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Teaching Critical Thinking by Asking: Could Lincoln Be Elected Today?

This lesson plan uses a video series called “Could Lincoln Be Re-elected Today?” from a political literacy project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The videos imagine political ads from the 1864 Lincoln vs. McClellan presidential campaign using modern-day tactics. The lesson incorporates the videos to help classes recognize flaws in arguments in general and political ads in particular and to examine the criteria for evaluating candidates, past and present, for the presidency.

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