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Scenario
Congress creates a federal tax on whiskey.
Farmers in western Pennsylvania refuse to pay and begin threatening tax collectors.
Some local officials refuse to cooperate with the federal government.
You are the president, what should you do?
Student Questions
The Whiskey Rebellion (1794):
Washington relied on his constitutional responsibility to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" and on the Militia Acts to call state militias into federal service. Nearly 13,000 militia members marched toward western Pennsylvania. The rebellion dissolved with little fighting, demonstrating that the new federal government could enforce federal law under the Constitution without becoming another monarchy.
Big Idea: Federal laws cannot simply be ignored because they are unpopular.
Scenario
Before leaving office, the president appoints several new federal judges. When the new president comes into office, his Secretary of State, refuses to deliver some of the commissions. One of the appointees of the previous president, asks the Supreme Court to force the new Secretary of State to deliver his commission because Congress had empowered the Court to do so with the Judiciary Act of 1789. How should the Court respond?
Student Questions
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
What Actually Happened
Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that Marbury was entitled to his commission but held that the section of the Judiciary Act of 1789 giving the Court authority to issue the requested writ was unconstitutional. By striking down part of a federal law, the Court established the principle of judicial review, giving the judiciary the authority to determine whether laws and government actions comply with the Constitution. This became one of the most significant precedents in American constitutional history.
Scenario: Dred Scott, a slave, argued that living in free territory made him a free man. The Supreme Court had to decide whether Scott could sue in federal court and whether Congress could prohibit slavery in U.S. territories.
Student Questions
Who was considered a citizen under the Constitution?
Can Congress regulate slavery in the territories?
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
What Actually Happened: The Court ruled against Scott, holding that African Americans were not citizens for purposes of federal court and that Congress lacked authority to ban slavery in the territories. The decision intensified sectional conflict before the Civil War. This decision was later considered extremely bad precedent and was later overturned by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.
Scenario: During war, the president ordered the federal government to seize steel mills to prevent a strike from disrupting production. Congress had not authorized the seizure.
Student Questions
Can the President seize private property without congressional approval?
What limits exist on executive power?
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952)
What Actually Happened: The Supreme Court ruled against Truman, holding that the President lacked constitutional authority to seize the mills without authorization from Congress.
Scenario
A former Defense Department analyst leaked classified documents revealing government decisions during the a war. The presidential administration sought court orders preventing newspapers from publishing the documents.
Student Questions
The Pentagon Papers (1971)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
The Supreme Court ruled that the government had not met the heavy constitutional burden required to justify prior restraint. Newspapers continued publishing the documents.
Scenario
War breaks out and many New England Federalists believed the war was devastating their economy. Delegates from several New England states met at the Hartford Convention to propose constitutional amendments limiting federal power, and some Americans feared they might recommend secession from the Union.
Student Questions
The Hartford Convention (1814–1815)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
The delegates proposed several constitutional amendments, including limiting presidents to one term and requiring a two-thirds vote in Congress for certain actions. They did not officially recommend secession. Before their proposals reached Washington, news arrived that the Treaty of Ghent had ended the war and Andrew Jackson had won the Battle of New Orleans, making the convention appear unpatriotic and contributing to the collapse of the Federalist Party.
Scenario
South Carolina declares that federal tariff laws are unconstitutional and therefore do not apply within the state.
Some state leaders even threaten secession.
You are the president. How do you respond?
Student Questions
Can one state invalidate a federal law?
Which branch settles constitutional disputes?
Should force be used?
Could compromise work?
Nullification Crisis (1832):
Jackson rejected South Carolina's claim that states could nullify federal law. He issued the Nullification Proclamation, asserting that the Union was perpetual and that federal law remained supreme. Congress also passed the Force Bill, authorizing the President to use military force if necessary. At the same time, Congress approved the Compromise Tariff of 1833, easing tensions and leading South Carolina to rescind its ordinance.
Constitutional Principles
Supremacy Clause
Federalism
Presidential duty to enforce federal law
Scenario: Arkansas officials blocked nine Black students from entering Central High School despite a Court case Brown v. Board of Education de-segregating schools. The President had to decide whether to intervene against a governor.
Student Questions:
Who enforces Supreme Court decisions?
Can the President federalize the National Guard?
Little Rock Nine (1957)
What happened: Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent the 101st Airborne to enforce desegregation.
Constitutional Issues:
- Presidential Power
- Equal Protection under the law
- States vs. Federal Power
- Power of the Supreme Court
Scenario: Charles Schenck distributed leaflets urging resistance to the military draft during World War I. He was convicted of a crime. He argued his conviction violated the First Amendment.
Student Questions
Can speech be limited during wartime?
Where is the line between protected speech and criminal conduct?
Schenck v. United States (1919)
What Actually Happened: The Supreme Court upheld Schenck's conviction and announced the 'clear and present danger' test, later replaced by stronger free-speech protections in later cases.
Scenario
A nationwide railroad strike disrupted interstate commerce and prevented U.S. mail from being delivered. Railroad executives asked the federal government for help, while labor leaders argued workers had the right to strike.
Student Questions
The Pullman Strike (1894)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
President Grover Cleveland obtained a federal injunction and sent Army troops to restore rail service. The strike ended after violent clashes that killed dozens of people.
Scenario
Many members of Congress believed presidents had committed U.S. troops abroad without sufficient congressional approval. Congress proposed a law requiring presidents to notify Congress when deploying forces and limiting the duration of military action without authorization.
Student Questions
The War Powers Resolution (1973)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
Congress passed the War Powers Resolution over President Nixon's veto in 1973. Presidents of both parties have often questioned parts of its constitutionality while generally reporting military actions under its framework.
Scenario
Following terrorist attacks on the homeland, the executive branch created military commissions to try certain detainees held at Guantánamo Bay. A detainee challenged whether those commissions had been lawfully established.
Student Questions
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
The Supreme Court ruled that the military commissions, as established, were unauthorized because they did not comply with federal law or the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Congress later passed the Military Commissions Act to establish a statutory framework.
Scenario:
The state of Georgia creates a law saying that non-Native Americans cannot be on native land without a license. A missionary to Native Americans, Samuel Worcester, and 11 of his friends protest this law while still living on native land and refusing to get state licenses. The Governor arrests them. The Supreme Court rules that Georgia cannot enforce its laws within the Native American territory, but Georgia refuses to comply.
You are the president.
Student Questions
Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
What Actually Happened
Chief Justice John Marshall's Court ruled that Georgia's law violated federal treaties and the Constitution. Georgia nevertheless refused to comply. President Jackson did not use federal power to enforce the decision against Georgia. Although the famous quote "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it" is probably apocryphal, historians agree that Jackson declined to compel Georgia's compliance. Political negotiations eventually secured the missionaries' release, but Cherokee removal continued, culminating in the Trail of Tears.
Discussion Question
Should the President have an obligation to enforce Supreme Court decisions even when he disagrees with them?
Scenario: During rising tensions with France, Congress passed laws allowing the deportation of certain non-citizens and making it a crime to publish 'false, scandalous, and malicious' statements against the federal government. Critics argued the laws silenced political opposition and violated the First Amendment.
Student Questions
Did Congress violate freedom of speech?
Can national security justify limiting civil liberties?
Which amendment is most relevant?
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
What Actually Happened: President John Adams signed the laws, and several newspaper editors were prosecuted. The laws became deeply unpopular, expired or were repealed, and are now widely viewed as inconsistent with modern First Amendment protections.
Scenario: The Supreme Court struck down several laws the President helped pass. The President proposed adding additional justices for older members of the Court to help stack the Court in his favor.
Student Questions
Can Congress change the size of the Supreme Court?
Would this threaten judicial independence?
Court-Packing Plan (1937)
What Actually Happened: The Constitution does not fix the number of justices, but Congress rejected Franklin Roosevelt's proposal after significant political opposition. Eventually, some Court Justices decided to retire in order to allow the president to appoint justices more in line with his goals.
Scenario
Thousands of veterans traveled to Washington, D.C., demanding early payment of bonuses promised by Congress. After many refused to leave government property, officials debated whether to negotiate or remove the protesters.
Student Questions
The Bonus Army (1932)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
President Herbert Hoover ordered the Army to remove the Bonus Army camps. General Douglas MacArthur exceeded Hoover's initial instructions by advancing further into the encampments and destroying them, drawing widespread criticism.
Scenario
Congress prohibited military aid to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. Senior officials in the president's administration secretly facilitated arms sales to Iran and diverted some proceeds to support the Contras despite those restrictions.
Student Questions
Iran-Contra Affair (1986)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
Congressional investigations and an independent counsel concluded that administration officials had circumvented congressional restrictions. Several officials were convicted of crimes, though some convictions were later overturned on appeal or recipients received presidential pardons.
Scenario
Following terrorist attacks on the homeland, Congress considered legislation expanding surveillance powers, allowing investigators greater access to business records and communications while making it easier to coordinate intelligence investigations.
Student Questions
The USA PATRIOT Act (2001)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act with bipartisan support, and President George W. Bush signed it into law. Some provisions have since expired, been modified, or been reauthorized after continued debate over privacy and national security.
Scenario
Civil War begins.
Rebel sympathizers are destroying railroads and communication lines.
The President suspends habeas corpus (A court order forcing a jailer or the government to bring a detained person before a judge.) without waiting for Congress.
Students decide:
Is this constitutional?
Does the President have emergency powers?
Should civil liberties change during wartime?
Lincoln Suspends Habeas Corpus (1861)
What Actually Happened
President Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus in parts of the country early in the Civil War, arguing that extraordinary measures were necessary to preserve the Union. Chief Justice Roger Taney, sitting as a circuit judge in Ex parte Merryman, argued that Congress—not the President—held this power. Lincoln continued his policy, and Congress later authorized broader suspensions through the Habeas Corpus Act of 1863. Historians continue to debate the constitutional limits of Lincoln's actions.
Scenario: Maryland imposed a tax on the Second Bank of the United States after questioning whether Congress had authority to create a national bank. Bank cashier James McCulloch refused to pay the tax.
Student Questions
Can Congress create a national bank?
Can a state tax a federal institution?
Which constitutional clauses apply?
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
What Actually Happened: The Supreme Court held that Congress had implied authority under the Necessary and Proper Clause to establish the bank and that Maryland could not tax it because federal law is supreme.
- Federal vs. State
- Power of the Court
Scenario: Multiple states submitted competing electoral votes after one of the closest presidential elections in U.S. history. No clear constitutional process existed for resolving the dispute.
Student Questions
Who decides disputed electoral votes?
How should Congress resolve the conflict?
Election of 1876
What Actually Happened: Congress created a bipartisan Electoral Commission that awarded the disputed votes to Rutherford B. Hayes. The Compromise of 1877 effectively ended Reconstruction.
Scenario
Several states continued operating segregated public schools decades after the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified. Parents argued segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause.
Student Questions
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause and overturned Plessy v. Ferguson as it applied to public education.
Scenario
A presidential election hinged on a very close vote in Florida. Disputes arose over ballot counting methods, and state officials, candidates, and courts disagreed about whether recounts should continue.
Student Questions
Bush v. Gore (2000)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
The Supreme Court ruled that the differing recount standards violated the Equal Protection Clause and halted the recount. The certified Florida results stood, giving George W. Bush the state's electoral votes and the presidency.
Scenario
Arizona passed a law designed to discourage unlawful immigration by creating new state immigration crimes and expanding the authority of state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws. The federal government sued Arizona, arguing that immigration enforcement is primarily a federal responsibility and that parts of the law conflicted with federal statutes. The Supreme Court had to decide whether Arizona could enforce its own immigration policies or whether federal law controlled.
Student Questions
Arizona v. United States (2012)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
In Arizona v. United States (2012), the Supreme Court ruled that three major provisions of Arizona's law were preempted by federal law and therefore could not take effect, including provisions creating new state immigration crimes and expanding arrest authority. However, the Court allowed one provision—requiring officers to make a reasonable attempt to verify immigration status during certain lawful stops (Section 2(B))—to remain in effect while leaving open the possibility of future constitutional challenges based on how it was enforced.
Scenario
Evidence suggests that the President may have been involved in covering up crimes connected to his reelection campaign.
Congress demands evidence.
The President claims executive privilege (Implied power of the president: power claimed by the U.S. President to keep secret communications, protect the decision-making process, and resist subpoenas from Congress or the courts.)
Students questions:
Watergate (1974)
What Actually Happened
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in United States v. Nixon (1974) that while executive privilege exists, it is not absolute and could not be used to withhold evidence needed in a criminal investigation. President Richard Nixon released the tapes after the ruling and resigned before the House voted on impeachment. The episode reinforced that no president is above the law.
Scenario: France offered to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States. President Jefferson believed the purchase would benefit the nation but worried that the Constitution did not explicitly authorize acquiring foreign territory.
Student Questions
Should the President complete the purchase?
Does the Constitution allow implied powers?
Louisiana Purchase (1803)
What Actually Happened: Jefferson completed the purchase through the treaty power, doubling the nation's size. The Senate ratified the treaty, and the purchase became an enduring example of implied constitutional authority.
- Powers of the President
- Powers of the Federal Government
Scenario: After Pearl Harbor, the government ordered the removal and incarceration of many Japanese Americans from the West Coast. Fred Korematsu challenged the constitutionality of the exclusion order.
Student Questions
Can national security justify restricting individual liberty?
How should courts review wartime actions?
Korematsu v. United States (1944)
What Actually Happened: The Supreme Court upheld the exclusion order in 1944. The decision has since been broadly condemned, and in 2018 the Supreme Court stated that the Korematsu ruling was gravely wrong.
Scenario
Civil rights activists rode interstate buses to test whether states were obeying Supreme Court decisions banning segregation in interstate travel. Many riders were attacked while state officials refused to intervene.
Student Questions
Freedom Riders (1961)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
Attorney General Robert Kennedy petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to issue stronger regulations prohibiting segregation in interstate transportation. Federal marshals also protected some demonstrators.
Scenario
U.S. reconnaissance photographs revealed that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missile sites in Cuba, just 90 miles from Florida. Military advisers urged the President to launch air strikes or invade Cuba, while others warned that such actions could trigger nuclear war.
Student Questions
The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
Kennedy ordered a naval "quarantine" (blockade) around Cuba and pursued intense diplomatic negotiations with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The Soviet Union agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba, while the United States secretly agreed to remove obsolete Jupiter missiles from Turkey.
Scenario
Following President Abraham Lincoln's assassination, Dr. Samuel Mudd admitted that he had treated John Wilkes Booth's broken leg shortly after Booth fled Ford's Theatre. Federal officials believed Mudd had helped Booth escape and arrested him. Instead of trying him in a civilian court, the government tried Mudd before a military commission, even though the Civil War was ending and civilian courts in Washington, D.C., were open.
Student Questions
The Case of Dr. Samuel Mudd (1865–1869)
Constitutional Principles
What Actually Happened
Dr. Samuel Mudd was convicted by the military commission and sentenced to life imprisonment at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. In Ex parte Milligan (1866), decided after Mudd's conviction, the Supreme Court ruled that military tribunals generally cannot try civilians when civilian courts are open, establishing an important constitutional limit on military jurisdiction. Although the Court did not overturn Mudd's conviction, President Andrew Johnson pardoned Dr. Mudd in 1869, citing his good conduct and service during a yellow fever epidemic at the prison. Historians continue to debate whether Mudd knowingly participated in the assassination conspiracy or merely treated Booth as a physician