Benjamin Franklin, is the only Founding Father that signed all three major documents that founded the United States of America: the Declaration of…
Check out George Mason's role in the founding of the U.S. Even though he never served as a president and refused to sign the Constitution, Mason's work in Virginia and with the…
Review the variety of roles that George Washington played in America's early years. From commanding the Continental Army, to presiding over the Constitutional Convention, to…
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States, but he played many political roles throughout our nation’s history. His political life influenced the country in many…
This mini-lesson digs into the 41 year political career of James Madison. Considered the author of the U.S. Constitution, Madison was a prime architect in creating a strong…
Look at the debate, and eventual compromise, between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists that occured around the creation of the U.S. Constitution.