“You should have been a fly on the wall yesterday, hearing the kids discuss the essay...Understanding the Federalist Papers enhances understanding of the Constitution...”
– Cheryl Cook-Kallio,
AP American Government and We the People Teacher,
Irvington High School, Fremont, California
“These materials encourage higher-order thinking skills and help students to develop their analytic writing ability.”
– Kristie Barbee,
AP US History Teacher ,
Waltrip High School, Houston, Texas
"The Roots of Liberty offers teachers and students new ways of looking at the Federalist Papers. The materials are both comprehensive and comprehensible. Connect to Current Issues is particularly useful.”
– Tom W. Glaser,
AP American Government Teacher,
Mater Academy Charter High School, Hialeah Gardens, Florida
"My Senior Honors Government students loved these materials. We will use these materials again next semester. Working with primary sources is a challenge for my students, but using the Analyze the Source questions worked out well.”
– Michael Wilmoth,
Honors American Government Teacher,
Wellington High School, Wellington, Kansas
The Roots of Liberty challenges students to think and evaluate–a good stretch for many of our students. The Analyze the Source activity encapsulates the issue AND requires students to employ critical thinking skills.
– Honors Government Teacher,
Falls Church, Virginia
"The materials are well-organized. My students found them thoughtful and insightful. All parts were very user friendly. The students really liked the questions that accompany the excerpts from the Federalist Papers.”
– Mike Ortman,
AP US History Teacher
"[M]y students felt empowered that they were able to discuss and deliberate sophisticated topics originally presented by the Founding Fathers. I recommend Roots of Liberty to any American Government teacher...”
– Pat Usher,
AP American Government Teacher
"I like how the curriculum utilizes the federalist papers to look at the original intent of our Constitution [and] how the curriculum makes connections to historic cases... and... how the issues at our founding are still issues today.”
– Homeschool Teacher,
Leesburg, Virginia
"This is a very important course to all students, and it is exciting to see that studying the Federalist Papers has been put into a beautifully organized course with a visual component.”
– Laura Zishcke
Homeschool Teacher,
Richmond, Virginia

Discussion Guide – Lesson 8