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The Highest Court in the Land: How Has the Supreme Court Evolved Through History?

It’s uncommon to look at the front page of any newspaper and not see an article about impending Supreme Court nominations and debates. But was this always the case? Were proceedings of the Supreme Court as publicized throughout American history as they are now? In this week’s episode of Fabric of History, Mary, Kirk, and Haley explore what the Constitution actually says about the Supreme Court and how history has interpreted and evolved its role ever since.

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Curriculum

Supreme Court Document-Based Questions

31 Lessons

Supreme Court DBQs: Exploring the Cases that Changed History helps your students develop the critical thinking skills they need to evaluate the Court's rulings and the impact of these rulings on American society. Your students will analyze primary sources spanning five centuries--colonial codes of law, the Federalist Papers, the Constitution, contemporary photographs, case law, oral arguments, the Court's majority and dissenting opinions, and others. Key tasks for each DBQ will lead them towards an understanding of the role played by the Court and an assessment of its decisions. Each DBQ also contains a section called "The Issue Endures," which highlights current applications of the case issue.