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Handout
Other

International Civil Rights Center and Museum: America's Civil Rights Timeline

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides a timeline of the civil rights movement from the Dred Scott Supreme Court case in 1857 up to the affirmative action policy instated at the University of Michigan Law School in 1992.
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Handout
Other

National Center for Science Education: Evolution and Creationism: Court Cases

For Students 9th - 10th
A summary of the court cases related to the teaching of evolution and creation. It contains position statements in support of evolution education and opposed to creation in the science classrooms from scientific, educational, civil...
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Handout
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Supreme Court History: Expanding Civil Rights: Roe v. Wade (1973)

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS' series on the Supreme Court covers several landmark cases, perhaps the most controversial of which is Roe v. Wade. Read about the case here, the reasons for the ruling that was made, and the exceptions to the ruling.
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Primary
University of Groningen

American History: Documents: Slaughter House Cases 1873

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Review background information about the Slaughter-House Cases then read the complete text of the majority opinion of the court and also the dissenting votes.
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Lesson Plan
Digital History

Digital History: Chapter 7: Affirmative Action and the Case of Alan Bakke [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Article presents an overview of the history behind the birth of 'affirmative action'. Includes a discussion of the Supreme Court case of Alan Bakke v. the University of California and student exercises that test comprehension of the topic.
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Primary
NBC

Nbc Learn: Finishing the Dream

For Students 9th - 10th
A collection of over one hundred archival video clips highlighting significant events in the history of the Civil Rights Movement since the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954. There are ten collections covering...
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Website
Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University: Separate but Not Equal

For Students 9th - 10th
Telling pictures of elementary schools for Blacks and Whites during the 50s and 60s. Discusses the situation in Prince Edward County that led to the Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County court case.
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Activity
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: Jurisdiction of Federal Courts

For Students 9th - 10th
This site describes the jurisdiction of the Federal Court system. The site breaks the court's jurisdiction into three main areas of institutional conflict: Federal Restraint of State Courts by Injunctions, Habeas Corpus: Scope of the...
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Handout
Digital History

Digital History: The Civil Rights Movement Moves North

For Students 9th - 10th
Summers of the late 1960s was a time of widespread violence and rioting in the nation's major inner cities. What was previously thought of as a problem of the South had spread nation-wide and was now demanding immediate attention.
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Activity
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: The Supreme Court: Landmark Cases: Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS provides a detailed overview of the landmark Supreme Court case of Griswold v. Connecticut which dealt with the right to marital privacy. The opinion was written by Justice William Douglas.
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Handout
Other

Missouri State Archives: Freedom Suits Case Files, 1814 1860

For Students 9th - 10th
An exhaustive, searchable website with original court records on 300 legal petitions for freedom by people of color, originally filed in St. Louis courts between 1814 and 1860.
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Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: u.s. Supreme Court Plessy v. Ferguson [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Read this concise discussion of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Plessy v Ferguson. Find a synopsis of the case, the majority opinion of the court, and the dissenting opinion by Justice Harlan.
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Activity
Other

Us Courts: Sixth Amendment Activities

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Activities for the classroom in which students apply landmark Supreme Court cases to contemporary scenarios related to the right to counsel and right to a fair trial. With plan for teachers, word bank, and links to related resources.
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Website
Other

Fred T. Korematsu Institute: Korematsu v United States

For Students 9th - 10th
Here's a biography of civil rights activist, Fred Korematsu, who protested his arrest and conviction in 1942 for his refusal to report to an internment camp for Japanese Americans. Find about his lifelong fight to clear his name and for...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: America's Melting Pot

For Teachers 9th - 10th
As part of the study of Civil Liberties, the students will do research on Civil Rights Supreme Court Cases and amendments that changed America. In groups, students will use various websites, books and newspaper articles to acquire...
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: The Slaughter House Cases

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the historically important 1873 Slaughter-House Cases on civil rights, which became the first Supreme Court interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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eBook
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Classroom: The Pursuit of Justice

For Students 9th - 10th
This book analyzes 30 Supreme Court cases chosen by a group of Supreme Court justices and leading civics educators as the most important for American citizens to understand. An additional 100 significant cases included in state history...
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Handout
Digital History

Digital History: Simple Justice

For Students 9th - 10th
Follow the civil rights quest for integrated schools from the beginning in 1849 through the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education and the struggle that ensued for decades following in the most reluctant...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Affirmative Action and the Case of Allan Bakke [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The history of affirmative action was interwoven with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Read about how the federal government under both President Kennedy and President Nixon attempted to open up jobs to...
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

I Civics: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This mini-instructional activity covers the basics of the Supreme Court's decision that it was constitutional to keep black and white people segregated as long as the accommodations for each race were "equal." Students learn about the...
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Website
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Linda Brown 1943

For Students 3rd - 8th
Read a brief summary of the life story of Linda Brown whose civil rights experiences were the basis for the famous historical case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
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Primary
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: u.s. Supreme Court: New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides a brief summary and the text of Chief Justice Brennan's opinion of the Supreme Court in this case involving libel.
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Activity
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: Landmark Decisions

For Students 9th - 10th
This site details the controversial issues regarding slavery and the effects they had on the Civil War amendments as well as on the fifth amendment. The site discusses events such as the Dred Scott case, the addition of the Civil War...
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Website
Other

In Pursuit of Freedom & Equality: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

For Students 9th - 10th
Teachers and students can find a comprehensive summary of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case. Learn about the myths and find out the truth. The activities offered are especially meaningful. Students can perform a...