Unit 9: Civil Liberties

Unit 9 in the Students of Civics curriculum focuses on the Civil Liberties and their place in America.  This is 2-3 week unit plan will help your students understand what civil liberties are, when they were taken away in the past, and the role they play in our society today. 

It's full of engaging and thought-provoking activities that you and your students will love. 

Topics covered in this unit include:

• Civil Liberties vs. Civil Rights
• Freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights
• Privacy rights
• The Incorporation Doctrine
• The Alien & Sedition Acts
• The Amistad case
• Abraham Lincoln's suspension of Habeas Corpus
• San Francisco's "Pigtail Ordinance" in the 1870's
• Executive Order 9066
• 9/11, the Patriot Act, and Civil Liberties
• A lesson on Charlottesville & Confederate monuments
• The ACLU and current Civil Liberties issues

The unit begins with the basics of Civil Liberties and how they differ from Civil Rights. There's a PowerPoint with guided notes, reading, and worksheet, plus recommended video links. 

Next, students look at specific rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the significant Supreme Court cases that either challenged them or helped them further develop.

Following this lesson is a lesson plan on challenges to civil liberties in American History like the Sedition Act and Japanese-American internment.

Students next dive into current issues with a thought-provoking #CharlottesvilleCurriculum lesson the the Charlottesville rally, racism, freedom to assemble, and Confederate monuments' place in modern America. 

Finally, students select a current civil liberties issue that matters most to them, such as disability rights, religious liberty, juvenile justice, free speech, racial injustice, or any one of many more for a research paper or "un-essay" project. 

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