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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...
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Lesson Plan
Other

Supreme Court Historical Society:texas v. Johnson (1989)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A complete unit on constitutional law that uses the court case of Texas vs. Johnson, in which Gregory Lee Johnson was convicted of desecration of a venerated object after lighting an American flag on fire. The case became an argument...
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Interactive
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Classroom: Freedom of Religion

For Students 9th - 10th
Check out this interactive timeline on the history of freedom of religion in the United States.
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Unit Plan
Choices Program, Brown University

Choices: The Struggle to Define Free Speech: From Skokie to Paris

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Aaron Swartz: Address at F2 C: Freedom to Connect Conference

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a speech by Aaron Swartz "How We Stopped SOPA" delivered on May 21, 2012, at the Freedom to Connect Confence. He explains their efforts to stop the passage of the COICA: The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeit Act. It...
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Primary
Teaching American History

Teaching American History: Speech on Veto of the Mc Carran Internal Security Act

For Students 9th - 10th
Read this impassioned speech given by President Harry S. Truman in which he gave his justification for vetoing the McCarran Internal Security Act, claiming that it would help Communists rather than root them out, as the act intended.
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Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: American Exp: Southern Response to Civil Rights Speech, 1948

For Students 9th - 10th
In response to Harry Truman's views of civil rights, a Democrat from Mississippi voices his displeasure in the concept of a Civil Rights Movementto grant equal freedoms to all citizens of the United States.
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Activity
Other

Streetlaw: Rights in the Community

For Students 9th - 10th
This website provides several links and introductory information on the Constitution, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, expression in special places, freedom of religion, due process, the right to privacy, discrimination, and...
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Activity
Scholastic

Scholastic: Democracy for Kids: Understanding Rights and Responsibilities

For Students 3rd - 8th
Scholastic offers a series of printable panels and classroom activities in PDF format that focus on a U.S. citizen's right to express his- or herself. Content focuses on the Bill of Rights and its provisions for freedom of religion,...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Yearning to Breathe Free: Mary "Mother" Jones and Child Labor [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that examines the life of activist Mary "Mother" Jones and the methods she used to change conditions for laborers, especially for child laborers....
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Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the March on Washington on August 28, 1963 where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
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Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1945 1980: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the 1963 protest that culminated with Dr. Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech.
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Website
University of Missouri

Exploring Constitutional Conflicts: Regulation of Fighting Words and Hate Speech

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the constitutional conflict regarding the question of whether the first amendment limits the government's ability to regulate fighting words or hateful speech? This source contains background information and links to historical...
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Activity
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Picturing America: Rockwell: Freedom of Speech [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Information about and analysis of a characteristic work by Norman Rockwell inspired by Franklin's state-of-the-union address delivered in 1941.
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Primary
University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota Human Rights Library: "The Four Freedoms"

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
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Primary
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: u.s. Supreme Court: Times Film Corp. V. City of Chicago (1961)

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
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Interactive
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Truman vs. Dewey

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about one of the most surprising political defeats in American history. The election of 1948 between President Harry Truman and Thomas Dewey was supposed to be a landslide. Find out about Truman's stand on policies, and read about...
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Primary
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: The Peacemaker

For Students 9th - 10th
Find a document containing President Wilson's plan for peace after World War I, known as his Fourteen Points, as well as photographs with captions, and the audio of one of his speeches in which he lays out his ideas and garners support...
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Lesson Plan
Huntington Library

Huntington Library: New Birth of Freedom: Lincoln's Presidency and the Civil War

For Teachers 8th
In this lesson plan, 8th graders will examine primary source letters and speeches to learn about the lives of soldiers and leaders during the Civil War and about Lincoln as a leader. Student resources are included.
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Handout
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: u.s. Constitution: First Amendment Protections

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource contains an annotated look at the different topics covered within the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Click on any subtopic link for in-depth information about that part of the First Amendment.
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Website
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Classroom: First Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
Annenberg Classroom summary and text of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. Links to relevant news articles, video, and timeline.
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Website
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Rcfp: The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

For Students 9th - 10th
This non-profit organization collects instances of First Amendment and Freedom of Information cases throughout the United States and reports on the facts and outcomes. An interesting cross section from this section of our law.
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Website
Other

Article 19: Promoting Freedom of Expression

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses right to information and freedom of expression issues. Bright, colorful, nicely designed with many resources.
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Primary
This Nation

This nation.com: A Plea for Free Speech in Boston

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the Douglass Archive provides the text of Frederick Douglass's speech "A Plea for Free Speech in Boston."

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