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Lesson

John Marshall’s Landmark Cases DBQ

Duration
70 min
Grade
9–12
Published
Nov 15, 2020
A seated man with gray hair and a beard holds a book, dressed in 19th-century formal clothing.
This Lesson should follow the Marbury v. Madison Decision Point.

Objectives:

  • Students will systematically analyze primary sources by answering targeted sourcing and comprehension questions for each document.
  • Students will articulate the main contributions to constitutional interpretation of Chief Justice John Marshall by writing a thesis statement that responds to the following prompt: Evaluate the contributions to the power of the federal government by John Marshall as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. OR, alternate prompt: To what extent does John Marshall deserve the title “The Great Chief”?

Materials

Lesson Components

ActivityJohn Marshall DBQ Student Handout

Four primary sources that help students explore the juris prudence of Chief Justice John Marshall in a DBQ format. This activity concludes with a thesis writing exercise.

Lesson plan

70 minClick a phase to open it

More Information

This DBQ builds on skills used in previous units.

Seven documents are used in this DBQ to prepare students for the APUSH Exam DBQ format. Teachers may choose to use the provided questions as scaffolds for students or remove them as best suits their teaching situation. The documents may be used in isolation or in combinations as the teacher sees fit.

It is recommended that, after the warm-up activity analyzing a few relevant constitutional passages, the teacher model the process of analyzing the landmark case excerpts by working through Document 1, Marbury v. Madison (1803) with the class as a whole, and then have students complete the remaining document analyses individually or in groups.

Standards

Advanced Placement

  • Topic 4.2 · The Rise of Political Parties and the Era of Jefferson
  • Theme · Politics and Power
  • Learning Objective · Unit 4B
  • Historical Development · 4.1.I.B
  • Reasoning Skill · Sourcing and Situation

Check whether this resource aligns with your state’s standards →

Related materials

A portrait of John Marshall with a background about Native Americans' struggles in the 1820s and 1830s.
ActivityA Deep Stain on the American Character: John Marshall and Justice for Native Americans – Handout A: Narrative
Text document excerpt discussing Justice John Marshall Harlan's dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896.
ActivityHandout E: John Marshall Harlan, Dissent from Plessy v. Ferguson 1896
SCHH- Gideon
VideoTenth Period | John Marshall’s Decision, Marbury v. Madison

BRI staff members, Kirk Higgins and Rachel Davison Humphries were joined by special guests Dr. Joyce Lee Malcolm, Professor of Constitutional Law and the Second Amendment at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and Jotwan Daniels, 2019 BRI Teacher Council Member and Master Educator from Breckenridge, CO, as they discuss the famous Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison. They analyze the impact of the case and discuss pedagogy techniques in a rousing discussion.