History course
Take Care: The American Presidents and the Power They Hold
7-Week History Course
The record, not the legend
Students read what presidents actually signed, vetoed, ordered and said, set it beside what Congress and the courts did in reply, and judge each decisive presidency by outcomes. Every presidency is judged with the same four questions: authority, Congress, courts and outcomes. The same yardstick applies to both parties and every era.
For the parent or teacher
Parent notice: what each part of the course contains, so you can preview it first.
- Weeks 1–3 · 1787–1929. Lesson 8: This lesson covers the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation and the deaths on the Trail of Tears, using National Park Service figures. Jackson’s own words about Native peoples are quoted as evidence of his argument. Lesson 10: This lesson covers the Civil War, slavery and wartime arrests. It quotes Lincoln and Taney (Taney also wrote the Dred Scott opinion). An optional faith prompt is labeled as our view and may be skipped. Lesson 11: This lesson covers the 1868 impeachment of Andrew Johnson (articles and votes only) and Reconstruction politics.
- Weeks 4–5 · 1929–1977. Lesson 19: This lesson covers the forced removal and detention of Japanese Americans in World War II. It links to WWII course Lesson 18 for the home-front story. An optional faith prompt is labeled as our view. Lesson 24: This lesson covers Watergate and the 1974 articles of impeachment against President Nixon. No profane quotations from the tapes are used. One short line from the 1977 Frost interview (in copyright) is quoted for comment.
- Week 6 · 1977–2026. Lesson 28: This lesson covers the 1998–99 impeachment of President Clinton (articles of perjury and obstruction and the votes only; no details of the underlying conduct) and the disputed 2000 election. Lesson 29: This lesson covers the 2019–20 impeachment of President Trump (first term): the two articles and the votes. Every impeachment in the course is taught with the same four questions. Facts about recent presidents are written to the public record available on November 9, 2026.
- Week 7 · Capstone. No new reading. Students choose one of six prompts and write a brief with dated primary sources, a steel-man, trade-offs, a second-order effect and a “what would change my mind” sentence, then defend it in a mock hearing or moot court.
Each lesson’s parent note says what to preview that day, and every lesson has a full answer key.
Course Big Question
How much power should one person hold, and who decides when a president has gone too far?
Course introduction
Take Care. Article II gives the president a short list of powers and one long duty: he “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” This course asks what presidents have done with those few paragraphs, and who decides when one has gone too far.
Five threads, not a parade of presidents. Students follow war and foreign power; executive orders and the growth of the executive branch; the veto and leading Congress; the courts; and succession, terms and transfers of power. A presidency gets a lesson when it set, broke or was checked on a lasting precedent that students can read in the documents themselves.
One yardstick for both parties. Every presidency is judged with the same four questions: authority, Congress, courts and outcomes. Students state the strongest case for each side before they judge, and every recent lesson pairs presidents of both parties.
How it works. Seven weeks of about 75 minutes a day, with no outside viewing, in six one-week units and a capstone week. Every document, table, question and answer key is printed in the lesson. Writing tasks have separate expectations for Grade 10 (Tier A), Grade 11 (Tier B) and Grade 12 (Tier C). Parent notes give a goal, what to say, wrong turns to watch for and a worked answer key.
From the Constitutional Convention to the Supreme Court’s 2026 rulings, through five threads: war and foreign power; executive orders and the executive branch; the veto and leading Congress; the courts; and succession, terms and transfers of power. Your student writes every day in three tiers (Tier A, Grade 10; Tier B, Grade 11; Tier C, Grade 12) and finishes with a capstone brief and defense in Lessons 31–35.
Grades 10–12, 7 weeks, one lesson a day of about 75 minutes, with no outside viewing; every document is printed in the lesson. Aligned to West Virginia Department of Education academic standards (Social Studies and English Language Arts, grades 10–12).
The course opens with an active Pharos Terminal subscription.
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Pharos Terminal
Every course is included
This course is included with an active Pharos Terminal subscription, along with every other course, new courses as they’re released, a new Nexus Point every day and the parent tracker. Lessons are aligned to West Virginia Department of Education academic standards in English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies.