What impact did the Magna Carta have on the U.S. Constitution and the shaping of the 14th Amendment? In the following lesson plan students will trace both the origins and results of the Magna Carta in the context of the U.S. Constitution and the 14th Amendment. With a particular emphasis placed on the due process of law, students will analyze and organize primary source documents ranging from a British Court of Common Pleas from 1610 to Chief Justice Warren’s notes on Miranda v. Arizona in 1966. After looking at the history of due process, students will consider a contemporary case in which police use of a robot to kill a man after a standoff is challenged. Students will learn through inquiry and recognize that historical events do not exist in a vacuum, but rather have long term and profound repercussions.
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