What began as an effort to show a movie by an interest group has impacted financing of federal elections. Did the Citizens United case lead to more "dark money" in politics, or did it shine a light with more speech? Using video clips with pundits and scholars, learners unpack whether corporations get First Amendment rights when it comes to elections. Materials include curated videos and discussion questions. 

Concepts

supreme court cases, court cases, elections, presidential campaigns, finance, the first amendment

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Create a discussion based on the video clip activity
• Develop a class debate using the extension prompts on the effects of the Citizen United ruling on democracy

Classroom Considerations

• Pupils need access to a device with the Internet to watch the videos

Pros

• Video clips do a good job explaining a complicated legal issue
• Worksheet allows class members to wade through the issues in a scaffolded way

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.6-8.1 RH.6-8.2 RH.6-8.3 RH.6-8.8 RH.6-8.10 RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.3 RH.9-10.8 RH.9-10.10 RH.11-12.1 RH.11-12.2 RH.11-12.3 RH.11-12.8 RH.11-12.10