The President as Commander in Chief
Guiding Question
- Is it the responsibility of free people to spread freedom around the world?
- What about the responsibility to, at a minimum, refrain from sustaining tyranny?
- Should the military ever be used against American citizens?
Objectives
- Students will examine the war powers listed in the Constitution.
- Students will understand the causes for and provisions of the War Powers Act.
- Students will explore how the war powers relate to the war on Terror.
Educator Resources
Student Handouts
- checks and balances
- Constitution
- liberty
- tyranny
- Founders
- habeas corpus
- necessary and proper clause
- Taliban
- Al-Qaeda
- enemy combatant/illegal combatant
- due process
- military tribunal
Before starting this lesson, refresh students’ understanding of the Vietnam War and the War on Terror or address any lack of prior knowledge.
In order to activate student interest in the topic, have students conduct brief internet research about the number and locations of military troops overseas, as well as the size of the different branches of the military.
The President as Commander in Chief: War and the Constitution
Have students work in pairs, small groups, or as a large group. Have students analyze Handout A: War and the Constitution, in order to answer Critical Thinking Questions 1, 2, and 3 on Handout A. Lead a discussion of these questions. Have individual students read aloud the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, and Sixth Amendment. Invite other volunteers to put each of these Amendments in their own words. Then lead a large group discussion of questions 4 – 8 on Handout A.
The President as Commander in Chief: Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the War Powers Resolution
Students will analyze the War Powers Resolution and evaluate its constitutionality. Have students read Handout B: Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the War Powers Resolution and Handout C: War Powers Resolution. Working in small groups, students will rephrase passages from the War Powers Act in their own words and then decide how they think delegates at the Constitutional Convention might have reacted to this law.
The President as Commander in Chief Activity: George W. Bush and the War on Terror
Students will evaluate a series of factual statements to determine the constitutionality of President George W. Bush’s handling of prisoners taken during the War on Terror in Afghanistan and other locations in Handout D: George W. Bush and the War on Terror.
As an exit ticket, ask students to identify one area where the president’s war powers should be increased, decreased, or remain the same and briefly explain why.