Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 eLesson Celebrate Black History month with materials on two landmark Supreme Court cases on the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. How could the same words have been interpreted so differently in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and sixty years later in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)? Read some background Read more…

Brown v. Board (1954): The Issue Endures  

Brown v. Board of Education, Document I: Unanimous Majority Opinion Do you use document-based questions in your classroom? This winter the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging a document-based question on the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along with some questions Read more…

Brown v. Board of Education, Document H: Segregation Laws Map (1953) Do you use document-based questions in your classroom? This winter the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging a document-based question on the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along with some Read more…

Brown v. Board of Education, Document D: Dissenting Opinion, Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Do you use document-based questions in your classroom? This fall the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging a document-based question on the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along Read more…

Brown v. Board of Education: Document C, Majority Opinion, Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Do you use document-based questions in your classroom? This fall the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging a document-based question on the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along Read more…

Brown v. Board of Education: Document B, Section of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) Do you use document-based questions in your classroom? This fall the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging a document-based question on the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along Read more…

Fire in a Crowded Theater – The Origins of a Limit on Free Speech In discussions of the First Amendment and the limits of free speech, it is common to hear references to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’s famous quote from Schenck v. U.S. 1919 – “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect Read more…

Brown v. Board of Education: Document A, Virginia Criminal Code (1847) Do you use document-based questions in your classroom? This fall the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging a document-based question on the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along with some Read more…

Bill of Frights – Plea Bargaining What could be more frightening than violations of our constitutional rights? But is everything that appears to be a violation actually one? Join us as we explore some current constitutional issues. We hope you enjoy our Bill of Frights! When accused of a crime, every citizen possesses the right Read more…