Civics & American Government Online Textbook
Welcome! This free and reliable Civics and American Government textbook covers topics from my complete Curriculum for Civics and Government. It can also be paired with my Civics & Government Homeschool Course.
The articles are not intended to be a complete overview of everything you need to learn. However, these can certainly be used as a free online textbook for your social studies classroom. Additional sources are recommended to fill in the gaps and provide context for each era.
If you need this Civics and Government textbook as a PDF, you can save each page or paste the text into a Google Doc and convert to PDF.
Each of these articles is based on a variety of state standards, including the NY Regents, TEKS, and others. The textbook aligns with my curriculum and interactive notebook activities and is perfect for your 6th grade through 11th grade students.
Unit 1: Introduction to Government
Unit 2: Foundations of American Government
- Democracy in Ancient Athens and Rome
- Fundamental Political Principles
- The Rights of Englishmen That Shaped Our Constitution
- Documents and Men Who Shaped America
Unit 3: The Constitution and Federalism
- The Articles of Confederation
- Key Principles of the Constitution
- Articles of the Constitution
- Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
- The Bill of Rights
- The Amendment Process
- Understanding the Due Process Clause
- Checks, Balances & the Branches of Government
- Powers of Federal and State Governments
Unit 4: Political Parties
- What is a Political Party?
- America's Two Party System
- Individual Ideologies
- The Great Switch of Ideologies
- Comparing Liberal & Conservative Viewpoints
Unit 5: Elections
- The Nomination & Election Process
- The Electoral College
- Voter Turnout in Elections
- Influences on Elections
- Reapportionment and Redistricting
- Campaign Funding & Spending
- Landmark Campaign Finance Cases
Unit 6: The Legislative Branch
- The Legislative Branch
- The Expressed Powers of Congress
- Congressional Leadership
- How a Bill Becomes a Law
- Interest Groups and Lobbying
Unit 7: The Executive Branch
- Roles of the President
- The Cabinet and Executive Departments
- The Powers of the President
- Presidential Leadership and Decision-Making
Unit 8: The Judicial Branch
- The Supreme Court
- Types of Jurisdiction
- Jurisdiction of Federal Courts
- Marbury v. Madison and Judicial Review
- Deciding Supreme Court Cases
- Judicial Activism and Restraint
Unit 9: Civil Liberties
- Civil Liberties Vs. Civil Rights
- Rights for Women
- First Amendment Freedoms in Practice
- The Rights of the Accused
- Equal Protection Under the Law
- Civic Participation and Responsibilities
- Citizenship in the United States
Unit 10: Foreign Policy
- Government and Foreign Policy
- American Foreign Policies
- National Security & Foreign Policy
- Trade & Economic Policies
