Center for Civic Education: How Does Government Secure Natural Rights?

This instructional activity introduces students to some basic ideas the Framers used in creating the kind of government they thought would best protect the natural rights of each individual and promote the good of all. At the end of the instructional activity, students should understand the difference between limited and unlimited government, between written and unwritten constitutions, and how Americans have used the term constitutional government. They should be able to explain why a government with a constitution is not necessarily a constitutional government and be able to identify alternative models of government that the Founders had to choose from.