This document contains instructions for three different assignments related to a course on American constitutional history and civil liberties: 1) The first assignment asks students to prepare lecture notes summarizing America's core political ideals and rules of politics from a textbook, the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and the powers granted and denied to federal and state governments in the US Constitution. 2) The second assigns students to write a 350-500 word newspaper article explaining the history of the civil rights movement in the 1940s-1960s and discussing the 1964 and 1968 Civil Rights Acts. 3) The third instructs students to describe the original intent behind several freedoms and rights protected in the US Constitution: freedom of speech

1. HIS 311 Fundamentals of ConstitutionalHistory
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Resource: Ch. 1, 2, & 3 of The American Democracy
Scenario:
Assume you are a visiting professor teaching about American
democracy in a highly prestigious university in Innsbruck, Austria. In
preparation for your first class, you must prepare notes. In writing
your notes, consider that the individuals you are speaking to are
slightly familiar with political American culture.
Prepare 1–2 pages of notes addressing each of the following criteria:
Refer to Table 1-1 of The American Democracy, and in 100 to 150
words, identify and explain America’s 3 core political ideals and the 3
rules of American politics.
In 50 to 100 words, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation and why the U.S. Constitution replaced it.
In 100 to 150 words, explain what powers were granted to the federal
government—enumerated powers and implied powers—in the U.S.
Constitution, what powers were specifically denied to the federal
government, and what powers were reserved to the states and the
people.
In 150 to 250 words, explain the 3 primary eras of federalism in
United States history; for example, 1789–1865,an indestructible
union; 1865–1937,dual federalism and laissez-faire capitalism; and
1937—present, federalism today. In explaining the last era,
specifically address the following issues:
Did President Franklin Roosevelt’s proposed court-stacking plan and
the court’s subsequent decisions, which ―removed the constitutional

2. barrier to increased federal authority‖, fundamentally alter the state
and federal governmental relationship?
Explain how President Ronald Reagan, in the 1980s, and a
Republican Congress, in the mid-1990s, attempted to address this via
the principle of devolution?
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HIS 311 Institutions and Civil Liberties
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Hot Off the Press
Assume the role of a newspaper journalist reporting during the
summer of 1968—shortly after Congress passed the Civil Rights Acts
of 1968. You are tasked with writing an article that explains the
history of the 1964 and 1968 acts. Write a 350- to 500-word article,
addressing the following points:
o Include a brief history of the civil rights movement during the 1940s
– Truman Administration; the 1950s – Congress and the Eisenhower
Administration; and the 1960s – Kennedy and Johnson
Administrations, Congress, and Dr. Martin Luther King
o Discuss the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968
o Explain the differences between the two acts
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HIS 311 Original Intent Behind the Freedom of
Speech

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Describe the original intent of freedom of speech, freedom of
religion, right to privacy, and criminals’rights.
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