Supreme Court DBQ: Marbury v. Madison

The curriculum, Supreme Court

DBQs, was made possible by a

generous grant from the National

Endowment for the Humanities through its We

the People program.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies

8. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses).

The Court stated that “(i)t is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law

is” marking the first exercise of this power of the Supreme Court.

1. res nulis

2. writs of mandamus

3. judicial review

4. judicial restraint

5. not sure

Application: Marbury v. Madison (1803) p. 5

Key Question for Marbury v. Madison (1803) p. 6.

William Marbury

Argue whether or not the Supreme Court should have the power to overturn unconstitutional federal laws.

Read background for Marbury, p. 5

Skim documents A-KWhat if your students have no clue about what to do with a DBQ?

Analyze the prompt—–What is power/authority?– Define “overturn.”– Define “unconstitutional.”– Define “federal.”

Teaching the APUSH DBQ Lesson Plan

Overview/Outside Info—what you know before you look at the documents

Yes—The Supreme Court should have the power…

No—The Supreme Court should not have the power…

Evidence Source Evidence Source

Teaching the DBQ Lesson Plan

Document analysis—what you learn from the documents

Yes No

Evidence Document Evidence Document

Three groups:

Group 1: Documents A, B, C

Group 2: Documents D, E, F

Group 3: Documents G, H, I

Teaching the DBQ Lesson PlanDocument analysis—what you learn from the documents

Yes NoEvidence Document Evidence Document

B AC ID KFGH

Document E (and others) could be used either way.

Skim Document J: the opinion of the Court

Read Document K-- Thomas Jefferson’s objection to the ruling.

Suggested Thesis Statement

The thesis statement for this Key Question might be “The Supreme Court should (or should not—depending on analysis of evidence) have the power to overturn unconstitutional federal lawsbecause of _______, as argued in _______, because of _______ as in _________, and because of _______as shown by ________.

Chief Justice John Marshall

Discussion?—what was the most interesting issue your group explored?

Debrief—how might you use this lesson with your students?

Teaching the DBQ Lesson Plan

The Court stated that “(i)t is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law

is” marking the first exercise of this power of the Supreme Court.

1. res nulis

2. writs of mandamus

3. judicial review

4. judicial restraint

5. not sure

14

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