Lesson Plan, Teaching Guide Landmark Asian American Supreme Court Cases: Who Are Wong Kim Ark, Bhagat Singh Thind, and Gong Lum?
- Grade Level 6th-12th Grade
- Time Period Early 1900s - 1949
Introduction
This lesson plan focuses on important Supreme Court cases involving Asian Americans fighting for their civil rights related to citizenship, due process, and equal protection under the law (14th Amendment).
In the discussion of civil rights in America, and especially concerning the 14th Amendment, little attention is given to the significant role that Asian Americans have played in affirming basic civil rights. This lesson aims to show the role played by Asian Americans in shaping American law.
Essential Questions
What rights were being denied to Chinese and Asian Americans that they felt compelled to challenge?
How did the laws that treated Chinese and other Asians differently come about?
What were the consequences of each of these decisions in the long term?
How does each of these cases symbolize an aspect or aspects of being American?
What is the relevance of these cases today?ss