Teaching Judicial History: Federal Trials and Great Debates in United States History

The Units
The Sedition Act Trials
The rise of political parties and the threat of war raise questions about the rights of free speech and a free press.

The Aaron Burr Treason Trial
John Marshall presides over the treason trial of a former vice president, and the subpoena of President Thomas Jefferson threatens the balance of judicial and executive authority.

Amistad: The Federal Courts and the Challenge to Slavery
A group of enslaved Africans, who broke free of their captors, enter a federal court proceeding that will determine whether slave property rights are protected by federal law.

Ex parte Merryman and Debates on Civil Liberties During the Civil War
In the opening weeks of the Civil War, the Chief Justice of the United States publicly challenges President Lincoln to protect the civil liberties of a Confederate sympathizer.

The Trial of Susan B. Anthony
When the leading advocate of woman suffrage votes in a federal election, a federal court must decide what political rights are protected by the Constitution.

Chew Heong v. United States: Chinese Exclusion and the Federal Courts
A Chinese immigrant’s petition to reenter the United States divides a California federal court and forces the Supreme Court to decide if immigrants’ rights are protected by the nation’s treaties.

The Debs Case: Labor, Capital, and the Federal Courts of the 1890s
In the depths of an economic depression, government attorneys seek court orders to halt a strike, and labor leaders defend the right of unions to organize and represent the interests of workers.

Bush v. Orleans Parish School Board and the Desegregation of New Orleans Schools
The federal courts’ enforcement of the landmark Brown decision provokes a prolonged struggle over state and federal authority.

The Chicago Seven Conspiracy Trial
Organizers of demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic Convention are charged with inciting riots, and an unorthodox trial reflects the cultural and political divisions of the era of the Vietnam War.

The stories of historic federal trials offer an opportunity to explore the role of the judiciary in the public life of the nation. The Federal Judicial Center developed this educational program to provide educators and students with accessible information about the history of the federal courts and to facilitate the use of these materials in classrooms.

Each unit in the program focuses on a notable case that reflects important topics examined in history and government courses at the high school and college levels. The selected cases demonstrate that the federal courts have been essential forums for discussion of significant political and social issues and that a full appreciation of public debates in the United States depends on an understanding of the judiciary’s historical role. The emphasis on trials illustrates how citizens were most likely to participate in the judicial process and expands the traditional focus on the Supreme Court.

Organization of the Units
Each unit includes nine components: a narrative of the court case; a chronology of the judicial process; descriptions of the courts; discussion of legal questions before the courts; a summary of the lawyers’ arguments; biographies of the most important participants in the trial; a discussion of media and popular debate about the case; a selection of historical documents; and a bibliography and list of links to support further study of the case.

Forthcoming: