|
|
|
|
|
McCormick Freedom Project: TEACHER BULLETIN | February 2010 / Volume 31 |
|
 |
|
Wednesday, February 24 Public Program Table of Nations: Canada Friday, March 5 2010 Seen & Heard National Student Expression Contest Winners Announced Click here to view last year's winning entries Saturday, March 6 Public Program The Noughties: Looking Back on a Decade of Change, 2000-2009 Saturday, April 17 - Friday, May 28 2010 Seen & Heard National Student Expression Winning & Notable Entries on Exhibit at Newberry Library Save the Date: Monday, July 12 - Friday, July 16 First Amendment Summer Institute |
| Educator Resources & Programs | ||
|
RESOURCES FOR MARCH: WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH "Writing Women Back into History" with the Alice Paul Discovery Trunk for Middle School Classrooms March is National Women’s History Month and this year's theme, selected by the National Women’s History Project, is “Writing Women Back into History.” To help you write women back into history with your students, we're focusing a spotlight on Alice Paul, a leader of the militant wing of the women’s suffrage movement, who, along with over 500 supporters, was arrested for speaking, publishing, assembling and petitioning to secure the vote for women. By requesting an Alice Paul-themed Discovery Trunk for your classroom, your students can explore, through a hands-on, object-based learning experience, how 20th Century suffragists used the First Amendment in their struggle to attain the right to vote for women across America. Here’s the story behind one of the Alice Paul Discovery Trunk artifact reproductions, the “Jailed for Freedom” pin:  In 1917, over 150 National Woman’s Party (NWP) picketers were arrested and sentenced to terms of up to seven months in the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia. When their demands to be considered political prisoners were ignored and their concerns about living conditions went unresolved, some of the prisoners, including Alice Paul, went on hunger strikes. On November 15, 1917, on what became know as the “Night of Terror,” prison guards brutalized the women when they failed to cooperate, beating and throwing them in their cells. As word of their mistreatment spread, public sympathy grew. Due to public outcry and the likelihood of successful appeals, President Wilson ordered their unconditional release at the end of November 1917. Later, in March of 1918, a U.S. Federal Appeals court found the detainment of the picketers to be unconstitutional. During a NWP mass meeting in December 1917, suffrage prisoners were honored with the “Jailed for Freedom” pin. The pin was crafted from sterling sliver and depicted a prison gate held shut by a heart-shaped lock. A badge of honor for the women who received them, the pin’s design was inspired by the “Holloway Brooch” which was given to British suffragettes who had undergone similar ordeals in London’s Holloway Prison. Alice Paul’s original “Jailed for Freedom” pin can now be seen as part of the National Museum of American History’s collection. Click here to find out more about requesting an Alice Paul Discovery Trunk, or any other of the individual themes available, for your classroom. back to top |
 Alice Paul, 1923  "Jailed for Freedom" pin Featured in the Alice Paul Discovery Trunk  Related Resources: Freedom Project Lesson/Fighters for Freedom, featuring Alice Paul Women of Protest: Photographs from the Records of the National Woman's Party Classroom Activities from the Sewall-Belmont House & Museum, headquarters of the historic National Women's Party |
|
|
TIMELY LESSON PLANS & RESOURCES McDonald v. Chicago and the Future of Gun Rights On March 2, the Supreme Court will hear McDonald v. Chicago, a case that challenges the city's 28-year-old handgun ban and promises to draw nationwide attention. At the center of the impending maelstrom stands Otis McDonald, a 76-year-old resident of Chicago's Morgan Park neighborhood who set the case in motion by applying for .22 caliber pistol in April 2008, almost two months to the day before the Supreme Court issued its decision in the landmark case, District of Columbia v. Heller. While the Heller ruling found a federal law prohibiting gun ownership for the purpose of self-defense unconstitutional, McDonald v. Chicago addresses the issue of whether or not comparable state and municipal laws are also unconstitutional. The McCormick Freedom Project offers a number of resources designed to support educators who would like to explore the McDonald v. Chicago with their students. Lesson Plans To help your students comprehend the historical context of this case and the impending ruling's implications for Chicagoland and beyond, download our To Keep & Bear Arms lesson plans; middle school and high school versions are available. These lessons promote understanding of the ongoing gun control debate through analysis of primary source documents, including the majority and dissenting opinions handed down in the Heller case. Through these lessons, students are also encouraged to explore the related issue of gun violence, which has been escalating at an alarming rate in many communities. Additional Resources |
|
|
|
|
Not enough time to scour over 35 news sources to stay on top of this
story as it unfolds? Sign up for
Freedom & the First Amendment in the News, our comprehensive
news digest delivered to subscriber inboxes three times a week.
Articles related to this case will be compiled in the 'Struggle
Continues' section of of the digest. In the weeks to come, the Freedom Project's managing director and resident scholar, Shawn Healy, will blog about McDonald v. Chicago and provide insights to both the legal underpinnings of the case and its prospective implications for state and municipal gun laws across the country. Click here to subscribe to the Fanning the Flames feed to stay up to date with the latest posts. back to top |
| Upcoming Public Programs | ||
|
TABLE OF NATIONS Canada Wednesday, February 24 6 pm $35 general admission/$25 Freedom Project members Location: Elephant & Castle, 185 North Wabash, Chicago Registration required Canada and the United States enjoy an economic partnership unique in the contemporary world. We share the world's largest and most comprehensive trading relationship, which supports millions of jobs in each country. Under NAFTA, growth in bilateral trade between Canada and the U.S. has averaged almost 6% annually. In 2008, our bilateral trade was close to $742 billion, with over $1.9 billion worth of goods and services crossing the border every single day. NAFTA, however, has not solved all trade problems. Country of Origin labeling, as specified by the 2002 US Farm Bill, creates unique complexities in the North American market. Join Consul General Georges Rioux from the Canadian Consulate in Chicago to learn more about current trade challenges and discuss what it means to be American-made, Canadian-made or North American-made. In partnership with the Consulate General of Canada, Chicago. back to top |
 What resources are Canadian educators using to teach their students about freedom of speech on the Internet? Click here to find out |
|
|
THE NOUGHTIES Looking Back at a Decade of Change, 2000-2009 Saturday, March 6 1:30 pm FREE with Museum Admission Location: Chicago History Museum, 1601 North Clark, Chicago Registration required September 11th, blogging, the rise of China, reality television—how will the first decade of the twenty-first century be remembered? Join a conversation with historians, journalists, and cultural observers as we examine the major events, trends, and individuals that made the “noughties” an era of rapid change and increased global connectedness. Presented in partnership with the Chicago History Museum. back to top |
 Relive the noughties with this photographic timeline of the decade |
|
To
unsubscribe, please
send us an email. |
|
|
|
|