Brief descriptions of several case studies involving decisions by the Supreme Court concerning First Amendment rights, especially freedom of speech.

Transcript of a Supreme Court decision, from 1957, in Roth v United States, a case that weighed constitutional freedoms of speech and the rights of individuals to own and distribute materials deemed by the government to be obscene.

Contains plans for four lessons that use the "Pledge of Allegiance" to discuss the concepts of freedom of speech and automatic language. Ties in well with novels that deal with First Amendment rights such as Laurie Halse Anderson's...

Read the majority opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Times Film Corp. v. City of Chicago, a 1961 case that focused on free speech and obscenity.

Students will compare various examples of offensive expression. How does the fact that the expressions are offensive to others impact Freedom of Speech? Students will review and analyze and complete a case study of cases where the...

Lesson where students explore the emergence of the American system of democracy and political parties between 1820 and 1850. Using paintings by George Caleb Bingham and Richard Caton Woodville, and a political cartoon depicting the...

Relevant resource on free speech in which students examine how different societies define freedom of expression. Through multi-media sources students look at historical sources as well as current controveries over free speech.

Hateful as these actions may seem to many people, do groups still have the right to protest under the First Amendment? Read about the case that the Supreme Court is considering involving protests at a military funeral.

Summary, resources, and activities addressing the constitutionality with regard to the first amendment which surfaced with the Affordable Healthcare Act.

A series of lessons examining freedom of religion. A few of the lessons are off-site and the links no longer work.

We live in an age of protest. On campuses, in public squares, on streets and social media, protestors around the world are challenging the status quo. But while protest is often necessary, is it sufficient? Eric Liu outlines three...

Read the decision of this landmark Supreme Court decision involving the 1917 Espionage Act Schenck v. United States (1919).

A learning module on the First Amendment. It includes several supporting questions accompanied by formative tasks and source materials, followed by a summative performance task. Students explore how the First Amendment applies in the...

Find out how the First Amendment serves citizens in real life by reading about Daniel Ellsberg, Mary Beth Tinker, and Alton T. Lemon, all of whom were principal litigants in landmark Supreme Court cases regarding the freedom of expression.

In his pivotal inaugural address in January 1941, FDR readies the nations for what he sees as our inevitable involvement in WWII. Read the full text of this infamous speech to understand the nation's mindset at this point in history.

Explores the argument made by Frederick Douglass and his appeals to convince northern whites to oppose slavery and favor abolition. Lesson content includes resources for both teachers and students.

Norman Rockwell is profiled at this site in a format that begins with a brief biographical sketch of his life. His works are then listed by appearance in the museum's database. Each work is presented in thumbnail format with brief...

Lesson briefly describes the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and includes links to recordings of the speeches made by prominent Civil Rights Leaders on that day.

National Archives exhibit presents selected pages of George Bush's State of the Union Address given January 31, 1990. Includes introductory essay on freedom.

Series episode covers the civil rights movement and the struggle for equality in post-World War II America.

Outlines Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work as a civil rights leader from the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 up until his assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Describes the different protest movements, including the...

Image of handwritten copy of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, accompanied by an explanation of the speech's purpose, impact, and role in American history.