Teacher Resources: Lesson Plan

Clear and Present Danger: Schenck v. United States

Overview

Does the government have the right to limit the freedom of speech in wartime? Students will participate in a debate based upon the Supreme Court case, Schenck v. United States. Using the site's timeline, historical overview essay and questions to ponder, students will research and compile the information and formulate their arguments.

National Curriculum Standards met by this lesson

For a list of standards that this unit addresses, click here.

Ties to Your Curriculum

This lesson ties into United States Government/Civics when studying:

Time Required

1 or 2 50-minute class periods

Materials Needed

Class set of the Basic Rights landmark case, Schenk v. United States on this site.

The Lesson

Anticipatory Set

  1. As a warm-up, ask students to think about individual rights. Do people have unlimited personal freedoms (such as freedom of assembly, speech, etc.)? Why or why not?
  2. Have them write a short statement about their opinion of personal freedoms. They will be revisiting their beliefs throughout the lesson, so it is important for them to write down their thoughts so they can remember what they stated as their beliefs.

Procedures

  1. Pass out the "Battle and Context" sections of the Schenk v. United States case description from the site.
  2. Read through the case together. Ask students to consider the case and write their opinion below their statement on personal freedoms.
  3. Divide your class into groups of four. Randomly place students in discussion groups.
  4. In each group, choose a secretary and a moderator. The secretary is responsible for keeping track of the group's discussion. The moderator should make sure each group member participates in the discussion. Give the group time to discuss the case and how they would rule. The goal for the discussion is to reach a final group decision on the case. If some groups cannot reach a unanimous decision, they can have dissenting opinions. If desired, a class participation grade could be noted during this discussion.
  5. Once all the groups have reached a decision (or have made a compromise/dissenting opinion), have groups share their final opinions.
  6. Did the class agree on the case? If not, have a short discussion on how each group came to its conclusion.
  7. Pass out copies of the sections: "Opinion, Impact/Consequences, and Quotes". Read the content as a class. Make sure to emphasize the "clear and present danger test".

Assessment

Use the last "question to ponder" from the landmark case file and have students write their answer.

"Justice Hugo Black believed that the injunction against Congress making a law curtailing freedom of speech was absolute. No person could be punished for the content of their speech, only for the place, time, or way they speak.

  1. Do you agree with Black, or with Holmes and others who see circumstances in which content can be punished? For example, can Congress enact a law which would make it a felony for a person to discuss planned troop movements on their Internet blog?
  2. What arguments could be raised for supporting such a law?
  3. What objections might be raised?"

Collect students' essays and score on a rubric.

Part A
20--well-written agreement with Black or Holmes; provides well-reasoned support
15--opinion sides with either Black or Holmes, but has limited support
10--opinion is stated with little or no support
5--opinion unclear

Parts B & C
10--strong, central arguments and objections given with support
8--arguments and objections given with support
6--one side is explained more than the other
4--only one side is explained
2--neither side is explained well

Related Works

History of the Supreme Court Timeline--this is an interactive timeline, featuring major court cases, including Schenck v.United States. Links to other related websites are included.

Supreme Court Historical Society--this is a detailed summary of the Supreme Court. It also has links to landmark Supreme Court cases and legal concept, as well as suggestions and methods for teaching students about the law:
http://www.supremecourthistory.org/05_learning/subs/05_e.html

Interdisciplinary Works

Language Arts--expand this lesson into a study of civil rights heroes, using the My Hero link above. Have each student write a biography of a hero and bind the essays into a book.

Art--have students use create a poster mural of the opinion of the Schenck case or the "clear and present danger test".