Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: Third Amendment
Text and summary of the 3rd Amendment to the Constitution. Links to related resources.
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: The Marshall Cases: Cohens v. Virginia
Read the text of the Supreme Court decision, Cohens v. Virginia, which was limited states' rights.
Center For Civic Education
Center for Civic Education: What Is the Role of the President?
The president has great power granted to him under Article II of the Constitution, while at the same time extensive limits have been placed to keep that power in check. This source contains extensive background on these powers and...
University of Groningen
American History: Biographies: George Mason the Virginia Bill of Rights
The Virginia Bill of Rights was the framework for the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights. Some of Mason's actual phrasing appear in the first ten amendments passed fifteen years later. He is credited for authoring the first American...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: The Supreme Court: Landmark Cases: United States v. Lopez (1995)
PBS features details on the landmark Supreme Court case of United States v. Lopez which set limits to Congress's power under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.
US National Archives
Nara: The Magna Carta
One of the historical events that led to the creation of the limited government of the United States, the Magna Carta was written in 1215 as a promise from King John of England to his demanding barons. It put English kings under the rule...
iCivics
I Civics: Mini Lesson: Pardon Power
Lesson teaches about presidential pardons, commutations, and the limitations of these powers.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Cause for Debate
The Constitution creates separate institutions that must share power, there will always be disputes over the basic principles. Check out some of the hot issues (term limits, electoral college, judicial review) that are in dispute even to...
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: Founding Principles
Below, you will find suggested definitions of each principle. Click here to read the words of James Madison, a primary contributor to the Constitution, and other Founders on these principles.
Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes
Biblioteca Miguel De Cervantes: Republica Dominicana
This Bibliotica Virtual Miguel de Cervantes site in Spanish for the Dominican Republic provides a wealth of information, including the national flag, a map, holidays, and statistical data on land size, climate, population, life...
Other
Third amendment.com: A Brief History of the Third Amendment
A discussion of the text of the Third Amendment to the Constitution and it's limited history in legal cases.
The Dirksen Congressional Center
Congress Link: Teaching the Amendments Lesson Plan
This online lesson plan teaches students "The amendments to the Constitution through the use of CongressLink, Internet resources, and creative activities." Students will also gain a sense that "Many rights are limited and controversial."
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: Article Iii: Judicial Power
Annotations to Article III on the characteristics and attributes of judicial power as related to specific Supreme Court decisions. The author distinguishes between judicial power and jurisdiction.
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: Article Iii: Categories of Contempt
An in-depth look at the different types of contempt of court, in the United States legal system.
Cato Institute
Cato Institute: Dewey J. Jones vs. the United States [Pdf]
Brief of a court case where the petitioner argues that the Commerce Clause does not authorize Congress to make the arson of a private residence a federal crime, as it is already a state crime, and that police powers are assigned to the...
Cato Institute
Executive Orders and National Emergencies
The subtitle of this essay is "How Presidents Have Come to 'Run the Country' by Usurping Legislative Power." It discusses how the Constitution defines executive powers in a general way, with few limitations on the power of the President...
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Clip Art Etc: Judge Thomas M. Cooley
Judge and professor, known for publishing Digest of Michigan Reports and Treatise on Constitutional Limitations of the Legislative Power of the States.
PBS
Structure of Congress and the Legislative Process Lesson
This lesson explores the structure of Congress and the legislative process. There is an introduction, a research activity, an assessment, and a role play activity.
Other
Justia: Hollingsworth v. Perry
The California Supreme Court held that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples violated the California Constitution; state voters then passed a ballot initiative, Proposition 8, amending the state constitution to define marriage as a...
Other
Semper Liber: American Rule of Law the American Way
American rule of law is based on the premise that increase in government means decrease in liberty. That being given, the underlying assumption about American rule of law is that limits must be placed on government, since the tendency of...
Other
University of Alabama: Government
Overview in note form on social and political philosophy comparing Plato, Locke, and Hobbes. Scroll to "natural rights" which the author discusses in context for understanding the political and social philosophies of these political...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Luther v. Borden
In the spring of 1842, Rhode Island had two governors and two legislatures. One government was committed to retaining the old colonial charter, which severely limited voting rights, as the state's constitution. The other government, led...
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Clip Art Etc: Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V (December 13, 1521 - August 27, 1590), born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590. The subsequent administrative system of the Church owed much to Sixtus V. He limited the College of Cardinals to seventy;...