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Presidents and the Constitution: Presidential Powers

Oh! The Humanities!

Looking at the Past Through [Clear] Colored Glasses

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Primary Sources

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness is designed to meet the course needs of a yearlong U.S. History or AP U.S. History class. The history of the United States is presented through a series of narratives, primary sources, and point-counterpoint debates that invites students to participate in the ongoing conversation about the American experiment. The content is coupled with rigorous assessments that help students to develop historical thinking skills and reasoning processes.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Have you ever looked at your teacher with a puzzled face when they explain history? I know we have. In our new Homework Help Series we break down history into easy to understand 5 minute videos to support a better understanding of American History. In our eighth episode, we tackle the Articles of Confederation and the need for a Constitution.

The Constitution | BRI’s Homework Help Series

BRI is a teacher service organization with over 20 years of history growing and supporting our educator network. Learn more about our resources.

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BRI has over 4,000 resources ready for you, including 650 lessons, 300 essays and nearly 300 videos.

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BRI offers free teacher professional development and community programs throughout the year. 

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2021 We the Students Essay Contest Essay Prompt: What is the relationship between Equality and Justice? Answering this question requires considering each of these principles and analyzing the relationship between them. To truly explore this question in an essay that is between 500 -800 words, you’ll need to go beyond &#8220;dictionary definitions,&#8221; and express your [&hellip;]


We the Students Essay Contest

The next presidential election is rapidly approaching, and voters are already being courted by a large field of contenders. In this eLesson, students explore some the major themes that candidates and voters grapple with during every election cycle. First, students will imagine themselves as candidates, craft their own policy platform, and consider the constitutional basis of their platform ideas. Next, they will observe presidential debates from 1960 and 2015 and determine if changes in debate methods help or hinder the election process. Finally, students will learn about the complicated mechanism that is the Electoral College, and think about the arguments for and against such a system.

eLesson: Introducing Think the Vote

In order to be engaged in the world, one must understand the issues and controversial topics that shape the world. This video explores the intricacies of a free and open government by highlighting the necessity of citizens engaging with key issues that surround them. Check out our website thinkthevote.com for more info.

#ThinktheVote: A Debate Project of the Bill of Rights Institute

BRI has events, contests, and current event resources to engage your students throughout the year.

Student Opportunities

On November 15, 2015, the Bill of Rights Institute hosted a special lecture on government regulation and innovation featuring FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai.

A Free Market If You Can Keep It, w/ FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai

How did the United States become a global economy in the post-World War II era? In this Homework Help video, Professor Domitrovic explores this question and other economic issues in the mid to late 20th century.

America’s Transition to a Global Economy

The Constitution's principle of separation of powers is reflected in the President's power to make treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Constitution goes on to require that two-thirds of Senators present must approve a treaty before it can be ratified. As "Chief Diplomat" for the nation, the President represents the United States to other countries, and directs our foreign policy. Various Presidents in our history have approached the concept of "advice and consent" differently, and have had varying degrees of success at persuading Senators of the wisdom of the treaties they have negotiated. George Washington was aware that his actions would set a precedent as to the meaning of the term "advice and consent." Many of his decisions with respect to Jay's Treaty also helped clearly define the separation of powers. Woodrow Wilson all but rejected the Senate's advice of the Treaty of Versailles, and for the first time in American history, the Senate rejected a peace treaty. Perhaps learning from history, Jimmy Carter took a different and more accommodating approach, winning ratification of the initially unpopular Panama Canal Treaties.

Chief Diplomat: Presidents and the Constitution

Speaker: Richard Vedder, Director, Center for College Affordability and Productivity Resolved: The United States should significantly reform its policies regarding higher education.

Debating Higher Education Policy | Policy

Montse Alvarado and Mark Rienzi, executives with Becket Law, discuss their hope for the future.

Fairness & Defending the Constitution | Montse Alvarado & Mark Rienzi | Constitutional Conversations

Heroes and Villains: Virtue and Vice

BRIs has hundreds of video resources to support you in the classroom. From explainer videos to interviews with scholars, all videos are ready for student use.

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Thanks to the generosity of the Ken W. Davis Foundation, the Bill of Rights Institute is honored to provide class sets of pocket constitutions (a maximum of 100 per teacher) to teachers around the United States.

Request Pocket Constitutions

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Established in September 1999, the Bill of Rights Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization that works to engage, educate, and empower individuals with a passion for the freedom and opportunity that exist in a free society.

Bill Of Rights Institute

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In a village of La Mancha, the name of which I have no desire to call to mind, there lived not long since one of those gentlemen that keep a lance in the lance-rack, an old buckler, a lean hack, and a greyhound for coursing.

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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Bill of Rights (1791)

The election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 resulted in the New Deal he proposed, a fundamental shift in the American political economy and a new conception of the relationship between the government and the governed.

Debating matters of public concern is essential in a free, self-governing society. If citizens were not free to decide after listening to opposing views self-government would be distorted. At the core of the Declaration of Independence is the principle that government exists to protect individual rights for us, not that we exist to serve the government. Therefore the people are the master and the government is the servant. If the government can dictate what we can and cannot discuss, then it would imply that the servant can tell the master what to do.

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