In this lesson plan, young scholars will consider "The Federalist Debates: Balancing Power Between State and Federal Governments." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.

The original text of The Virginia Plan presented at the Constitutional Convention. Discusses federal versus consolidated government.

Michael Anti (aka Jing Zhao) has been blogging from China for 12 years. Despite the control the central government has over the Internet "All the servers are in Beijing" he says that hundreds of millions of microbloggers are in fact...

Descriptions of the separate powers and functions of the three branches of the federal government. Site explains how the powers of one branch check and balance those of another.

The Constitution can be broken down into 6 main themes: Limited Government, Federalism, Republicanism, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, and Popular Sovereignty. Students will study background on the Founding Fathers and use...

DDG describes the basic structure of Colombian government. It provides information on the balance of powers and the various branches of governmnet.

Read about the structure of the U.S. Constitution and the thoughts of the framers behind the formation of each branch.

This lengthy essay describes the balance between state and federal judiciary courts and touches on independence, integration, power limits and immunities.

Learners will draw conclusions regarding actions taken by Congress when passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. They will weigh the balance of power between the federal and state governments when protecting the right to vote. Materials...

Overview discussion of the views held by Madison and Hamilton that people, in general, need to have written into the law certain checks and balances to guard against abuse of power, protect individual rights and encompass a pluralistic...

An essay by U.S. Congressional Representative Ron Paul of Texas on the state of the American republic delivered at the dawn of the twenty-first century. He argues for the strong separation of powers among the three branches of government...

This interactive lesson gives students a quick snapshot of the Constitution, including the purpose of each article, the powers of the three branches, how a bill becomes a law, and the concepts of separation of powers and checks and...

This article contains a useful guide to the functions of the three US Branches of Government that make, enforce, or interprets laws.

This essay describes the power of the Supreme Court to 'check' the actions of both the President and Congress, with some historic documentation.

This slide and the six that follow it (use the advance button near the bottom of the screen) offer an explanation of each of the three branches of government and the duties they perform, including discussion of the tensions arising from...

Read about the necessity for Virginia and New York to support the ratification of the Constitution. See what influenced the vote in Virginia and how the legislature of New York was finally convinced.

Study the United States Government on this webpage. Learn about the balance of powers, the three branches, and the Constitution.

The 18th-century statesmen who met in Philadelphia were adherents of Montesquieu's concept of the balance of power in politics. This principle was supported by colonial experience and strengthened by the writings of John Locke, with...

James Madison knew that a key challenge of maintaining just government was framing it in such a way that the government would be forced to control itself. How does a system of separated powers-and the checks and balances built into those...

This unit explores the timeless qualities of The U.S. Constitution, the opportunities to amend it, and how it is a pillar of the American identity, through these activities, videos, and outside resources.

This activity can be used during a unit on the U.S. Constitution. Learners will analyze the Senate Journal of the First Congress and identify how the document demonstrates content contained within Article II of the Constitution in...

The Founding Fathers created a government based on a set of fundamental principles carefully designed to guarantee liberty. This lesson lets students look at the Constitution from the perspective of its foundational principles and make...

A tutorial that looks at the ideas from the Enlightenment that influenced the Founding Fathers, particularly those of John Locke and Montesquieu. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.

Learn about checks and balances, limits and controls imposed on all branches of a government by giving each branch of government the right to amend or void certain acts of the other branches.