Citizenship, Due Process, and Equal Protection: The Creation of the 14th Amendment

http://14thamendment.harpweek.com/

Rating: 1, Awesome!

Description: The end of the Civil War in April 1865 brought defeat to the Confederacy, and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in December 1865 put an end to slavery in the United States. Serious questions remained, however, concerning the fate of former Confederates and the newly freed slaves in the restored Union. This site uses images and text from 19th century issues of Harper Weekly. Standards 8.11.5 and 12.5.3

Resource Type: Mix of Text and Graphics.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 3714

Landmark Supreme Court Cases

http://www.landmarkcases.org/

Rating: 1, Awesome!

Description: This site was specifically designed for edcators to teach about watershed Supreme Court Cases. Included are background summaries, diagrams of the cases' movement through the courts, excerpts of opinions, and links to the full text of decisions for: Marburry v. Madisn, McCullah v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Mapp v. Ohio, Gideon v. Wainwright, Miranda v. Arizona, Tinker v. Des Moines, U.S. v. Nixon, Regents of CA v. Bakke, New Jersey v. T.L.O., Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, and Texas v. Johnson. Standards 11.10.2, 12.5.3 and 12.5.4 civics

Comments: This is a very easy to use reference site.

Resource Type: Primary Source Text.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 1927

Rights of the People

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/rightsof/introd.htm

Rating: 1, Awesome!

Description: This U.S. State Department document is a clearly written history of the Constitution and Bill of Rights in America that is written to explain our system to people from other countries. Topics include: Religious Liberty, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, The Right to Bear Arms, Privacy, Trial by Jury, Rights of the Accused, Property Rights, Cruel or Unusual Punishment, Equal Protection of the Law, and The Right to Vote. Standards 12.3.1, 12.3.2 and 12.5.1

Comments: This site is available in Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese.

Resource Type: Secondary Text.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 3825

Supreme Court Center - Find Law

http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/resources.html

Rating: 1, Awesome!

Description: This rich site has several sections. First "The Docket" organizes recent Supreme Court cases by oral argument date. It includes links to lower court decisions, docket sheets, oral argument transcripts, and Supreme Court briefs where available. There is a search for all decisions since 1893. Standards 12.5. all

Resource Type: Primary Source Text.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 2888

Abington vs. Schempp: The Day God Was Kicked Out of School

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/cale_corbett/abington.html

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Despite its flamboyant title, this webstie presents a fair discussion of the Abington vs. Schempp First Amendment school prayer case. The final ruling was based on the clause in the First Amendment against the enactment by Congress of any law "respecting an establishment of religion," which is made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth Amendment. The judicial perspectives written in this case have been used again and again in the last half of the 20th century to help interpret the proper balance between church and state in public education. Standards 11.3.5 and 12.5.4

Comments: This site contains the decision of the Court as well as dissenting opinions.

Resource Type: Primary Source Text.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 49

Americans United for Separation of Church and State

http://www.au.org/

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Americans United for Separation of Church and State maintain this web site to keep people informed on all issues relating to the issue of Church and State. They watch all court cases involving the issue of Separation. Standards 12.5.1 and 12.10

Comments: Good site for general information on separation of Church and State from those dedicated to keeping the separation strong.

Resource Type: Mix of Text and Graphics.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 208

Biography and Supreme Court Cases Under John Marshall

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1801-1825/marshallcases/marxx.htm

Rating: 2, High!

Description: The Marshall Court was important in establishing the supremacy of the constitution, and the balance of power between the states and the national government in the United States through its opinions on early key cases. A summary of six of these cases appear here including: Maybury v Madison, McCulloch v Maryland, Darthmouth College v Woodward, Cohens v Virginia, Gibbons v Ogden, and Cherokee Nation v State of Georgia. Standard 12.5.3

Comments: Key words such as mandamus, writ, plaintiff, defendant, tribunal, etc. are important to understand before reading.

Resource Type: Primary Source Text.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 391

Brown v. Board of Education

http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html

Rating: 2, High!

Description: Read the background and decision in this landmark Supreme Court case involving school segregation. See the power of legal precedent that is set by Supreme Court rulings on lower court rulings, in this case Plessy v Feguson that allowed segregation in schools. Standards 11.10.2 and 12.5.4

Comments: This case is referred to in the standards.

Resource Type: Primary Source Text.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 459

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=87

Rating: 2, High!

Description: On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. In this milestone decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. Standards 11.10.2 and 12.5.4

Comments: This Our Documents site has a facsimile of the original document, a transcription of it, and background information to help the reader put the document in context.

Resource Type: Primary Source Text.

Graphics content: High.

Resource ID: 457

Court Cases Related to the First Amendment Religion Clauses

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/rel_liberty/establishment/index.aspx

Rating: 2, High!

Description: The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center has listed these court cases as offering some understanding of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the religious freedom as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Standards 12.5.1, 12.10

Resource Type: Secondary Text.

Graphics content: Low.

Resource ID: 831