Individual Rights vs. National Security

Kelly Hajdasz

John F. Kennedy Middle School

Utica City School District

khajdasz@uticaschools.org

Introduction:

In times of national crises, emotions run high. One of the most prevalent emotions is fear. Fear for our families. Fear for our safety. Fear of the unknown. We look to the government to respond quickly and to keep us safe. The government, in an attempt to respond quickly, has many times created laws or policies that have infringed upon or straight out violated individual rights of Americans. Within time, the inevitable debate arises: Which is more important – individual rights or national security?

Task:

You are a U.S. senator and have found yourself in the position of casting a tiebreaking vote. The bill before the Senate would increase the security of the U.S. but critics argue that it infringes on individual rights. Before you cast your vote, you must decide if the government has the right to limit individual rights in order to keep our nation safe.

· Explain 3 examples in history when the government restricted the rights of people in response to a national crisis.

· In each of these examples, explain how the government kept the U.S. safe AND how the government violated individual rights.

· In your opinion, is the government justified in limiting the rights of individuals to keep the U.S. safe? Support your position with at least 3 reasons.

BONUS: In one of the above examples, create a policy in response to the national crisis that does not infringe on individual rights.

Process/Resources:

Each student will complete the four steps of the AHPPA to gather information to write their position paper. Please use the attached worksheets (see below). The handouts must be filled in before the position paper can be written. The position paper will require the use of all four steps.

Step 1 – Identify the Problem – What is the importance of national security? What is the importance of individual rights? Worksheet 1,

Step 2 – Gather the Evidence - Explain how in each policy the government’s actions kept the U.S safe. Explain how in each policy the government’s actions violated individual rights. Worksheet2

Step 3 – Causes of the Problems – Explain each historical event associated with each policy. Worksheet3

Step 4 – Evaluate the Policy – Was the government justified in limiting the rights of people at that time? State and support your position. Worksheet4

IN FLANDERS FIELDS POEM The World’s Most Famous WAR MEMORIAL POEM By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place: and in the sky The larks still bravely singing fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead: Short days ago, We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved: and now we lie In Flanders fields! Take up our quarrel with the foe To you, from failing hands, we throw The torch: be yours to hold it high If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915 during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium

· Espionage and Sedition Acts

· WWI

· Schenck v. U.S.

• Red Scare
• Palmer Raids

· Japanese-American Internment

· WWII

· Korematsu v. U.S.

· December 7, 1941

· Terrorist Attacks of 9/11

· Patriot Act

· First they came for the Jews

Evaluation-

Your work will be assessed using the following rubric:

	5	4	3	2	1	0
Paper Analysis	Thoroughly explains the history and resulting policy evenly and in depth	Explains the history and resulting policy but may do so unevenly	Attempts to explain the history and resulting policy	States the history and resulting policy with little or no explanation	Attempts to state the history and resulting policy; may be vague or unclear	Fails to state the history and resulting policy
Graphic organizer	Contains 5 w’s and how that are accurate and detailed	Contains 5 w’s and/or how that are accurate	Contains 4 w’s and/or how that are accurate	Contains 3 w’s and/or how that may contain inaccuracies	Contains 2 or less w’s and/or how that may contain inaccuracies	Fails to list the w’s and how
Position Statement	States position with strong reasoning	States position that is backed with sound reasoning	States position with little reasoning	States position with no reasoning	States position with faulty reasoning	Does not state position
Organization	Logical and clear plan of organization including transition sentences	Clear plan of organization	Satisfactory plan of organization	General plan of organization; may contain digressions	Weakness in organization; may lack focus	unorganized

Standards –

The following state standards were considered and covered in the creation of this web quest.

English Language Arts

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Social Studies

Standard 1: History of the United States and New York
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Standard 2: World History
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the U.S. Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

Computer Technology

Key idea: Computers, as tools for design, modeling, information processing, communication, and system control, have greatly increased human productivity and knowledge.

Core Curriculum Learning Standards

Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6–12

Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.

a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons

and evidence logically.

b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.

Conclusion:

Congratulations! Through careful consideration and thoughtful deliberation, you can now make a more informed decision in the voting booth and intellectually debate the issue of national security versus individual rights.