Teacher Resources: Lesson Plan
Investigating the Judiciary Act of 1789
Overview
This lesson can be used for giving students an overall understanding of the Judiciary Act of 1789 and the powers it gave to the federal government. It explores a variety of resources including external web sites that have been evaluated by teachers for their resource value. The lesson, which is appropriate for high school junior and senior students, has as its goal is to allow the student a well-rounded understanding of the act, and why it was crucial in outlining the powers given to the federal government.
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 History when studying:
- The establishment of the new government in post-revolutionary times
- The Judiciary Act of 1789
- Article III of the Constitution
Time Required
Depending on depth and breadth of student research, anywhere from one to two weeks.
Materials Needed
- Internet connection for viewing of internal and external links
- Library resources
- Note cards
The Lesson
Anticipatory Set
Give students The Court Defines Itself essay or have them access it on a computer. Read this overview to them to help students understand the historical perspective in which the Judiciary Act of 1789 was written. Explain to students that the role of the federal government was not specifically defined in the Constitution. The Constitution outlined that the judicial branch should include one Supreme Court and lower courts which Congress could establish as needed. Although the legislative powers given to the Congress were clearly outlined, Article III of the Constitution is not implicit as to what the judicial powers should be.
Once a need for an act was obvious, the debate in Congress focused on how much power the Constitution moved from the states to the federal government. Proponents for states' rights were against giving the new courts too much power, while others said that only a strong federal court system could be effective because it would have the power to review cases from lower courts.
Discuss potential problems that could arise if there were no Supreme Court to have final jurisdiction over court decisions. Without the strong federal courts, the country would have had thirteen independent jurisdictions and no single national standard. As James Madison wrote in 1832, "I have never been able to see how the Constitution itself could have been the supreme law of the land; or that the uniformity of Federal authority throughout the parts to it could be preserved; or that without the uniformity, anarchy and disunion could be prevented." This discussion will outline for students the need for the Judiciary Act of 1789 and the perspective the framers took when writing it.
Procedures
- Have students go to: http://www.loc.gov and research the Judiciary Act of 1789. While they are researching, they should look for the following information:
- Why was the Judiciary Act of 1789 necessary?
- Outline the facts of the act. What problems did the act address?
- How was the act designed to channel governmental power in order to serve the purposes set forth in the Constitution?
- What impact has the act had on the stability of our state and federal governments?
- Students should write each of these questions on a note card. When they find information pertaining to one of the questions, they should record the information on their note card.
- After the students have finished their research, they should compile their notes into an essay. The answer to each of the questions above should be one paragraph. Remind students they will need to be concise to get their information into a four-paragraph paper. The paragraphs should be in the same order as the questions listed above. Students may even want to number their note cards to make sure they get them in the correct, sequential order.
Assessment
Teachers can use the following rubric to grade the essays:
|
Grading Element/Total Points |
Excellent (10) |
Good (9-8) |
Fair (7-6) |
Not Satisfactory (5-1) |
No Work (0) |
|
Research |
There is an abundance of information about the topic. Points are clearly made and are logical. All evidence supports the points made. Contains no factual errors. |
There is a considerable amount of information about the topic. Points are not as clear or logical. Most evidence supports the points made. Contains no factual errors. |
Locates and uses general information from a limited number of sources. Points are not easy to follow or logical. Weakly assesses the points posed for the paper. May contain some factual errors. |
Shows weak research, with incomplete or unbalanced topic coverage. Demonstrates little effort to assess the points posed for the paper. May contain factual errors. If a student falls into this category, and they gave this assignment a reasonable amount of effort, conference with the student and allow them to redo either both their research or their paper. Set up a time to do this privately. |
No research.
|
|
Biographical Essay |
A well-balanced, organized and thorough paper. Addresses all of the questions posed for the paper with a high degree of clarity. Error-free spelling and grammar. Conclusions, predictions, and connections were made with a high degree of logic.
|
A generally balanced, organized, and complete paper. Addresses most of the questions posed for the paper with a considerable amount of clarity. Few Spelling and grammatical errors. Conclusions, predictions, and connections were made with considerable logic. |
A somewhat balanced, organized paper. Addresses some of the questions posed for the paper with some clarity. Several spelling and grammatical errors. Conclusions, predictions, and connections were made with some logic. |
Paper is not balanced, complete, or organized. Addresses few of the questions posed for the paper with little clarity. Numerous spelling and grammatical errors. Conclusions, predictions, and connections were made with little logic. |
No paper.
|
Related Works
Origins of the Federal Judiciary: Essays on the Judiciary Act of 1789 by Maeva Marcus
Judicial Impartiality and the Judiciary Act of 1789 by John Thomas Noonan
Rewriting the History of the Judiciary Act of 1789: Exposing Myths, Challenging Premises, and Using New Evidence by Wilfred J. Ritz, et al
Interdisciplinary Links
This lesson could be used to link to the following curricula:
In sociology when evaluating the how the federal government affects the freedoms given to Americans
In psychology when examining how role of the federal government has shaped the rights of individuals today
In government when studying the Constitution and its role in American society