Examines the ideas of justice, equality, and property as they are represented in the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Discusses how these ideas affect the way public schools operate and the lessons educators teach or don't teach about our society. Includes ideas for classroom activities. (JDH)

Reviews case law, constitutional principles, and early American writings which deal with the idea of private property. Concludes that, in the future, the issues of laissez-fare capitalism, government regulation, and the welfare state will require further clarification of our conception of private property. (JDH)

Legal education should be included in any U.S. history course. Constitutional questions raised by wars--Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam--are examined. Through all these crises the Constitution survived. (RM)

Argues that it is impossible to teach U.S. history without discussing how law influences economic and social behavior. Examines five ideas associated with political science through six chronological periods of U.S. history. Includes an annotated bibliography linked to the political ideas and historical periods. (CFR)