High School Social Studies · Grades 9–12
U.S. Government and Civics
Who makes the rules, who checks them, and where you fit in.
Every day, decisions made under a document from 1787 shape your life: what age you can vote, what your school can and can't do, how a bill becomes law. This course explains how that system works, why it was built the way it was, and how citizens take part in it.
We'll stick to how the system is designed and how it has changed. Where Americans disagree, we'll lay out the main arguments and let you weigh them.
Five Big Ideas
These ideas show up in every unit. If you understand them, the details will make sense.
Idea 1
Popular sovereignty
Power comes from the people. The Constitution opens with "We the People," not "We the States" or "We the King."
Idea 2
Limited government
Government may do only what the people allow it to do, and some rights are off-limits to it.
Idea 3
Separation of powers
Making laws, carrying them out, and judging them are split among three branches.
Idea 4
Checks and balances
Each branch has tools to slow down or block the others, so no one branch runs everything.
Idea 5
Federalism
Power is shared between the national government and the states. You live under both.
Course Units
Unit 1
The Constitution
From the Articles of Confederation to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787: the compromises, the ratification fight, the Preamble, the seven Articles, checks and balances, federalism, and the amendments. Includes a branch-sorting game and a quiz.
Coming soon
- Unit 2
Congress: How a Bill Becomes Law - Unit 3
The Presidency and the Executive Branch - Unit 4
The Courts and Judicial Review - Unit 5
Civil Liberties and Civil Rights - Unit 6
Elections, Voting, and Citizenship
How to Use This Course
- Read the primary sources. Each unit quotes the actual documents. Links go to the National Archives and other trusted archives so you can read the full text.
- Play, then quiz. Each unit has a short game and a quiz. Your best game score is saved only in your own browser.
- Argue both sides. The "Talk About It" questions have no single right answer. Try defending a view you don't hold.
Talk About It
- Name one rule in your life that comes from the national government, one from your state, and one from your town. Why might each level make that rule?
- Is a government that is hard to change a strength or a weakness? Give an example of each.
- What does being a "good citizen" mean to you, beyond voting?
Sources
- National Archives, The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription.
- Library of Congress, Constitution Annotated.
- U.S. Senate, The Senate and the Constitution.
Credits: all illustrations are original SVG drawings made for Jugami.