"America on Trial" (rough draft)

America on Trial Project

Overview:

In our next project in 11^th grade humanities, we will be putting the U.S. government on trial. The goal of the project is to take a serious look at U.S. policy both domestically and internationally. The inquiry into what the American government does for its citizens, and for the world community, will allow all of us to look at the historical context for many of the policies currently being used by our government. Ultimately, we will have a chance to explore many rich and open ended questions around U.S. policy and attempt to answer the question of whether or not the U.S., as the world’s sole superpower, is doing more harm than good for the world.

In an effort to ensure that each of us remains part of a constructive process, as opposed to viewing these issues from the sidelines and merely complaining, a second component of the project will be for each group to create a non-profit or think tank related to the trial issue they will be discussing. For example, if you are defending American foreign policy, you might create a policy paper that can be sent to your local representative expanding on America’s current strategy of helping spread democracy to different regions of the world.

The first step is setting up the mission statement and name of your nonprofit, as a group. The mission statement will help remind you of your goal and purpose. However, you will also individually submit a proposal on what you would like to indict/defend America on.

You will be receiving additional information through class discussion, lectures and handouts on the following deliverables for this project.

Deliverables for the trial:

· Legal brief

o Each group must develop a legal brief for the trail laying out your arguments and counterarguments. We will be discussing this in class over the next few weeks.

o Length

o DUE DATE:

· Participation in the trial

o We will discuss the forum, and legal procedures in class.

o DUE DATE:

AND

Deliverables for the non-profit:

· Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, Mission Statement, etc.

· Website

· Two events to raise awareness about your issue

o One includes exhibition, May 29

OR

Deliverables the think tank:

· Website

· Policy paper

o Length

o DUE DATE:

o Example

· Two events to raise awareness about your cause

o One includes exhibition, May 29