1st Amendment Heroes

Our First Amendment freedoms are perhaps the most powerful guarantee we have that our views can be heard, even if they are unpopular. Indeed, exercise of First Amendment rights by citizens with unpopular (minority) views often has brought about great social change.

Choose 2 of the following stories below and for each one answer the following questions:

1. Summarize the story of the person (2-3 paragraphs).
2. What First Amendment right or rights did the First Amendment hero use?
3. Did this person do something that was unpopular at the time? How did people react?
4. Did the person’s views come to be shared by a larger number of Americans? By a majority of Americans?
5. Do you think that exercising his or her First Amendment rights caused this person — or his or her family — to change? In what ways?

Compare and Contrast.
After you have answered all 5 questions for each hero. Write 2 paragraphs that compare and contrast the 2 heroes you read about. In the first paragraph identify what the two heroes share in common. What makes them similar. In the second paragraph identify what makes your heroes different from each other.

When you are finished print and turn in your paper. Make sure your name is on top.

Heroes of the 1st Amendment

The Story of Cesar Chavez
The Story of Rosa Parks
The Story of Thomas Waring
The Story of Martin Luther King Jr.
The Story of Ida B. Wells
The Story of Bridget Mergens
The Story of Maya Lin
The Story of Sequoyah