Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Critics Accuse Madison of Hypocrisy
Elections are a legitimate way of avoiding bad governance, said James Madison, and so he eventually came around to supporting political parties. Why did he change his mind? [1 min. 10 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Growing Sectionalism
James Madison to America: Overcome your partisan animosities and emulate the Framers' spirit of compromise. [1 min.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Madison and Slavery
James Madison didn't always live up to his ideals. Take slavery, for example. [1 min. 12 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Madison's Fears About Slavery
Slavery wasn't good for anybody. But Madison hoped that banning importation of slaves after 1808 would diminish the slave trade. [1 min. 4 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Slavery as a Threat to the Union
James Madison thought that slavery was a threat to the Union. He was right. [1 min. 4 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Legacy of James Madison
We conclude this series on James Madison and the Constitution with an examination of the lessons of the Philadelphia Convention. Madison was afraid that his legacy would disappear taking with it the spirit of compromise. [1 min. 12 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Important Tasks of the First Congress
Want to learn how the U.S. government was organized? In 1789 the founding fathers began the organization process with Article II of the Constitution. [1 min. 17 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Finding a Source of Income
In 1789 the U.S government faced a serious problem: it did not have any income. Congress had to figure out how to acquire money to fund the federal government. [53 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: His Highness the President
The new government of the United States had to get organized. Congress once debated addressing the chief executive as "His Highness, the President." Find out why they changed their minds on today's episode. [58 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The First Executive Departments
What were the first three executive departments in the new government of the United States? Find out in this episode. [52 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Reformation Part 2
Today we examine the roots of the Protestant Reformation when specific groups decided to break away from the Roman Catholic Church. [1 min. 17 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The First Cabinet
Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and Henry Knox: These were the first three secretaries of the first executive departments. [1 min.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Expanding Executive Branch
When Jefferson was president, about 2,000 people worked for the executive branch; today, that number is about 3 million. Does the growth of the government adhere to the rules set forth in the Constitution? [1 min. 3 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Article Iii of the Constitution
How did Article III of the Constitution and Congress establish our judicial branch? Find out in this episode. [56 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Importance of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court wasn't always as influential as it is now. In fact, one justice didn't even show up. Did anyone consider the Supreme Court important in the early days? [1 min. 2 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Promise to Draft a Bill of Rights
Federalists had to promise to create a bill of rights in order to get the Constitution approved. They were keen on following through because people were suspicious of the new governement. [1 min. 2 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Madison's Bill of Rights
Today we conclude our series on the organization of the U.S. government with a discussion of the Bill of Rights. James Madison developed the draft of the Bill of Rights based on amendments suggested by the state governments. [1 min. 18...
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Framers Part 1: Introduction
Today we kick off our 56-day series of biographies of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. This constitution was to replace the Articles of Confederation. [1 min. 10 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: George Washington
How much to you know about George Washington? Brush up on your knowledge with this podcast. [1:24]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: James Madison
James Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution. Do you know why? Madison was a delegate from Virginia in the development of the Constitution. [1 min. 23 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: George Mason
He insisted on a Bill of Rights and refused to sign the Constitution, but he's one of the most important figures in American constitutionalism. Meet George Mason, delegate of Virginia. [1 min. 14 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Edmund Randolph
Edmund Randolph, son of a Loyalist, was a delegate from Virginia. This Framer refused to sign the Constitution, but then supported its ratification. [1 min. 21 secs.]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: John Blair
This Framer of the Constitution helped draft the Virginia constitution, then the nation's. Check out this brief biographical podcast about John Blair. [1:21]
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: James Mc Clurg
James McClurg was an accomplished Virginia doctor; at the Philadelphia Convention, he argued for a life term of office for the president. [1 min. 7 secs.]