National Standards

National Standards for Civics and Government: 5-8 Content Standards*

The following national standards can be taught and extended through the study of the life and legacy of Robert H. Jackson.

I. What are civic life, politics, and government?

A. What is civic life? Civic life concerns taking part in the governance of the school, community, tribe, state, nation, e.g., helping to find solutions to problems, helping to make rules and laws, serving as elected leaders

III. How does the government established by the Constitution embody the purposes, values, and principles of American democracy?

A. How are power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution?

Distributing, sharing, and limiting powers of the national government. Students should be able to explain how the powers of the national government are distributed, shared, and limited.

To achieve this standard, students should be able to explain how legislative, executive, and judicial powers are distributed and shared among the three branches of the national government
- judicial power-although primary judicial power is with the federal judiciary, it is shared with other branches
- judicial branch has the power to overrule decisions made by lower courts, declare laws made by Congress to be unconstitutional, and declare actions of the executive branch to be unconstitutional

E. What is the place of law in the American constitutional system?

The rule of law operates within the framework provided by the United States Constitution. It establishes limits on both those who govern and the governed, making possible a system of ordered liberty which protects the basic rights of citizens and promotes the common good.

1. The place of law in American society. Students should be able to explain the importance of law in the American constitutional system. To achieve this standard, students should be able to explain the importance of the rule of law.
3. Judicial protection of the rights of individuals. Students should be able to evaluate, take, and defend positions on current issues regarding judicial protection of individual rights.

V. What are the roles of citizen in American democracy?

C. What are the responsibilities of citizens? Personal responsibilities and civic responsibilities including performing public service

D. What dispositions or traits of character are important to the preservation and improvement of American constitutional democracy? 1. Dispositions that enhance citizen effectiveness and promote the healthy functioning of American constitutional democracy including individual responsibility, respect for law, honesty, civic mindedness, and patriotism.

E. How can citizens take part in civic life?

1. Participation in civic and political life and the attainment of individual and public goals. Students should be able to explain the relationship between participating in civic and political life and the attainment of individual and public goals.
4. Political leadership and public service (e.g., Robert H. Jackson). Students should be able to explain the importance of political leadership and public service in a constitutional democracy.
5. Knowledge and participation. Students should be able to explain the importance of knowledge to competent and responsible participation in American democracy.

(* Taken from: National Standards for Civics and Government, Center for Civic Education, 1994, pp. 45, 61-2; 66-7; 74; 79-83.)

National Standards for History*

The following national history standards can be taught and extended through the study of the life and legacy of Robert H. Jackson.

History Standards for Grades 5-12: United States

Era 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)

Standard 1: The causes of the Great Depression and how it affected American society. The student understands the causes of the crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. The student understands how American life changed during the 1930s. The student understands the New Deal and the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Standard 2C: The student understands opposition to the New Deal, the alternative programs of its detractors, and the legacy of the New Deal. The student can explain the reasoning of the Supreme Court decisions on early New Deal legislation and evaluate the Roosevelt administration’s response.
Standard 3: The causes of World War II, the character of the war at home and abroad, and its reshaping of the United States role in world affairs.
Standard 3B: The student understands World War II and how the Allies prevailed. The student can analyze Hitler’s Final Solution and the Allies’ responses to the Holocaust and war crimes.
Standard 3C: The student understands the effects of World War II at home. The student can evaluate the effects of the internment of Japanese-Americans during the war and assess the implications for civil liberties.

Era 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)

Standard 4: The struggle for racial and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties. The student understands the “Second Reconstruction” and its advancement of civil rights. The student can evaluate the Warren Court’s reasoning in Brown v. Board of Education and its significance in advancing civil rights.

(* Taken from: National Standards for History, National Center for History in the Schools, UCLA, 1996.)