This list of principles and virtues is not meant to be comprehensive but instead to be a starting place for the Investigation of the American experiment in self government.

In this lesson, students will examine events in the life of Frederick Douglass, studying a turning point when he determined not to remain a slave.

Though not always in the media spotlight, the communities with which a person interacts on a daily basis are important political units. It is citizens’ interaction with their communities that largely determines their happiness and safety.

The United States Founders believed that certain civic virtues were required of citizens in order for the Constitution to work. Numerous primary sources—notably the Federalist Papers and the Autobiography of Ben Franklin—point us to the “Founders’ Virtues.” Before exploring the Documents of Freedom, it is important to understand civic virtue as an essential element of self-government.

The Framers of the U.S. Constitution knew that the new government they crafted must be more powerful and effective than the government under the Articles of Confederation. They studied history and human nature to create a government strong enough to promote the public good, but not so strong that it would become a threat to individual liberties.

This lesson provides activities that help students analyze characteristics of good citizenship.