Economists and historians have struggled for almost 80 years to account for the American Great Depression, which began in 1929 and lasted until the early years of World War II. In this article, the authors discuss three major schools of thought on the causes of the Great Depression and the long failure of the American economy to return to full…

In 1981, the United States reached a dubious economic milestone--the federal debt surpassed one trillion dollars for the first time. It took more than 200 years to build up that much debt. The federal debt doubled to two trillion by 1986, hit the three trillion level in 1990, and stands at an estimated five-and-a-half trillion for 1998. Just as…

From the earliest times when commodities such as tobacco and beaver pelts were used as money, to the present when credit and debit cards are commonplace, money has played a central role in the U.S. experience. This booklet provides an historical overview of the concept of money as it has evolved in the United States. The booklet is divided into…

Discussed are beach replenishment, and hard structures in relation to the sand transportation system. Failures of current engineering practices and the resulting costs to the taxpayer are stressed. Equations and parameters used to make predictions of beach durability are criticized. (CW)

Discusses various topics that have faced the 107th U.S. Congress, such as tax cuts, judicial appointments, domestic issues, patients' bill of rights, stem cell research, election law, and campaign finance reform. Includes information on U.S. Senate and federal judicial appointments. Provides ideas for student learning activities. (CMK)

Provides information about the 106th and 107th U.S. Congress sessions. Includes early bills in the Senate for the 107th Congress and information about low versus high bill numbers. Presents two activity ideas that accompany this information. (CMK)

Offers seven reflections on the First Amendment and related issues by attorneys, a professor, project directors, and a university president. Highlights an activity where pairs of students prepare either a pro or con argument for each of the seven excerpts and then participate in a debate. (CMK)

Describes a college course designed to explicate the political dimensions of biomedical issues now emerging in American society. The course combines a rigorous overview of the technologies and the accompanying value changes which are producing these issues with a discussion of the problems being raised. (RM)

Describes a lesson in which students explore the goals of the "Mountain Agenda" that is a group of non-governmental mountain organizations that met in Lima (Peru) in 1995. States that students are asked to consider how U.S. foreign aid benefits the country domestically while supporting international policy agendas. (Contains three…

Discusses the results from a survey commissioned by Human Rights USA that investigated what individuals know and think about human rights issues in the United States. Asserts that the survey gives community activists, educators, and decision makers the means to analyze local and national human-rights problems and move toward solutions. (CMK)

Asserts that public policy analysis has a time-honored tradition in civics education. Provides a four-part teachers' rationale for including the study of child-labor legislation in social studies courses. Includes a five-part classroom format for teaching public policy analysis. (CFR)

Describes the history surrounding the 1897 Hawaiian Petition Against Annexation that is stored in the National Archives and Records Administration. Explains that the petition is revered by native Hawaiians because it demonstrates that the Hawaiians opposed annexation by the United States. Provides teaching activities in relation to the petition.…

Highlights the events of the past 50 years concerning the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that is the first document in human history to codify rights that apply to every person regardless of citizenship in a particular country. Explains why the United States does not comprehend the value of the declaration. (CMK)

Reprints the Bill of Rights as instituted in the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Most of the provisions have been summarized but the basic rights (which cannot be rescinded in even in a state of emergency) are reprinted in their entirety. Includes topics for discussion and research. (MJP)