Subjects: Government, Civics, International affairs, U.S. History

Grade Level(s): 9-12

Time Frame: 4, 50-minute periods

Objectives [What the student should know and be able to do at the end of the lesson]:

1.0 Overall: Students will use primary sources to decide when they think it is appropriate for Congress to intervene in foreign affairs.

Bloom's Taxonomy: CongressLink lesson plans are built around Bloom's taxonomy. The purpose of the taxonomy is to provide a coherent format for lessons and to make it easier for teachers to design them according to CongressLink's standards.

2.0 Knowledge: Students will identify responsibilities Congress has in relation to foreign policy.

3.0 Understanding: Students will understand the difference between domestic and foreign policy.

4.0 Application: Students will compare and contrast the platforms of the Democratic and Republican parties.

5.0 Analysis: Students will analyze writings of Senator Everett Dirksen to deduce his interpretation of the role of Congress in world affairs. Students will analyze the role of congressional committees in shaping foreign policy.

6.0 Synthesis: Students will use their knowledge of the Constitution, past and current involvement of the US in foreign affairs, and the partisan beliefs on foreign policy to surmise when they deem US involvement in foreign affairs to be necessary.

7.0 Evaluation: Students will evaluate what role they believe Congress should play in foreign policy.

Procedure/Sequence

Class 1:
1. Review with students the difference between domestic policy and foreign policy.
2. Refer to Article One, Section Eight of the United States Constitution using Congresslink (http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_histmats_constitution_contents.htm). Ask the students to list what powers Congress has in relation to foreign policy.
3. Ask students to analyze "The Congressional Front"(21 October 1939) by Senator Everett M. Dirksen. Have the students compare their analysis of the role of Congress in foreign policy with that of the Senator. Have them adjust their list accordingly.
4. Direct the students to the Thomas web site for the United States Congress. Have the students peruse the web sites of the committees in both houses that deal with foreign affairs. As the students visit the site have them summarize how each of the committees fulfills their Constitutional obligations students described after analyzing Article One, Section 8.
http://www.senate.gov/committees/index.cfm: Senate committee index
http://www.house.gov/house/CommitteeWWW.html: House committee index

Homework: have the students over the next several days collect articles in newspapers or news magazines involving U.S. involvement in foreign affairs. Have the students bring their articles to class on day three. CongressLink has an excellent page with connections to several reputable new sources at http://www.AboutGovernment.org.

Class 2
Instruct the students to survey the platforms of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Have the students draw a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the views of the two parties as to when it is appropriate for Congress to intervene in foreign affairs. The platforms can be reached on-line using the addresses below:

Republican Party: http://www.rnc.org/2000/2000platform8
Democratic Party: http://www.democrats.org/hq/resources/platform/platform.html (Click where it says "Peace")

After the students are through, have them create a continuum placing the Democratic Party on the left and the Republicans on the right. Have the students mark an "x" on the continuum as to where they would place their beliefs on foreign policy relative to the two political parties and have them write a brief essay explaining their placement.

Class 3
Now that the students have a basic understanding of how the left and right differ in their views on foreign policy and U.S. involvement in world affairs, and the role of Congress in world affairs, have the students investigate some current world events to determine if US intervention is appropriate. Have the students use the news articles they have been collecting; for each articles briefly describe: 1. What the event is about. 2. What the interests of the United States are in the event 3. If Democrats and Republicans differ in their view of US intervention 4. What part of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to intervene in the event?

Class 4
The question arises, "When should Congress legislate intervention in world affairs?" Begin addressing this question by having the students analyze Senator Dirksen's radio-television broadcast, "Then and Now," by responding to the following questions: 1. What event in history is the Senator addressing? 2. What were the interests of the United States in this event? 3. Did Senator Dirksen believe the United States should play a role in this event? If not, why? If so, what does he believe the United States should do? 4. Are the Senator's comments consistent with the Democratic or Republican platforms you previously analyzed? Explain your answer. 5. Would the Senator's comments apply to the current events you previously investigated? EXPLAIN

Homework: Instruct students that they are to write an organized essay explaining their response to the question, "When should Congress legislate intervention in world affairs?" that incorporates the information they gathered the last four days. Have them write their essay in the form of a letter that they will send to one of their elected officials.

For addresses of our elected officials, go to the CongressLink's home page.

Materials:

Links to the following resources are found in the Procedures/Sequence section.
United States Constitution on CongressLink web site
2000 Republican Platform and 2000 Democratic Platform
"The Congressional Front," 21 October 1939, f. Remarks and Releases File, Everett M. Dirksen Papers, The Dirksen Congressional Center, Pekin, IL.
"Then and Now" Radio and TV Weekly Report, 11/6-12/67, f. Remarks and Releases File, Everett M. Dirksen Papers, The Dirksen Congressional Center, Pekin, IL
Thomas Web Site (can be accessed from the CongressLink site)
Congressional Address Book link on CongressLink.

National Standards Addressed by Lesson [based on National Standards for Civics and Government, Center for Civic Education, 1994. Citation based on section, subsection, standard of the document]:

IIIB. How is the national government organized and what does it do?
IVB. How do the domestic politics and constitutional principles of the United States affect its relations with the world?
IVC. How has the United States influenced other nations, and how have other nations influenced American politics and society?

Evaluation/Assessment: See: http://www.congresslink.org/rubric/pdf

Author(s):
Mary Ellen Daneels,
Community High School District 94,
326 Joliet Street,
West Chicago, IL 60185