This constitutional casebook is the outcome of the P.A.T.C.H. Law Program of the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District in New York. The casebook provides students and teachers in grades 7, 8, 11, and 12 with a summary review of the 22 cases mentioned in the New York State Regents' 11th grade "U.S. History and Government"…

This paper seeks to remind the reader that U.S. law is based on English cases and precedent far more than most persons realize. Specifically, a 1791 pronouncement by the U.S. Supreme Court that the English court system provides the model for the U.S. Supreme Court is offered as evidence of the paper's thesis. Examples of the sorts of English…

The concept of a "government of laws and not of men," representing the philosophy called legal positivism, is developed historically as it might be presented to a secondary school class. Some of the practical benefits from the teaching of the philosophy of law are also discussed. (JH)

Presents a lesson that focuses on the development of federal powers in relation to state powers using the federally-imposed 55 m.p.h. speed limit as a case study. The activities provide for class discussion, role playing, and a moot court simulation. (BSR)

Presents activities for teaching high school students about the freedom of religion. Includes student handouts that explain basic constitutional principles and summarize leading U.S. Supreme Court cases concerning religious liberty. Encourages teachers to invite students to speculate on the future relationship of religion and public education. (SG)

This book explains the development and current workings of the American and Maryland judiciaries. An interview with the Honorable Arthur M. Monty Anhalt of the Circuit Court of Prince George's County, a long-time advocate of law education, presents a realistic view of the principles by which jurists operate in their daily effort to impart justice.…

This curriculum introduces secondary students to the study of constitutional government in the United States. It is designed to provide students with an understanding of how the Constitution came into existence, why it took the form it did, and how it has functioned for the past 200 years. Through the 31 lessons of the text, organized into six…

This book presents, in words and pictures, a history of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. Fifteen chapters in the book are entitled: (1) Origins; (2) The Colonial Experience; (3) The American Crisis: Road to Revolution; (4) New Order of the Ages; (5) The Bill of Rights; (6) The Civil War; (7) A Changing America; (8) War & Reaction;…

This book contains three major essays that consider the origins of the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. In "The U.S. Bill of Rights in Historical Perspective," Donald S. Lutz examines the intellectual context of the Bill of Rights by analyzing the changing ideas about rights in colonial,…

First, Fourth, Eighth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of students are described and followed by a role playing simulation for high school students. (KM)

Minutes of a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution are presented, beginning with opening statements from four United States senators (Hatch, Grassley, Thurmond, DeConcini) concerning the significance of the United States Constitution and its doctrine of the diffusion of powers. The core of the minutes includes the prepared…

A survey indicates that principals, advisors, and student editors lack adequate knowledge of First Amendment precedents involving student newspapers and tend to make judgements on the basis of self-interest rather than on the law. (Author/IRT)

Presents a lesson plan dealing with the right to vote. Identifies groups which were not allowed to vote at the time of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, and explores why the vote was denied and what changes in society would have allowed the groups to vote. (BSR)

Recommends Paul L. Murphy's 25-year-old article "Time to Reclaim: The Current Challenge of American Constitutional History" as a starting place for teachers interested in teaching about the history of the U.S. Constitution. Includes a three-page annotated bibliography of books on constitutional history. (BSR)