Civic and Economic Liberty
9 items
Equal and Inalienable Rights
Lesson - 3 Activities
Lesson
3 Activities
All humans are born with equal inherent rights, but many governments do not protect people's freedom to exercise those rights. The way to secure inalienable rights, the Founders believed, was to consent to giving up a small amount of our freedom so that government has the authority to protect our rights. Freedom depends on citizens having the wisdom, courage, and sense of justice necessary to take action in choosing virtuous leaders, and in holding those leaders to their commitments.
Essay: The Declaration of Independence
Essay - 1040 Words
Essay
1040 Words
America's Founders looked to the lessons of human nature and history to determine how best to structure a government that would promote liberty. They started with the principle of consent of the governed: the only legitimate government is one which the people themselves have authorized. But the Founders also guarded against the tendency of those in power to abuse their authority, and structured a government whose power is limited and divided in complex ways to prevent a concentration of power. They counted on citizens to live out virtues like justice, honesty, respect, humility, and responsibility.
Essay: The Constitution
Essay - 927 Words
Essay
927 Words
In 1787, many Americans were concerned that the Articles of Confederation did not grant enough power to the central government to protect the rights of the people. Under the Articles, the national government was unable to regulate commerce, taxation, currency, treaties, and protect the rights of individuals and states. The states called a delegation to meet in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, and from that convention the new Constitution was born.
Unit 2 Civics Connection: An Apple of Gold in a Frame of Silver
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
80 Min
A review lesson for Unit 2 (1763-1800) that asks students to evaluate the link between constitutional principles and the content studied.
80 Min
Essay: The Origins of Our Commercial Republic
Essay - 1237 Words
Essay
1237 Words
The American Founders set out to establish a modern, liberal, commercial republic. Their political theory derived primarily from Enlightenment theories of social contract and natural rights, which stressed the value of economic progress. But their idea of a commercial republic did not abandon ancient concepts of republicanism, which emphasized the need for virtuous self-sacrifice for the common or public good. They believed that a free economy would promote the moral character needed for republican self-government, and that if people were going to govern themselves politically, they had to govern themselves in their families, churches, local communities and economic markets.
Alexander Hamilton and the National Bank
Essay - 2382 Words
Essay
2382 Words
Why did Hamilton want the U.S. to have a national bank?
Essay: Free Enterprise and Prosperity
Essay - 1378 Words
Essay
1378 Words
The overall wealth of the United States has been achieved because of the free enterprise system. The U.S. has a limited government, and that feature extends to economic choices; most decisions about what, how, and for whom to produce are left to market forces rather than government dictates.
Were the Titans of the Gilded Age “Robber Barons” or “Entrepreneurial Industrialists”?
Activity
Activity
40 Min
Was the economic growth in the country during the Gilded Age justified if it was built on the backs of American workers? Mark Summers and John Steele Gordon debate this question.
Did the New Deal End the Great Depression?
Activity
Activity
40 Min
Under the New Deal, federal programs spent huge amounts of money in an attempt to combat the Great Depression. Were these programs an effective way to restore economic prosperity in the country? Glenda Gilmore and Michael Parrish debate this question.