Lesson
Unit 6 Civics Connection: The Constitution and Foreign Policy, 1898-1945
Objectives:
- Students will review major events in U.S. foreign policy during the period 1898-1945 by summarizing their context.
- Students will understand constitutional principles and evaluate their influence on U.S. foreign policy during the period 1898-1945.
- Students will explain how the Constitution’s distribution of powers contributed to constitutional controversies regarding the proper role of the United States in the world with respect to the major events in U.S. foreign policy during the period 1898-1945.
Materials
Lesson Components
An activity to help students understand the powers of various branches of government in the realm of world affairs.
An activity to help students summarize the events and dates that shaped the foreign policy of the first half of the 20th century.
Lesson plan
More Information
If this is the first time your students have considered constitutional principles, have them begin by focusing specifically on limited government, separation of powers, and consent. Use the Handout C: Principles and Virtues Glossary included with this lesson as a point of departure. Students should have copies of the U.S. Constitution to reference for this activity as needed.
Standards
Advanced Placement
- Topic 7.3 · Spanish–American War
- Topic 7.5 · World War I: Military and Diplomacy
- Topic 7.13 · World War II: Military
- Theme · America in the World
- Learning Objective · Unit 7C
- Learning Objective · Unit 7F
- Learning Objective · Unit 7M
- Historical Development · 7.3.I.C
- Historical Development · 7.3.II.A
- Historical Development · 7.3.III.A
- Historical Development · 7.3.III.D
- Reasoning Skill · Developments and Processes
- Reasoning Skill · Sourcing and Situation
- Reasoning Skill · Source Claims and Evidence
- Reasoning Skill · Contextualization
- Reasoning Skill · Making Connections
- Reasoning Skill · Argumentation
- Reasoning Process · Causation
- Reasoning Process · Continuity and Change
Check whether this resource aligns with your state’s standards →
Related materials
In honor of President’s Day, BRI staff members Rachel and Kirk are joined by Christopher Evans, BRI Teacher Council member and Teacher Advisor for the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, as they discuss the executive office through the lens of foreign affairs. They’ll be engaging in a close reading of the Monroe Doctrine and other important foreign policy statements from U.S. history.