1st Amendment Civil Rights Project

Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Throughout history many different groups of people have faced injustices.  Through their difficulty they found strength to seek a change.  Although there were many hardships, they continued their fight to use the 1st Amendment to push forward for their civil rights.

During this project you will grow in your understanding of the 1st Amendment and the people in history who faced injustice.   The focus of your research is find answers to how this group of people suffered and what they did to make a change. You will learn:

• How the people in the movement used the 1st amendment to justify and overcome an injustice for the greater good of mankind

• How this movement helped you understand the importance of the First Amendment and the ability to exercise your rights.

Research Questions Focus:

1. Problem: What was happening to this group to make them want a change? Give examples and details.
   
   

2. Goal: What did they hope to achieve? (List their goals)
   
   

3.  Action Taken: Using the 1st Amendment rights of assembly, press, petition and speech:

   1. Speech: How did they use their right to speak freely?
      
      

   2. Assembly: How did they use their right to gather peacefully?
      
      

   3. Press: How did they use their right to share their ideas (in newspapers, speeches, books, etc.)
      
      

   4. Petition: How did they use their right to petition the government to fix what was unfair? Examples : 

      1. Lawsuits,

      2. Petitions (a document requesting action from the government) 

      3. Lobby (work with government leaders to make rules to support you)

4. Key People: Who helped this group make a difference? How?

5. Official Change: What new laws/amendments were made because of this group’s fight? Explain

6. Future: What problems did this group still face after the laws were made?

There are many great resources you can use to gather information for this project including: information books, ebooks, library databases, websites and videos.  Please use the suggested resources for research.  If you plan to use the Google search engine to locate sources please make sure you are using reliable sites.

Environmental Movement