In this lesson, students will learn about James Madison's fight to promote and advance religious freedom in the State of Virginia. They will explore how his actions conformed to the idea of justice and through his example, learn how they can pursue justice in their own lives.

How did John Quincy Adams fight against the injustice of the gag rule in the House of Representatives? How can students fight for justice in their own lives?

How did Theodore Roosevelt seek justice by reforming the meat packing industry? Explore Roosevelt’s dedication to justice and the general welfare of the nation and inspire students to be more focused on justice in their own lives.

How did Ronald Reagan’s life-long commitment to ending the tyranny of communism display the virtue of responsibility?

In this lesson, students will explore the life of William Lloyd Garrison and follow the development of his identity. Through his example, students will understand how they can develop and refine their identity in their own lives, and how through this refinement help advance freedom for themselves and others.

How did John Quincy Adams fight against the injustice of the gag rule in the House of Representatives? How can students fight for justice in their own lives?

In this lesson, students will learn about how Harriet Beecher Stowe fought against the injustice of slavery. They will also consider ways in which they can fight injustices in their own lives.

How did Harriet Tubman act responsibly by helping many people escape slavery?

How did Abraham Lincoln’s identity as a writer, speaker, and president related to the Gettysburg Address?

Native Americans have experienced discrimination at the hands of European settlers during the colonial era and the white majority in the United States for over four hundred years. In that time, there have been a wide variety of policies towards Native Americans, some with good intentions and some bad, but none seemed to resolve the clash of cultures and the difficulties faced by Native Americans. They have rarely enjoyed liberty and equality in the American system of self-government.

How did Tecumseh attempt to form a strong Native American Confederacy?

How did Sitting Bull fulfill his purpose throughout the Battle of Little Big Horn?

How is Jim Thorpe’s life as an athlete an example of responsibility?

In this lesson, students will review the words and actions of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce people in the Pacific Northwest. They will identify examples of people treating one another with respect and examples of disrespect.

What was the role of citizens in colonial America and in the early republic? How did their liberty and equality during this period play out and what is the purpose of voting within civil society?

Trace the growing public voice of women in American society through various reform movements as well as organized women’s rights movements in antebellum America. Students will analyze the writings of men and women central to the rise of the women’s rights movement and analyze the contributions of several leading figures in the movement.

How did the women’s suffrage movement grow after the Civil War? How did the Constitution and the Bill of Rights empower all individuals to express their political voices?

Examine the impact of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment and assess the connection between suffrage, citizenship, and public life. Explore how people applied or failed to apply constitutional principles and civic virtues in the women’s suffrage movement.

In this lesson, students will learn about how John Minor Wisdom courageously stood up against discrimination and segregation as a Circuit Court judge.

Case background and primary documents concerning Plessy v. Ferguson. Dealing with the principle of Equal Protection, this lesson asks students to evaluate the degree to which custom, precedent, and understanding of federalism informed the ruling in the case.

What about Elizabeth Eckford and the other 'Little Rock Nine' drove them to help advance freedom and equality?

How did Ida B. Wells’ anti-lynching campaign and her teaching of others about lynching show responsibility?

What about Rosa Parks’ purpose lead her to participate in the Montgomery Bus Boycott?

How did the Freedom Riders in the early days of the 1960s Civil Rights movement display courage? How can students act courageously in their own lives?

The Founders established a republic as the first nation in world history to be based upon principles of liberty, justice, and equality. The nation’s diversity has put our stated ideals and principles to the test repeatedly as one group after another works to align law and culture with our high principles. In this lesson students will use primary sources to examine questions of racial equality and religious diversity.

The Civil Rights Movement sought to win the American promise of liberty and equality during the twentieth-century. From the early struggles of the 1940s to the crowning successes of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts that changed the legal status of African-Americans in the United States, the Civil Rights Movement firmly grounded its appeals for liberty and equality in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Rather than rejecting an America that discriminated against a particular race, the movement fought for America to fulfill its own universal promise that “all men are created equal.” The Civil Rights Movement worked for American principles within American institutions rather than against them.

How did Martin Luther King, Jr., contribute to American identity?

How did the Civil Rights marcher from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965 demonstrate diligence?

Case background and primary source documents concerning the Supreme Court case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. Dealing with the principle of Equal Protection and affirmative action, this lesson asks students to asses whether or not the  University of California at Davis's special admissions program resulted in unconstitutional reverse discrimination.

Case background and primary source documents concerning the Supreme Court case of Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger. Dealing with the principle of equal protection and affirmative action, this lesson asks students to evaluate the Court's reasoning in upholding Grutter while striking down Gratz.