Website
PBS

Pbs News Hour Extra: Memorial Day, Americans Reflect on Military Service

For Students 9th - 10th
Information on the creation of Memorial Day as well as more current information on soldiers who have given their lives for our freedom.
Handout
Other

North Central Internet News: Trend in Tort Reform Laws

For Students 9th - 10th
"No fault, no individual freedom, no responsibility" - a commentary on Tort Reform and, in the opinion of the writer, a camouflage to end the fundamental right to have remedy when injury or damage occurs as the result of a wrong...
Website
Other

First Amendment Center

For Students 9th - 10th
This First Amendment site, partly news and partly background, contains information related to all the aspects of the freedoms outlined in the First Amendment.
Website
PBS

Pbs News Hour Extra: The Iraq War (Students and Teachers)

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides coverage of the war with Iraq written for teens. Additional content includes student voices and forums.
Article
NPR: National Public Radio

Npr: Jews & African Americans Built Tradition

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the history of the Freedom Seder, a Jewish and African-American tradition. Includes an audio version of the story and a video.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: Democracy in Amer.: Civil Liberties: Safeguarding Individual

For Students 9th - 10th
Do you understand what happens when there are disputes over the interpretation and protection of civil liberties as defined in the Bill of Rights? When do the rights of the individual trump the perceived needs of society, and when do...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Alien and Sedition Acts

For Students 5th - 8th
A great description of the Alien and Sedition Acts, passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798. See how the Federalists tried to hang on to power by restricting voting privileges and infringing on free speech and freedom of the press.
Website
Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch: Venezuela

For Students 9th - 10th
Various articles depicting possible human rights violations by the current government of Venezuela. Ranging from the beating of anti government demonstrators to infringements on the freedom of the press, Human Rights Watch has some major...
Interactive
Bill of Rights Institute

Bill of Rights Institute: Life Without the Bill of Rights?

For Students 9th - 10th
This a click-and-explore activity that puts you in control and ask you to consider how life would change without some of our most cherished freedoms. Life Without the Bill of Rights? invites you to understand the significance of your...
Article
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: The Trials of Mary Dyer (1659 & 1660)

For Students 9th - 10th
Mary Dyer was on a spiritual quest to Boston, to Portsmouth, to Newport, and to the northwest coast of England, where she became an ardent member of a new religion - a Quaker, or a member of the Society of Friends. Determined to spread...
Activity
PBS

Pbs Online News Hour: Virtual Victory?

For Students 9th - 10th
Discussion of the implications of the Supreme Court ruling against the constitutionality of the Communications Decency Act, including give and take on the meaning of the decision for children. Includes transcript of discussion, and link...
Graphic
BBC

Bbc News: Story of the War in Iraq

For Students 9th - 10th
Interactive web page that tells the story of the war in Iraq through pictures, audio, and video.
Article
NBC

Nbc Learn: Free Resources: Finishing the Dream: Learning From Civil Rights Era

For Students 9th - 10th
Over one hundred video clips, culled from NBS News archives, document events and issues of the civil rights era, from 1954-68. Also includes contemporary perspectives on civil rights, with videos of town hall-style conversations about...
Website
Other

Electronic Frontier Foundation

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource is devoted to protecting digital rights through the expertise of lawyers, policy analysts, activists, and technologists and the website contains press releases, court cases and an action center.
Graphic
Savvas Learning

Changing Views of Free Speech

For Students 3rd - 8th
An easy to follow flow chart that shows how the idea of freedom of speech has changed throughout the years. Make sure to click on each box of information to get a more in depth description.
Article
Other

Freedom Forum: First Amendment Struggles & Triumphs

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Website
University of Missouri

Exploring Constitutional Conflicts: The "Clear and Present Danger" Test

For Students 11th - 12th
Modern first amendment law was formed by cases during the WWI era. Were dissent and subversive activity protected by freedom of speech? Examine five cases that answered this constitutional question. Included are the full opinions of the...
Primary
Yale University

The Avalon Project: Declaration of the Rights of Man

For Students 9th - 10th
After a long debate about what should be included in their Bill of Rights, French leaders eventually came to a "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen," seventeen articles that laid out a government that protected natural rights....
Article
George Mason University

Roy Rosenzweig Center: Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

For Students 9th - 10th
After a long debate about what should be included in their Bill of Rights, French leaders eventually came to a "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen," seventeen articles that laid out a government that protected natural rights....
Lesson Plan
Ohio State University

Osu History Teaching Institute: The Alien and Sedition Acts

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Objective of this lesson is to understand the provisions of the Alien and Sedition Acts within their political and constitutional contexts.
eBook
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Rcfp: The Ethics of Recording Conversations [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
This cleverly designed article contains the laws concerning taping and recording conversation in regard to privacy rights. From the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Website
Other

Behind the Scenes: The Mc Carran Internal Security Act

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the origins and impact of the McCarran Internal Security Act which President Harry Truman called "the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press and assembly, since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798." Find out how a fear of...
Website
PBS

Pbs News Hour: The Cost of the War in Iraq (Lesson Plan)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson for examining the projected costs of war, both short-term and long-term costs as of 2003, and for identifying how war funds are spent. Students will gain understanding of the logistics of war and the nuances of creating a budget.
Website
PBS

Pbs Online News Hour: Iraq in Transition

For Students 9th - 10th
Web page with biographical information about key players in the war with Iraq.