NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: Is the Republican Party on the Verge of a Crackup?
Article reports on the chaos in the Republican party, and the long term effects this presidential election season could have on the GOP.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: The Christian Right
Essay defines the Christian Right and explores its cultural significance in American society, including why and how it emerged, religious and political goals, and who is included. Section for guiding students in discussion, scholar...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: A New Coalition
Overview of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration after his decisive re-election in 1936. Discusses political party organization and the debate over government responsibility to citizens.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: African American Protest Poetry
Learn about African American protest poetry and what was motivating it. This article takes a look at protest poetry during slavery, during the period of segregation and Jim Crow, and after political obstacles to equality were removed....
US National Archives
National Archives: Teaching Six Big Ideas in the Constitution
The Constitution can be broken down into 6 main themes: Limited Government, Federalism, Republicanism, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, and Popular Sovereignty. Students will study background on the Founding Fathers and use...
US National Archives
National Archives: Prohibition and Its Consequences
Was prohibition necessary to protect family values or was it an over-reach by the government? Students will debate this question while analyzing documents from this era. Documents include political cartoon, photos, letters from citizens,...
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Read Like a Historian: Civil War Reconstruction
[Free Registration/Login Required] In the Civil War and Reconstruction unit, learners engage in contentious historiographic debates about the period: Was Lincoln a racist? Was Reconstruction a success or failure? Was John Brown a...
Choices Program, Brown University
Choices: Teaching With the News: The Iran Nuclear Deal
Learning module uses mult-media resources to help students understand the role of the U.S. in the debate about the Iran nuclear deal and examine how political cartoons are used to express opinion.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Teaching History: Beyond the Textbook: Causing the Civil War
An essay that looks at other, more complex reasons for the outbreak of the Civil War, beyond the traditionally accepted ones related to the Northern industrial economy versus the Southern agricultural one.
Library of Congress
Loc: The Conservation Movement at a Crossroads
The debate over damming the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park marked a crossroads in the American conservation movement. Until this debate, conservationists seemed fairly united in their aims. San Francisco's need for a...
PBS
Pbs News Hour Extra: Voters to Choose Between Economy and Environment
Although this lesson plan deals with the a California vote for 2010 Elections, the subject matter will need to be addressed time and time again: economy vs. environment. Green energy is more expensive. Many companies would have to go out...
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: 1835 Constitutional Convention
Reforming the state's constitution was one of the most important and hotly debated political issues in antebellum North Carolina. The state's constitution of 1776, which remained largely unchanged until the convention of 1835, had...
Other
The Sophists and Socrates
Wonderful essay on Socrates refutation of the Sophists. Discusses Socrates' debate with Protagoras over the meaning of "arete" (justice) and its consequences for the democratic politics of Athens.
OpenStax
Open Stax: New Century, Old Disputes
As the United States entered the twenty-first century, old disputes continued to rear their heads. Some revolved around what it meant to be American and the rights to full citizenship. Others arose from religious conservatism and the...
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: The Road to Emerald City Is Paved With Good Intentions
'The Wizard of Oz' is perhaps the most popular film ever made. Generations of families have enjoyed this classic tale of Dorothy's struggle to return home from a faraway land. What is not well known, however, is that 'The Wonderful...
A&E Television
History.com: 9/11: Rebuilding of Ground Zero
An intense debate raged over how best to rebuild the World Trade Center, as well as how to memorialize the thousands of victims. Though initial plans called for the rebuild to be completed by September 2011 -- the 10th anniversary of the...
University of Virginia
Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: James Buchanan: A Life in Brief
A brief look at James Buchanan as president and the controversies he faced. From the Miller Center.
Better Planet Productions
Earth Care: Whose Garbage Is It? [Pdf]
After researching the political and environmental issues around Toronto, Ontario's shipment of its waste to Ann Arbor, Michigan, students will hold a debate and write an opinion paper.
BBC
Bbc News: Filibustering
Gives a brief explanation of the technique in the context of parliament procedure. Also provides an example of a time it happened in the British Parlament.