A Smaller Simpler Government —True or False?
By Barbara Ramsey

Overview

This lesson plan is designed to incorporate the viewing of "The American Way" episode that focuses on Presidents Jefferson, Coolidge, Hoover and Reagan.  In examining the contradictions between the political philosophy and actions of these four leaders, this activity would be most effective as a concluding lesson to a study of the American presidency.  Geared toward an advanced level of 11th grade U.S. history, this lesson could also be used with advanced 9th grade government students after the students are familiar with the executive branch.

Objectives

Students will:

• Describe and give examples of the political philosophies of Presidents Jefferson, Coolidge, Hoover and Reagan on the subject of small government
• Evaluate actions taken by Presidents Jefferson, Coolidge, Hoover and Reagan in relation to their stated philosophy on small government

• "The American Way" from The American President series
• The American President website biographies on Thomas Jefferson, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Ronald Reagan
• Presidential action chart

Initial Motivation

Begin by asking the class to think about a complicated decision they or someone they know has needed to make.  Ask the class to think about and discuss how personal ideology and circumstances may affect decision-making.. 

Procedures

1. Distribute presidential action charts for students to complete while they watch the video. (Option: show students a sample of how to organize a chart on their own paper.)  Explain that the video contains substantial biographical information on each president that may not pertain to the topic.
2. Run the video.  Students should be recording information on the charts while viewing the video.
3. Put the following questions on the board or overhead:
    
1.  In what ways did Presidents Jefferson, Coolidge, Hoover and Reagan express their beliefs in a smaller and simpler government?
2. Do the actions or decisions taken by these four presidents adhere to or contradict their beliefs in a smaller and simpler government?  Explain.
3. Describe the political, economic and social concerns surrounding the time period of each president that may have contributed to the presidents' actions.
    
4. The students may answer the above questions in one of the following three formats:
    
1. Individually, students compose their own essays.
2. Groups of two to four students complete the writing assignment together.
3. Create four groups and assign each group to one president.  Have each group answer the questions in written form and then exchange its findings with other groups.

4 = Student has thorough understanding of the task.  Response is complete and has necessary factual support and/or examples.

3 = Student has an understanding of the task.  Response fulfills the requirements of the assignment but the support and/or examples are not complete.

2 = Student has a partial understanding of the assignment.  Response information may be correct but is too general and simplistic.  Some support and/or examples may be omitted.

1 = Student has limited understanding of the assignment.  Response is incomplete, may exhibit many flaws and may not address the requirements of the assignment.

0 = Response is inaccurate, confused and/or irrelevant. Brief outline of the information from the video that student should have on their charts:

Additional Resources

White House presidential biographies: http://www.whitehouse.gov
Humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson's site on interpreting Jefferson's vision:  http://www.th-jefferson.org 

Interdisciplinary Connections

The question of contradiction between philosophy and action can be discussed on topics in science, religion, psychology, sociology etc.  The writing activity correlates with language arts courses and preparation for various states' standardized writing exams.  

Barbara Ramsey teaches Advanced Placement U.S. history in Tampa, Florida.

Presidential Action Chart