Access to large data sets, including geographic information systems (GIS), provides teachers and students an opportunity to investigate policies of the past and their impact on people's lives. Students now have access to these digital resources through a variety of virtual, online collections, including the Library of Congress. Using a combination…

This article represents the third in a "ghost story" series by the same authors. Readers may recall that Mr. Bernanke was "visited" by the ghosts of Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes in the March/April 2010 issue of "Social Education" as these two famous economists debated the economic recovery (see EJ878912). Mr.…

"One who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount," says a colorful proverb from an earlier time. This may be an apt saying for the situation facing the new head of the Federal Reserve, Janet L. Yellen, who takes over at a time when successive rounds of Fed policy have taken the central bank into uncharted territory. By historical standards,…

One can't have a meaningful discussion about the 2011-2012 U.S. Supreme Court term without mentioning the historic health care challenge. However, even without that headliner, the term was jam-packed with interesting twists and turns. In addition to health care, the Court confronted a number of hot-button issues, including: immigration, the rights…

This September, Oxford University Press is publishing "Out of Range: Why the Constitution Can't End the Battle Over Guns." Written by Mark Tushnet, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, "Out of Range" explores competing interpretations of the Second Amendment and discusses how the entanglement of…

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…

This article discusses two twentieth-century stock market crashes: the crash of 1929 and the crash of 1987. When this material is presented to students, they see important parallels between the two historical events. But despite remarkable similarities in the severity and many other aspects of the two crashes, the crash of 1929 was followed by the…

Presents a workbook extract from the teaching resource kit entitled "Land and Landscapes: Views of America's History and Culture" that examines landscape paintings and photographs from the 19th century to the present. Explains that the main focus of this extract is to question how European American views about landownership affected…

Provides an overview of the decimation of the Aborigines in Australia since 1806. Describes extent of the acts of persecution, discrimination, and victimization of these people. Says governmental policy and practice spread throughout all colonies and states and was premeditated and deliberate. Maintains Aborigines are still denied needed services.…

Provides an overview and background information on the debate over gun control, as well as several teaching ideas. Handouts include a list of related topics drawn from various disciplines (economics, U.S. history), seven arguments for and against gun control, and a set of policy evaluation guidelines. (MJP)

Traces the application of the constitutional protection from "unreasonable searches and seizures" as it has evolved in response to public attitudes and changes in technology. Includes a synopsis of relevant cases and two lesson plans. The cases concern a police search through trash bags and drug testing for athletes. (MJP)