Bipartisanship and our Democratic Values
Bipartisanship Lesson Plan
Congress’ ability to work across the aisle plays an important role in how the United States lives up to its democratic values. In this two-day inquiry lesson, students begin by identifying shared democratic values such as truth, justice, common good, and patriotism. Students then examine historic congressional investigations as case studies to analyze how members of Congress worked together across party lines. Students will use disciplinary literacy skills to read case studies of the Titanic hearings, the Valachi hearings, and the 9/11 Joint Inquiry.
This middle- or high-school civics lesson asks students to explore the role of bipartisanship in a healthy democracy. Students examine how members of different political parties working together during congressional investigations uncover facts, inform the public, and ultimately strengthen public policy and democracy. Students are asked to present their findings as a visual one-pager, followed by a gallery walk. The lesson is guided by the inquiry question: “How does bipartisanship bring us closer to our Democratic Values?”
This free download includes:
- Lesson Plan
- A two-day inquiry lesson that guides students through a comparison activity to analyze and discuss three case studies of historic congressional investigations. In small groups, students will then create a one-pager to summarize their learning and connect the historic examples back to a core Democratic Value.
- Primary and Secondary Sources
- Brief summary of historical congressional hearings: the Titanic hearings, the Valachi hearings, and the 9/11 Joint Inquiry
- Student Worksheets
- A graphic organizer to help students record evidence from each case study
- Answer Key
- Teacher support materials that provide guidance for student responses and class discussion. Includes a completed key that contains evidence-based sample answers, line references from the readings, and suggested responses for discussion questions.
- Slide Deck
- An accompanying slide deck created to help support classroom facilitation.
How does bipartisanship strengthen democratic government? Why do congressional investigations sometimes succeed when members of different political parties work together? In this lesson, students examine how bipartisan cooperation has shaped major investigations throughout American history, including the Titanic disaster inquiry, the Valachi hearings on organized crime, and the congressional investigation into the September 11 terrorist attacks.
As students analyze these case studies, they investigate broader civic questions about truth, accountability, transparency, and the common good. They consider how congressional oversight can build public trust, how lawmakers gather and evaluate evidence, and why democratic societies depend on cooperation across political differences during moments of national crisis. Students ultimately use historical evidence to answer the lesson’s compelling question: “How does bipartisanship bring us closer to our Democratic Values?”
Bipartisanship and Oversight Investigations
Throughout American history, Congress has used investigations and oversight hearings to respond to national crises, uncover facts, and recommend solutions to public problems. In some of the country’s most important investigations, lawmakers from different political parties worked together to gather evidence, interview witnesses, and communicate findings to the public. These bipartisan efforts helped strengthen trust in government and demonstrated how democratic institutions can function during moments of uncertainty or national concern.
This lesson examines three major congressional investigations that relied on bipartisan cooperation: the Senate investigation into the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, the Valachi hearings on organized crime in the 1960s, and the joint congressional inquiry into the September 11 terrorist attacks. In each case, members of Congress from both political parties agreed that the public deserved accurate information, transparent investigations, and recommendations designed to improve government responses in the future. These investigations helped shape public policy, influence legislation, and expand public understanding of important national issues.
As students explore these case studies, they use key civics concepts, including congressional oversight, bipartisanship, core democratic values, accountability, transparency, and the role of evidence in policymaking. Students evaluate how elected officials can work across political differences to pursue the common good and examine how bipartisan investigations can reinforce democratic principles such as truth, justice, equality, and popular sovereignty. By comparing multiple historical examples, students develop a deeper understanding of how civic institutions respond to crises and how bipartisanship brings us closer to our democratic values.
Content Standards
This inquiry-based civics lesson is aligned to Michigan social studies content standards and uses major historical congressional oversight investigations to allow students to analyze how bipartisan congressional oversight helps bring us closer to our Democratic Values.
MI Civics – 3.3.1 Describe and analyze how groups and individuals influence public policy.
MI Civics – 6.3.1 Explain the personal dispositions that contribute to knowledgeable and engaged participation in civic communities.
MI Civics – 6.4.1 Explain and evaluate how people, individually or collectively, seek to bring the United States closer to its Democratic Values.
Once you fill out this form, you will be redirected to our download page.
**If you have already filled out the download form, please look in your inbox for an email from LbH.LevinCenter@wayne.edu for a link to the download page.**
Can’t see the form below? Click here to access it.