Lessons and Resources to Accompany Fault Lines in the Constitution
These resources accompany Cynthia and Sanford Levinson's Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and The Flaws that Affect Us Today, a uniquely accessible critique of the Constitution and its history. Each packet asks students to consider a specific aspect or application of the Constitution and how it has served or interfered with "We the People's" lives, liberty, and/or property. The lessons include excerpts from Fault Lines as well as primary and secondary sources, videos, and images, and current applications. the resources featured here focus on voting rights, habeas corpus, gerrymandering, the Senate, the amendment process, and the Electoral College. For middle and high school students.
The Electoral College
Resources exploring the constitutional foundation of the Electoral College, its impact on elections, and the debate over its necessity.
The College with No Courses or Credits: The Electoral College
Habeas Corpus
Resources exploring the constitutional foundation of the Habeas Corpus, the ways it’s been invoked throughout history, and its role in virus-related quarantines.
Voting Rights
Materials focused on access to voting historically and in the present; students consider why and how people have fought for the right to vote and the ways in which those rights are threatened today.
Gerrymandering
Students learn about the evolution and impact of gerrymandering, evaluate the larger motivations that contribute to this practice, and think about gerrymandering’s role in state and national elections today.
The Senate
Students learn the reasoning behind equal representation in the Senate and the ways in which it creates inequalities for the American people in the twenty-first century.
The Amendment Process
Resources that explain and evaluate the steps to amend the U.S. Constitution, including a selection of the twenty-seven existing amendments and information on proposed amendments that were never ratified. Students consider the difficulties inherent to the amendment process.