Appendix C
Implementing District Standards
Virginia Standards of Learning
Civics and Economics
Standard CE.2a
Fundamental political principles define and shape American constitutional government.
What are the fundamental political principles that have shaped government in the United States?
- Consent of the governed: The people are the source of any and all governmental power.
- Limited government: Government is not all-powerful and may do only those things the people have given it the power to do.
- Rule of law: The government and those who govern are bound by the law, as are those who are governed.
- Democracy: In a democratic system of government, the people rule.
- Representative government: In a representative system of government, the people elect public officeholders to make laws and conduct government on the people’s behalf.
Through examining Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, the associated Supreme Court cases, and the resulting action, students will assess whether the theorized fundamental political principles are actually applicable to the Constitution. Likewise, students will investigate contemporary American Indian Nations and tribal lands to determine whether the Constitution has been used to rectify its previous shortcomings. American Indians are American citizens and it is useful to illuminate their historic experiences alongside their contemporary experiences. Students should determine whether or not American Indians are afforded the same rights as the foundational political principles of the Constitution declare they receive. It is in that determination where the students will use the school district academic standards that the unit implements in a significant and exploratory way.
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