ABOUT COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: Community Connections is a lesson collection designed for adult learners and community colleges, with the goal of inspiring student civic action. This might be respectful debate or conversation about a local issue, planning a community event, or a creative project that helps connect local, national and global issues.
To use this lesson: First, watch the video and answer the questions below as a warm up. Next, choose one or more of the activities under "Take Action" that best fits your classroom. Or, use the segment above to inspire your own original classroom activities — the spirit of these lessons is to connect current events to actions that make your community a better place for everyone!
SUMMARY
President Donald Trump's tariff plans are leaving people with many questions about when they have been used in the past, what kind of effect they have had, how that squares with the president's arguments and their potential impact now.
View the transcript of the story.
WARM-UP QUESTIONS
- Where (which country) did Trump impose a 10% tariff?
- When did tariffs raise 90% of funding for the federal government?
- What did the McKinley tariffs do?
- Why did McKinley change his mind about tariffs after becoming president?
- How do other countries often react to tariffs placed on the goods they are selling to the U.S.?
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Do you think tariffs are a good idea? What do you think would be the biggest impact on your life from escalating tariffs or trade wars?
Media literacy: How could you find out how tariffs are most likely to impact your own life and community?
TAKE ACTION
How do federal economic policies affect your local economy? How could you find out? First, make a list of people you would want to interview to understand the dynamics of your local economy. Then, use this activity to plan an interview with at least one person on your list.
Alternately, as a class, have a conversation about tariffs and the Constitution. Are they legal? What does the Constitution say about raising revenue in the federal government? To help explore the issue, watch the segment below about Supreme Court considerations around President Trump's tariffs.
This project was funded under the 2024 Leonore Annenberg Civic Mission of the Nation Initiative, sponsored by the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics. LAIC is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
