Establishing Justice

Why is the Bill of Rights so important to American's civil liberties? An important resource helps scholars find these answers and more by reading through state and federal constitutions to discover their own civil liberties. The activity...

In an engaging activity on universal and unalienable rights, learners work in groups to establish a democratic nation and determine what principles they want to protect to ensure a democratic society. They conduct a "rights auction" in...

As part of a study of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, class members examine four Supreme Court decisions—Gitlow v. New York, Mapp v. Ohio, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Griswold v. Connecticut—that incorporated the due...

What's the difference between civil and criminal law? How do the court proceedings differ in these two types of trials? How do the standards of proof differ? Why do these differences exist? As part of their examination of the...

While World War II changed the international order, it also led to a fundamental shift in the concept of civil rights within the United States. Using a video and discussion questions, class members consider the effects the war had to the...

Learners examine the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court cases in order to broaden their understanding of the US Judicial System. They research a variety of textual and Internet resources to create a tri-fold brochure,...

Young citizens consider the American civil rights movement as part of the global struggle for human rights. After using a timeline activity to learn about the major events in the civil rights movement, class members study...

In groups, learners review one of four selected Supreme Court cases. The whole class watches a video introducing the four cases, and then small groups dive into Internet research in an attempt to write a two-paragraph summary of the...

Imagine being an ex-slave after the Civil War and not understanding if you were considered a citizen of the United States. Scholars analyze the early Supreme Court battles in civil rights cases and especially the Fourteenth Amendment....

How much intervention is appropriate for America to take in cases of human rights violations? Class members ponder a question that has lingered since the birth of America with a series of primary sources that reflect the degree to which...