Even in its first 30 years of existence, the U.S. Constitution had to prove its durability and flexibility in a variety of disputes. More often than not, James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution," took part in the discussion.

This video re-enactment portrays Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton debating issues of scope and power of the state and national governments.

This lesson focuses on the problems under the Articles of Confederation between 1783 and 1786 leading to the 1787 Convention. Through examination of primary sources, students will see why some prominent American founders, more than others, believed that the United States faced a serious crisis, and that drastic changes, rather than minor amendments, to the Articles were necessary.

In this lesson, students examine the First and Second National Banks and whether or not such a bank's powers are constitutional or unconstitutional.

Whether it be called the Civil War, the War between the States, the War of the Rebellion, or the War for Southern Independence, the events of the years 1861-1865 were the most traumatic in the nation's history. This lesson plan will introduce students to wartime politics.

Popular sovereignty allowed the settlers of a federal territory to decide the slavery question without interference from Congress. This lesson plan will examine how the Kansas"“Nebraska Act of 1854 affected the political balance between free and slave states and explore how its author, Stephen Douglas, promoted its policy of popular sovereignty in an effort to avoid a national crisis over slavery in the federal territories.

In this activity students analyze Theodor Kaufmann's 1867 painting On to Liberty. Students practice finding information and making inferences based on the painting by completing a graphic organizer. Then students read a descriptive paragraph of the painting, noting where the author has cited information from the painting and where the author has made inferences and drawn conclusions. Then students analyze another painting of a similar theme, Eastman Johnson's A Ride for Liberty. The activity concludes by asking students to synthesize what they have learned about the Civil War based on the painting. The activity may make a good culminating lesson about the Civil War or an introductory lesson on Reconstruction.

Students will learn about the role of money in the colonial economy by participating in a trading activity in which they observe the effects of too little money on trade within a colony.

In this lesson, through a reader’s theater, students learn about the economics of the early United States and the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson over the founding of the first Bank of the United States. They examine quotations from Hamilton’s and Jefferson’s letters to President Washington and the arguments each man is trying to make about the need for and constitutionality of the bill to incorporate the bank. They read the booklet “The First Bank of the United States” to learn about the founding of the first Bank of the United States, the financial crisis associated with the bank’s stock subscription, the bank’s operations, and the way it influenced the early American economy. The students learn to read primary sources by examining letters written in the 1790s about the First Bank and its
operations. In the final activity, the students learn about the First Bank’s influence on the availability of credit in the early American economy by examining simple banking scenarios.

Relive the decisions that led to the attack on Fort Sumter to determine whether Lincoln aimed to preserve peace or provoke the hostilities that led to the Civil War.

Students define the concept of manifest destiny, discuss how contemporary maps of the 1840s influenced United States expansion in the 1840s, and analyze the relationship between manifest destiny and democracy.

This lesson looks at ways that the ideology of Manifest Destiny expressed both national political objectives and the goals of ordinary men and women who settled the west. Students will explain the economic, political, racial, and religious roots of Manifest Destiny and analyze how the concept influenced the nation’s westward expansion. They will also understand the motivations and expectations of Americans who settled in the West.

A chapter from The American Yawp open source history textbook focusing on, "A New Nation."

By examining primary-source documents pertaining to the Stamp Act, students expand their knowledge of colonial objections to Parliament’s expansion of taxes in the colonies.

In this lesson, students will use primary sources to build background knowledge on Northern and Southern economies prior to the Civil War. Using photographs and additional texts, students will be able to analyze the differences between Northern industrialization and
Southern plantations.

Students will analyze period political cartoons as they study the causes of the economic downturn, Van Buren's response as president, and the reaction to his measures.

In this lesson, students will complete a research assignment on a particular president. They will use the Library of Congress website to find the inaugural address of the president and then use the speech and additional research to identify accomplishments that the president made while in office.

In this activity, students analyze political cartoons that address three of the major issues that affected Washington's presidency: the president's title, the Jay treaty, and the existence of a national bank. Students will create captions for the cartoons using provided background information, then write an exhibit label for the cartoon and caption.

In this lesson, students explore the First Industrial Revolution in early nineteenth-century America. By reading and comparing first-hand accounts of the lives of workers before the Civil War, students prepare for a series of guided role-playing activities designed to help them make an informed judgment as to whether the changes that took place in manufacturing and distribution during this period are best described as a 'revolution' or as a steady evolution over time.