AP U.S. Government and Politics Collection

How Today’s Debates on Immigration Were Shaped by a 1980s Church-Led Refugee Network

Churches once led a refugee rescue effort that shapes U.S. immigration policy today. 

09:45

1 lesson plan

How the Supreme Court Ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges Legalized Same-Sex Marriage

This story revisits the landmark Supreme Court decision from the perspective of the two named participants, Jim Obergefell and Richard Hodges. 

10:11

2 lesson plans

How Prop. 187 Transformed the Immigration Debate and California Politics

Today’s immigration policies echo an anti-immigration movement from the 1990s in California. 

09:06

1 lesson plan

Hurricane Katrina’s Aftermath and Lessons in Dealing with Disaster

Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, and Louisiana’s troubled housing recovery has shaped the response to every major disaster since, including Hurricane Sandy. 

11:15

2 lesson plans

How the Federal School Lunch Program Became a Spicy Political Debate

A 1940s child nutrition program has been a subject of debate for decades, reflecting shifting political priorities. 

09:37

2 lesson plans

The Minneapolis Bridge Collapse that Sounded the Alarm on US Infrastructure

At the height of rush hour on August 1, 2007 a bridge carrying eight lanes of I-35W traffic over the Mississippi River suddenly collapsed, sending cars and trucks plunging into the water below. 

09:55

1 lesson plan

Citizen Nation: Preparing for Success

Intense practice, camaraderie and learning lift high school students on a journey toward state-level civics competitions. 

05:01

1 lesson plan

Her Vegetative State Caused Congress, President Bush and Even the Pope to Weigh In

The legal dispute over Terri Schiavo’s medical care transformed a family disagreement into a national debate, shaping how Americans discuss end-of-life decision-making and the role of the government. 

12:54

1 lesson plan

Who Controls the Purse? Presidential Power and the Fight Over Spending

The Trump administration is reviving a controversial budget tactic, putting a Nixon-era fight over presidential power and congressional authority back in the headlines. 

11:25

1 lesson plan

In the Long Fight to Protect Native American Families, a Law Stands Guard

For generations, Native American children were removed from their homes and placed with white families. A recent Supreme Court ruling affirms the rights of Native families and tribes, giving them preference in adoption and foster care placement. 

11:44

1 lesson plan

Gerrymandering Tilts Political Power. Here’s How Redistricting Affects Democracy.

Both parties play the redistricting game, redrawing electoral boundaries to lock down power. 

11:07

2 lesson plans

Why Supreme Court Confirmations Have Become So Bitter

The defeat of Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court in 1987 changed the way justices are confirmed today. 

10:16

1 lesson plan

How the Korean War Changed the Way the U.S. Goes to Battle

In the Cold War, North Korean Communists invaded South Korea. President Truman’s decision to intervene had consequences that shape the world today. 

06:35

2 lesson plans

Toxic Waste in the Neighborhood: The Love Canal Disaster

In 1978, toxic chemicals leaking from a buried landfill in Love Canal, N.Y., forced evacuations, drew national attention and became a defining environmental disaster. The crisis transformed a neighborhood near Niagara Falls, and raised questions about corporate responsibility, government oversight and public health that still resonate today. 

11:01

2 lesson plans

Rachel Carson’s Warning on D.D.T. Ignited an Environmental Movement

Author Rachel Carson’s strike against the pesticide DDT turned her into both an environmental hero and a foil for those who believe regulation has gone too far. That fight is more relevant than ever. 

12:31

2 lesson plans

E. Coli Outbreaks Changed Food Production, But How Safe Are We?

A 1993 E. coli outbreak linked to Jack in the Box hamburgers acted as a wake up call about the dangers of food-borne illness. Decades later, how far have we really come in terms of food safety? 

10:49

1 lesson plan

Thalidomide: From Tragedy to Treatment

How a pill that led to drug safety guidelines became a case study for rising drug prices. 

11:20

2 lesson plans

Horses: Wild, But Not Free

There are now so many wild horses on public land – nearly 100,000 – that they have become caught in a battle between the government, ranchers and environmentalists. 

08:40

1 lesson plan

Citizen Nation: Exploring Judicial Independence

Students tackle tough questions on the judiciary’s role in democracy. 

02:19

1 lesson plan

Inside the Saturday Night Massacre: Nixon, Watergate and the Fight for Accountability

Nixon’s 1973 firing of a Watergate prosecutor raised questions about executive power, accountability and the limits of the law. 

08:17

1 lesson plan

How Activists Fought for Rights for People With Disabilities, and Made Them the Law

How activists pushed for the A.D.A., establishing rights for people with disabilities in the United States. 

12:08

2 lesson plans

Why Are Schools Still Segregated? The Broken Promise of Brown v. Board of Education

The history of racial integration in public schools, and what happened after the buses stopped rolling. 

10:03

3 lesson plans

How a 1944 Supreme Court Ruling on Internment Camps Led to a Reckoning

The U.S. government ordered 120,000 people of Japanese descent, most American citizens, imprisoned during World War II. An admission of wrongdoing and reparations payments came decades later, but a Supreme Court ruling had lasting impact. 

10:15

3 lesson plans

Why the Supreme Court Endorsed, Then Limited Affirmative Action

Ruling in a case that challenged practices that colleges use to select a diverse student body, the Supreme Court reverses itself. 

13:28

1 lesson plan

Families Behind a Landmark SCOTUS Ruling on School Prayer Speak Out

Ruling in favor of a high school coach who knelt to pray on the football field, the Supreme Court opened the door to challenges on school prayer, 60 years after a landmark ruling in Engel v. Vitale. 

09:45

1 lesson plan

Athletes vs. Injustice: Protests in Sports

When N.F.L. players, starting with Colin Kaepernick, took a knee during the National Anthem to protest they ignited an uproar over injecting politics onto the playing field. 

11:14

3 lesson plans

Students Led a 1960s Free Speech Movement. Colleges Are Grappling With Its Legacy.

As universities face increasing legal and political pressures, free expression on campus, a right established through student activism in the 1960s, is once again capturing headlines.  

09:27

1 lesson plan

Presidents v. Press: How the Pentagon Papers Leak Set Up First Amendment Showdowns

Efforts to clamp down on White House leaks to the press follow a pattern that was set during the Nixon era after the publication of the Pentagon Papers. 

12:21

2 lesson plans

Why Waco Is Still a Battleground in the Second Amendment Debate

In 1993, state and federal law enforcement agents conducted a siege on the headquarters of an apocalyptic religious group in Waco, Texas. The deadly episode generated a legacy that continues to shape anti-government groups today. 

14:50

1 lesson plan

How a 1968 Student Protest Fueled a Chicano Rights Movement

This Emmy-nominated video explores a massive protest by Mexican American high school students that became a milestone in a movement for Chicano rights. 

11:09

3 lesson plans

The Crime That Fueled an Asian American Civil Rights Movement

The 1982 attack against Vincent Chin redefined hate crimes and energized a push for today’s stronger legal protections. (Mural by Anthony Lee.) 

10:13

2 lesson plans

Racial Inequality Was Tearing the U.S. Apart, a 1968 Report Warned. It Was Ignored.

Anger over policing and inequality boiled over in 1967 in protests and violence across the United States. A landmark report warned that without major changes, it would happen again. 

05:17

1 lesson plan

How a Standoff with the Black Panthers Fueled the Rise of SWAT

S.W.A.T. teams, specially trained police teams, have been used increasingly in routine matters like serving drug warrants, sometimes with disastrous results. 

09:50

1 lesson plan

Why We Can’t Have a Civil Conversation About Guns

In the 1980s, the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan and the shooting of his press secretary, Jim Brady, led to the Brady Bill. Decades later, are there lessons from that fight for the Parkland students? 

11:07

1 lesson plan

Who Gets to Regulate #*%& Free Speech in Popular Culture?

When speech offends, who decides where boundaries should be drawn?  

11:22

2 lesson plans

Wrongly Accused of Terrorism: The Sleeper Cell That Wasn’t

Six days after 9/11, the FBI’s raid on a sleeper cell signaled America’s resolve to fight terrorism. But, despite a celebrated conviction, there was one problem–they were wrong. 

11:39

1 lesson plan

He’s the only CIA Contractor to be Convicted in a Torture-related Case

The story of the first and only interrogator connected to the CIA to be convicted in a torture-related case. 

13:07

1 lesson plan

American Reckoning

An untold story of the civil rights movement. 

83:31

1 lesson plan

A Right to Die?

Should doctors be allowed to help suffering patients die? In 1990, with his homemade suicide machine, Dr. Jack Kevorkian raised that question. It’s an issue Americans still struggle with today. 

14:26

Crime and Punishment: Three Strikes and You’re Out

After the 1993 murder of a California child, many states passed laws to lock up repeat offenders for life, but those laws have raised new questions about how crime is handled in America. 

11:19

1 lesson plan

How Tinker v. Des Moines Established Students’ Free Speech Rights

A silent protest led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling that defined students’ free speech rights. 

07:41

3 lesson plans

DNA Clues Solve Crimes . . . With a Privacy Cost

DNA information that is available on genealogy websites is doing more than satisfying curiosity – it’s solving crimes. 

14:08

Abortion Was Illegal. This Secret Group Defied the Law

The Supreme Court has reversed Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion. We tell the story of the Jane Collective, which provided thousands of illegal abortions from 1969 to 1973. 

08:08

Transgender Rights, Won Over Decades, Face New Restrictions

More than 50 years after the Stonewall uprising marked the birth of a movement for LGBTQ+ rights, transgender activists continue to push for inclusion. 

10:55

2 lesson plans

The Roots of Evangelicals’ Political Fervor

White evangelical Christians are among President Trump’s most important supporters. But more than 40 years ago, they were on the margins of American politics. 

11:16

1 lesson plan

Welfare and the Politics of Poverty

Bill Clinton’s 1996 welfare reform was supposed to move needy families off government handouts and onto a path out of poverty. Years later, how has it turned out? 

13:25

1 lesson plan

Us vs. Them: From George Wallace to Donald Trump

Donald Trump has used populist politics to appeal to voters who are fed up with the status quo. We look at another politician who tapped into America’s divisions decades ago: George Wallace. 

07:48

1 lesson plan

From Women’s Suffrage to the ERA, a Century-Long Push for Equality

The Equal Rights Amendment, proposed in 1923, sparked debate from its very beginning, even among many of the women who had worked together for suffrage. 

07:43

2 lesson plans

Labor Union Activism Is on the Rise, Recalling the Great Depression

Spurred by the pandemic, new groups of workers are pushing to form unions in activism not seen since the 1930s. 

08:13

3 lesson plans

How Segregation Influenced Evangelical Political Activism

While abortion is often cited as the motivation behind evangelical Christians becoming politically active in the 1970s, there’s another little-known reason that involves the IRS and segregated schools. 

02:24

Citizen Nation: Finding Your Political Identity 

A We the People participant reflects on how family, society and his experiences shape his political beliefs. 

04:48

1 lesson plan

Citizen Nation: Thinking About the Value of Public Service

A student learns about public service through the example set by his father, a teacher and state delegate. 

03:43

1 lesson plan

The Birth of the U.S. Political Convention in 1831

In 1831, a radical third party had a new idea for selecting a presidential candidate, and it’s still in use today: the national nominating convention. 

04:24

1 lesson plan

Lessons from the 1924 Democratic Convention: An Immigration Debate’s Impact

Immigration has been a defining issue in a campaign before, and the consequences transformed the Democratic Party. 

06:06

1 lesson plan

Lessons From the 1964 Republican Convention: Declaring War on the Establishment

Donald Trump’s candidacy wasn’t the first time the Republican Party was split by an outsider declaring war on the establishment elite. 

05:34

1 lesson plan

How Trump’s Red Wave Builds on the Past

Donald Trump’s resounding 2024 victory echoes electoral shifts of the past. 

09:22

2 lesson plans

How Watergate and Citizens United Shaped Campaign Finance Law

The Watergate campaign finance scandals led to a landmark law designed to limit the influence of money in politics. Decades later, some say the scandal isn’t what’s illegal, it’s what’s legal. 

13:11

1 lesson plan

How Black Women Fought Racism and Sexism for the Right to Vote

African American women played a significant and sometimes overlooked role in the struggle to gain the vote. 

10:02

1 lesson plan

Poll Watchers and the Long History of Voter Intimidation

President Trump has called on supporters, including law enforcement officers, to monitor election sites. Voter intimidation tactics have a long history. 

05:06

1 lesson plan

Midterm Elections: How 1994 Midterms Set Off an Era of Divisive Politics

Midterm elections, often a referendum on the sitting president’s agenda, can set the stage for future policy debates. Economic and social issues with roots in the 1994 midterms are still being debated today. 

10:35

2 lesson plans

Bush v. Gore: How a Recount Dispute Affects Voting Today

The dramatic controversy surrounding the 2000 presidential election led to sweeping voting reforms, but opened the door to a new set of problems that continue to affect elections today. 

11:24

1 lesson plan

Lessons From the 2004 Democratic Convention: Obama’s Speech

Sometimes the most important speech at the convention isn’t delivered by the nominee. 

05:58

1 lesson plan

Citizen Nation: Citizenship Responsibilities

Caden’s 18th birthday coincides with Election Day, and he casts his first vote for his dad. 

03:17

1 lesson plan

Mud-Slinging and Deadly Duels: How Negative Campaigning Evolved

Explore the history and impact of negative campaigning in U.S. presidential elections. 

06:34

2 lesson plans

Picking a Partner: The V.P. Relationship

The relationship between presidents and vice presidents is unique and often personal. Sometimes, internal divisions spill out into public life. 

06:38

2 lesson plans

Charm Offensive: Why Politicians Reach for ‘Relatable’

For American politicians, the obsession with appealing to the everyman dates back to the raucous campaign of 1840. 

00:00

2 lesson plans

The Culture Question: How Hot-Button Issues Divide Us

Culture wars have a long and divisive history in American politics, with gender, race and religion continuing to inflame public opinion. 

06:34

2 lesson plans

Campaign Missteps: Gaffes on the Trail

Political gaffes have shaped elections from the Gilded Age to today. 

06:35

2 lesson plans

Political Debates: What the Unforgettable Moments Reveal

High-stakes debates put candidates in the hot seat. But are they helpful to voters? 

09:53

1 lesson plan