We The People Notes (copy)

The Citizen & the Constitution

  • Electronic evaluation copy for review purposes only.
  • Prohibited: downloading, copying, and reproduction.
  • Copyright Center for Civic Education. All rights reserved. CCEWTP0000486

Level 3

  • Directed by the Center For Civic Education
  • Cover: Howard Chandler Christy, Signing of the Constitution, Architect of the Capitol, House wing, east stairway
  • ©2016 Center for Civic Education
  • First Print Edition 1988
  • Second Print Edition 1995
  • Third Print Edition 2009
  • Enhanced Ebook Edition 2014
  • Fourth Print Edition 2016
  • All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
  • Reproduction or transmittal of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, and use of this work in any form in any information storage and retrieval system is forbidden without prior written permission of the publisher.
  • For information on permissions, email cce@civiced.org.
  • ISBN-10:0-89818-218-2
  • ISBN-13:978-0-89818-218-7

About We the People

  • Developed in 1987, adopted by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, chaired by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.
  • Principal education program of the federal Constitution's bicentennial.
  • Congress continued the program through the U.S. Department of Education from 1993 to 2011.
  • The foundation is the classroom curriculum, complementing the regular school curriculum.
  • Provides upper elementary, middle, and high school students with instruction on the history and principles of U.S. constitutional democracy.
  • Culminating activity: a simulated congressional hearing where students "testify" before judges acting as members of Congress.
  • Students demonstrate knowledge of constitutional principles and evaluate positions on historical and contemporary issues.
  • Teachers may engage students in noncompetitive or competitive hearings.

National Advisory Committee

  • Former Chairpersons:
    • Hon. Warren E. Burger
    • Hon. J. Danforth Quayle
    • Hon. Sandra Day O'Connor
    • Hon. David H. Souter
  • Founding National Advisory Board:
    • Hon. Spencer Abraham
    • Hon. Les AuCoin
    • Dr. Richard D. Eagin
    • Hon. Max Baucus
    • Hon. Bill Bradley
    • Anne Bryant
    • Hon. John Buchanan Jr.
    • Hon. Dale Bumpers
    • Dr. Mark Cannon
    • Gene R. Carter
    • Michael Casserly
    • Hon. Thad Cochran
    • Hon. William Cohen
    • Gail Connelly
    • John F. Cooke
    • Hon. Philip Crane
    • Hon. Mitchell E. Daniels Jr.
    • Daniel A. Domenech
    • Thomas Donohue
    • Professor Jean Bethke Elshtain
    • Hon. Dianne Feinstein
    • Dr. William Galston
    • Susan Griffin
    • Prof. Will Harris
    • Hon. Orrin G. Hatch
    • Hon. Mark 0. Hatfield
    • Dr. Charles Haynes
    • Hon. Ernest F. Hollings
    • Prof. A. E. Dick Howard
    • Victoria Hughes
    • Hon. James M. Jeffords
    • Michael B. Keegan
    • Jack Lockridge
    • Dr. William L. Lucas
    • Elisabeth MacNamara
    • Hon. David McIntosh
    • Sr. Glenn Anne McPhee
    • Joe McTighe
    • Hon. Patty Murray
    • Kitty O'Reilley
    • William Pound
    • J. Danforth Quayle
    • Dr. Diane Ravitch
    • Cheryl Red Owl
    • Alfred S. Regnery
    • Dr. Karen M. Ristau
    • Robert A. Schadler
    • Hon. Philip R. Sharp
    • Hon. Gordon H. Smith
    • Dr. Raymond W Smock
    • Dr. Philippa Strum
    • Gerald N. Tirozzi
    • Dennis Van Roekel
    • Randi Weingarten
    • Gene Wilhoit
    • Paul A. Yost, Jr., USCG Ret.
  • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • President
      • Thomas A. Craven
    • Members
      • Richard J. Geib
      • Dr. Tom Giugni
      • Janet M. Green
      • William D. Hatcher
      • Hon. David B. Ladenburg
      • Stanley W Legro
      • Dianne Liepa
      • Dr. Ali Mossaver-Rahmani
      • M. Carmen Ramirez
      • Moina Shaiq
      • Clara Slifkin
      • Prof. Jonathan D. Varat
      • Pauline Weaver
      • Robert Wells
      • Daniel Wong

Acknowledgments

  • The following staff and consultants contributed to the development of the fourth edition of this textbook:
    • Principal Writers
      • Charles N. Quigley
      • Gregory Bernstein
      • John Hale
    • Additional Contributors
      • Margaret Branson
      • Maria Gallo
      • Alissa Irion-Groth
      • Robert Leming
      • Mark Molli
      • Erin Smith
    • Director of Publishing and Digital Content
      • Mark Gage
    • Director of Information Technology
      • Greg Synnott
    • Administrative Assistance
      • Janel Huber
      • Valerie Milianni
  • The following staff and consultants contributed to the development of the text upon which the fourth edition is based:
    • Principal Writers
      • Susan M. Leeson
      • Margaret S. Branson
      • Scott E. Casper
      • Charles N. Quigley
    • Additional Contributors
      • Charles F. Bahmueller
      • Jack Barlow
      • Stephen E. Frantzich
      • Will Harris
      • Robert S. Leming
      • Kevin Washburn
    • Illustrator
      • Richard Stein

Warren E. Burger

  • Chief Justice of the United States, 1969-1986
  • Chair, Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution
  • Authored text for the first edition of this textbook.
  • 1987-1991 marked the 200th anniversary of the writing, ratification, and implementation of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
  • Constitution has endured tests of time, wars, and change due to careful crafting and flexibility.
  • Designed to give the next generation of American citizens an understanding of the background, creation, and subsequent history of the system of government.
  • Aims to explain the principles and ideals underlying the Constitution, emphasizing a system of government by those governed.

Table of Contents

  • UNIT 1: What Are the Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System?
    • LESSON 1: What Did the Founders Think about Constitutional Government?
    • LESSON 2: What Ideas about Civic Life Informed the Founding Generation?
    • LESSON 3: What Historical Developments Influenced Modern Ideas of Individual Rights?
    • LESSON 4: What Were the British Origins of American Constitutionalism?
    • LESSON 5: What Basic Ideas about Rights and Constitutional Government Did Colonial Americans Hold?
    • LESSON 6: Why Did American Colonists Want to Free Themselves from Great Britain?
    • LESSON 7: What Basic Ideas about Government and Rights Did the State Constitutions Include?
  • UNIT 2: How Did the Framers Create the Constitution?
    • LESSON 8: What Were the Articles of Confederation, and Why Did Some Founders Want to Change Them?
    • LESSON 9: How Was the Philadelphia Convention Organized?
    • LESSON 10: Why Was Representation a Major Issue at the Philadelphia Convention?
    • LESSON 11: What Questions Did the Framers Consider in Designing the Three Branches of the National Government?
    • LESSON 12: How Did the Delegates Distribute Powers between National and State Governments?
    • LESSON 13: What Was the Anti-Federalist Position in the Debate about Ratification?
    • LESSON 14: What Was the Federalist Position in the Debate about Ratification?
  • UNIT 3: How Has the Constitution Been Changed to Further the Ideals Contained in the Declaration of Independence?
    • LESSON 15: How Have Amendments and Judicial Review Changed the Constitution?
    • LESSON 16: What Is the Role of Political Parties in the Constitutional System?
    • LESSON 17: How Did the Civil War Test and Transform the American Constitutional System?
    • LESSON 18: How Has the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment Changed the Constitution?
    • LESSON 19: How Has the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment Changed the Constitution?
    • LESSON 20: How Has the Right to Vote Been Expanded Since the Adoption of the Constitution?
  • UNIT 4: How Have the Values and Principles Embodied in the Constitution Shaped American Institutions and Practices?
    • LESSON 21: What Is the Role of Congress in American Constitutional Democracy?
    • LESSON 22: How Does Congress Perform Its Functions in the American Constitutional System?
    • LESSON 23: What Is the Role of the President in the American Constitutional System?
    • LESSON 24: How Are National Laws Administered in the American Constitutional System?
    • LESSON 25: What Is the Role of the Supreme Court in the American Constitutional System?
    • LESSON 26: How Does American Federalism Work?
  • UNIT 5: What Rights Does the Bill of Rights Protect?
    • LESSON 27: What Are Bills of Rights and What Kinds of Rights Does the U.S. Bill of Rights Protect?
    • LESSON 28: How Does the First Amendment Affect the Establishment and Free Exercise of Religion?
    • LESSON 29: How Does the First Amendment Protect Free Expression?
    • LESSON 30: How Does the First Amendment Protect Freedom to Assemble, Petition, and Associate?
    • LESSON 31: How Do the Fourth and Fifth Amendments Protect against Unreasonable Law Enforcement Procedures?
    • LESSON 32: How Do the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments Protect Rights within the Judicial System?
  • UNIT 6: What Challenges Might Face American Constitutional Democracy in the Twenty-first Century?
    • LESSON 33: What Does It Mean to Be a Citizen?
    • LESSON 34: What Is the Importance of Civic Engagement to American Constitutional Democracy?
    • LESSON 35: How Have Civil Rights Movements Resulted in Fundamental Political and Social Change in the United States?
    • LESSON 36: How Have American Political Ideas and the American Constitutional System Influenced Other Nations?
    • LESSON 37: What Key Challenges Does the United States Face in the Future?
    • LESSON 38: What Are the Challenges of the Participation of the United States in World Affairs?
    • LESSON 39: What Does Returning to Fundamental Principles Mean?
  • REFERENCE
    • Virginia Declaration of Rights
    • Declaration of Independence
    • Articles of Confederation
    • Constitution of the United States of America
    • Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America
    • Congressional Hearing
    • Executive Order 9981
    • Briefing a Supreme Court Case
    • Universal Declaration of Human Rights
    • Glossary
    • Index
    • Photo Credits

Introduction to the Study of the Constitution

  • Concept:
    • The book examines important concepts across six units:
      1. Historical and philosophical foundations of constitutional government.
      2. Creation of the Constitution.
      3. Expansion of rights since the ratification of the Constitution in 1788.
      4. Organization of the national government.
      5. Meanings of the various rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
      6. Roles of citizens in American democracy.
  • Overview:
    • Each unit contains lessons focusing on a related question, including explanations, key terms,