Justice Learning has archived their two free programs which were broadcast online and via satellite on September 16.  One program features Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Justice Stephen Breyer taking questions from Philadelphia area high school students, and discussing why we have and need a Constitution, explaining what federalism is, how implicit and explicit rights are defined, and how separation of powers ensures that no one branch of government obtains too much power.  The other program will be an hour-long debate that will be called "Free Speech in the Digital Age."  The program will examine the reasons for both safeguarding and limiting speech, including the protection of minors and community safety, ensuring a free marketplace of ideas, and guaranteeing democratic institutions.
 

DISTRICT/REGIONAL WE THE PEOPLE QUESTIONS

2005-2006 

UNIT ONE:  WHAT ARE THE PHILOSOPHICAL AND HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM?

 How did the Founders distinguish between republican and democratic forms of government? 

·        Why do you think the Founders favored a republican form over a democratic form? 

·        Madison claimed that “no other form would be reconcilable with the genius of the people of America; with the fundamental principles of the Revolution.”*  Do you agree or disagree?  Why? 

*The Federalist Papers No. 39 

UNIT TWO:  HOW DID THE FRAMERS CREATE THE CONSTITUTION? 

What were the most significant differences between the Virginia and the New Jersey Plans? 

• Which of the proposals in the Virginia Plan were accepted by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention?  Which were rejected?  Why?
   
• If you had been a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, would you have supported the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan, the Connecticut Compromise, or an alternative?  Explain your reasons?

UNIT THREE:  HOW DID THE VALUES AND PRINCIPLES EMBODIED IN THE CONSTITUTION SHAPE AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES?     

       What were the arguments against political parties that were advanced by the Framers? 

·        Why did political parties develop despite the Framers’ objections to them? 

·        What purposes do political parties serve today? 

UNIT FOUR:  HOW HAVE THE PROTECTIONS OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS BEEN DEVELOPED AND EXPANDED? 

“Here in . . . the Declaration (of Independence) is the assertion of the natural right of all to the ballot;  for how can ‘the consent of the governed’ be given, if the right to vote be denied?”*

Do you agree or disagree?  Why? 

·        Is the right to vote a natural right?  Why or why not? 

·        What limits, if any, should be placed on the citizens’ right to vote?  Why? 

*Susan B. Anthony, Speech before her trial for voting, 1873.  Quoted in The Oxford Dictionary of Political quotations, Anthony Jay, editor. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), p. 12. 

UNIT FIVE:  WHAT RIGHTS DOES THE BILL OF RIGHTS PROTECT? 

            The  First Amendment provides that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.”  Why is the protection of those rights important? 

·        Should the First Amendment be interpreted to protect only political speech and the press?  Are these the only freedoms necessary to democratic government?  Why or why not? 

·        Under what circumstances, if any, should freedom of speech or the press be limited?  Why? 

UNIT SIX:  WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF THE CITIZEN IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY? 

            Alexis de Tocqueville observed that Europeans preferred to let government solve all public problems, while Americans preferred to solve problems themselves through voluntary associations.  In what ways, if any, is Tocqueville’s observation about Americans still true? 

·        What ideas of natural rights and classical republicanism support voluntary associations? 

·        What relationship, if any, do you see between the First Amendment rights of assembly and petition and the ability of Americans to address public problems?