Category: Rights

#406 Reconstruction and the Thirteenth Amendment

1/9/2017

Share Civil War memorial projects

Meet in groups of 3-4 to share the proposal you created for homework. Nominate one participant from your group to share their project in front of the class.

Read the Thirteenth Amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was passed by Congress 31 January 1865 and ratified by the states 6 December 1865. The full text of the amendment is below. It is short, so we will read it together aloud:

Section 1:

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2:

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Listen to historian Eric Foner discuss Reconstruction and the Thirteenth Amendment

While you are listening, practice note-taking strategies by:

Identify and record important ideas and evidence.
Record key phrases without feeling tied to record every word spoken.
Include your own questions and observations.

Watch Eric Foner discuss Reconstruction and the Thirteenth Amendment at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Penn. We will watch as much as class time allows and you are welcome to continue watching at home.

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#304 Public Women

11/5/2016

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Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Photo credit: Library of Congress.

Preparation:

Watch “Crash Course U.S. History #16: Women in the 19th Century” (13:10) (embedded video to right).
Read Foner, 356-59 (The Rise of the Public Woman, Women and Free Speech, Women’s Rights, Feminism and Freedom, Women and Work, and The Slavery of Sex)
Please bring Foner to class.

Opener:

Why do we study the history of women’s rights? Is it about an attempt to expand coverage to her-story? Or is it something broader?

Key terms: Women’s Rights

For each term identified in Foner provide a definition that explains how the term relates to the early women’s movement and – if you’d like – your own comment:

Cult of Domesticity (p. 275)
Temperance (p. 345)
Suffrage (p. 357)

Similarly, we will examine three terms that are often used when discussing the women’s movement. For these, please provide a definition, an example (from any context or time period), and – if you’d like – your own comment.

Patriarchy
Misogyny
Feminism

Discussion:

We will use the key terms exercise as a launching point to a discussion. Some additional questions to consider might be:
- Why might have women entered the public sphere as social reformers as opposed to businesswomen or some other role?
- Why do you think the idea of women’s rights was so controversial in the middle of the nineteenth century? In what ways does it remain so today?
- Identify common expressions of misogyny today.
- Is the fundamental task of feminism complete?

Applying key terms: Declaration of Sentiments

Once you have these items complete, see which of these terms you can find reflected in The Declaration of Sentiments and Rights (external link) from the Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, 19-20 July 1848.

Homework:

Sections HH250-09 and HH250-10 should review the Cemetery Project page and meet next class at the Cemetery.
Sections HH250-01 and HH250-15 have already completed the Cemetery Project and should proceed to homework #305.

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#202 “The Very Essence of Judicial Duty”: Marbury v. Madison

10/10/2016

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Supreme Court justices attend the 2016 State of the Union address.

Preparation

Before class, students will have read Marbury v. Madison (1803) (pared down to only sections explaining judicial review) and Foner, page 237, “Judicial Review.”

Opener

How might the 2016 election impact the Supreme Court? Why (or why not) does this matter to you?

Review homework

With a partner, review your answers to the questions to consider for homework. Together we will review the first question:
- "What did Chief Justice John Marshall say was the chief purpose of written constitutions in Marbury v. Madison (1803)?"

New Jersey v. T.L.O.

Review case information (external link) provided by the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Working individually or with a partner (whichever you prefer), use “Charting Supreme Court Cases” (Google Doc) to complete the top row of the chart pertaining to New Jersey v. T.L.O.
Briefly discuss together.

Justice Thomas on judicial review

The case above is a more recent example of how the Supreme Court conducts judicial review.

Together, we will watch Justice Clarence Thomas discuss judicial review (external link, 3:17)

Marbury v. Madison

Complete the second row of the chart using information from Marbury v. Madison (as a primary source document) and Foner (as a secondary source).
Briefly discuss together.

Justice Ginsburg on the impact of Marbury v. Madison

Together, we will watch Justice Ginsburg discuss the impact of Marbury v. Madison (external link, 1:27).

Final thoughts

Concluding comments (as time allows).

Homework: #203.

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#109 Securing Rights

9/25/2016

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Bill of Rights depicted in cartoon format from 1971 Young Citizen teacher’s guide. Syracuse University.

Front matter:

CIQ reports
Presidential debates
Choose notetaker

Opener:

Class poll: List amendments 2-10 on the board and tally who chose which amendments in response to last night's discussion question:
- "Aside from the First Amendment, identify an Amendment in the Bill of Rights that you think is most significant for safeguarding civil liberties?"
Share your response to the discussion question. Be sure to support your choice by drawing on evidence (past or present).

Background:

The Constitution was ratified in several states with clear expectation that a Bill of Rights would be added as a series of amendments. This was especially the case in Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York.

The first federal elections were held in 1789 and Congress took up the Bill of Rights shortly after taking office.
Rep. James Madison selected 39 amendments from the states that had Bills of Rights, like the Virginia Declaration of Rights (text from the National Archives). However, he carefully avoided amendments that would seriously compromise power of national government.
- Ratification requires passing legislation through both houses of Congress and then ratification in three-fourths of the states.
- 12 amendments were passed by Congress; 10 ratified quickly; 1 was not ratified until 1992 (27th amendment); 1 remained unratified.
- The first 10 amendments are called the Bill of Rights (link to Google Doc).

Close reading:

This means reading the text carefully to understand the meaning not just of the text as a whole, but each clause and even each word.
In this case, I propose we examine each amendment with two questions in mind (other questions welcome!):
- What is the specific right articulated in this amendment in your own words? What are some of the different ways of interpreting this particular amendment? Focus especially on terms or phrases that are unclear or not a common part of English vernacular today.
- Do you think this amendment should be included in the Bill of Rights? Why or why not?

If time allows:

What rights would you add to this list as essential protections that citizens should be entitled to? Note: This might include or be in addition to the 17 later amendments -- not all of which are guarantees of specific civil liberties.

Homework: #110

Notes:

HH250-01 notes prepared by Annabelle Duval.
HH250-09 notes prepared by Ellie Farrington.
HH250-10 notes prepared by Casey Mason.
HH250-15 notes prepared by Saskia Penfold.

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#104 Declaring Independence

9/14/2016

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The opening of the original printing of the Declaration, printed on July 4, 1776 under Jefferson's supervision.

Agenda:

Select notetaker.

SOAPSTone-based discussion:

Use SOAPSTone analysis to guide first part of discussion.

Open discussion:

This portion of class can address many different issues, among the possibilities:
- Why were Americans, who were loyal to King George III in 1760, now in favor of independence in 1776?
  - How were Americans defining themselves?
- Consider the grievances discussed in the latter part of the document.
  - What events do they reference? (Think back to your group research).
- If you were a member of the British parliament tasked with responding to these grievances, what would you say?
  - As a third-party observer, do you think the case for independence was made strongly in this document? Why or why not?
- What strikes you as the most important belief in the preamble?
- What are “unalienable rights”?
  - Where might they stem from?
  - What is a truer type of freedom: the freedom for individuals to be able to choose to give up ones own rights or the protection of some fundamental rights as "unalienable"?
- What is consent important for the authors of this document?
  - To what extent to Americans today consent to governance? For example, does it matter that most Hotchkiss students cannot vote even though they pay sales taxes?
- What questions might you have for Thomas Jefferson about this document?
- Who were the “Americans” represented in 1776?
- To whom exactly does “men” refer?
  - How has that definition expanded?
- Should the Declaration of Independence be celebrated on July 4th?
  - What did the Declaration of Independence accomplish? Who gained liberty? Who did not?
  - What did it leave unresolved?
- Does this document hold up looking back from the 21st century? – more or less than you might have remembered or its reputation in history books?

Discussion Self-Reflection

Save 5-6 minutes at end to complete “Discussion Self-Reflection”

Homework: #105

Notes:

HH250-01 notes prepared by Ginny Barnes.
HH250-09 notes prepared by Ashley Spark.
HH250-10 notes prepared by Firas Kora.

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#406 Reconstruction and the Thirteenth Amendment

#304 Public Women

#202 “The Very Essence of Judicial Duty”: Marbury v. Madison

#109 Securing Rights

#104 Declaring Independence﻿

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#104 Declaring Independence