Freedom of Speech

In this lesson, students analyze a photo of Robert Kennedy speaking outside the U.S. Department of Justice on June 14, 1963, and use it to discuss freedom of speech as a constitutional right in the United States, and human rights around the world.

The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850

In 1850, Southerners succeeded in getting a new federal law passed to return fugitive slaves who had escaped to the North. The U.S. government enforced this law, but some Northern states passed laws to resist it. Sometimes, free blacks and sympathetic whites joined to rescue captured fugitive slaves.

The History of Immigration Law in the United States

This lesson provides a background on the history of immigration policy in the United States, that is the philosophical origins, legal debates, and legal history from the Founding of the nation to the late 1900s. Students will come to understand how American lawmakers viewed immigrants and the reasoning behind the evolving nature of immigration policy.

The Supremacy Clause

Tension between the states and the federal government has been a constant throughout U.S. history. This video explores the supremacy clause in Article VI of the Constitution and key moments in the power struggle, including the landmark case McCulloch v. Maryland. In McCulloch, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the supremacy clause unequivocally states that the “Constitution, and the Laws of the United States … shall be the supreme Law of the Land.”

Using Case Studies in the Classroom

Street Law developed seven strategies for teaching about U.S. Supreme Court cases in secondary school classrooms. Use these strategies and Street Law’s case study summaries to supplement civics education about the Supreme Court’s role in the United States.