U.S. Hist. & Gov. Rating Guide – June ’14 [4] Vol. 1
Score of 5:
• Thoroughly develops all aspects of the task evenly and in depth by discussing the historical
circumstances surrounding each of two United States Supreme Court decisions, the Supreme
Court’s decision in each case, and the impact of each decision on the United States and/or on
American society
• Is more analytical than descriptive (analyzes, evaluates, and/or creates information), e.g., Plessy v.
Ferguson: connects the post–Civil War passage of Jim Crow laws in the South that maintained
white supremacy to the Supreme Court’s ruling that the “separate but equal” doctrine as applied to
segregated railroad accommodations was constitutional, resulting in over half a century of inferior
accommodations, degradation, and second class status for African Americans until the civil rights
movement of the 1950s and 1960s; Schenck v. United States: connects the enactment of laws
suppressing criticism of World War I and Charles Schenck’s arrest for distributing anti-draft
leaflets to the Supreme Court’s ruling that speech that creates a “clear and present danger” to
national security can be limited, thus establishing the precedent that government may suppress
individual liberties and silence some anti-war criticism during wartime
• Richly supports the theme with relevant facts, examples, and details, e.g., Plessy v. Ferguson:
slavery; Reconstruction; Radical Republicans; 14th amendment; equal protection clause;
Louisiana; “colored only”; “whites only”; legalized segregation; Ku Klux Klan; Booker T.
Washington; Justice John Marshall Harlan; Brown v. Brown v. Board of Education; 1964 Civil
Rights Act; Schenck v. United States: anti-German hysteria; socialist; President Woodrow Wilson;
1917 conscription; Sedition Act; Espionage Act; fines or imprisonment; interfering with war effort;
first amendment; Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes; unanimous decision; yelling “fire” in a crowded
theater; war on terror; 2001 USA Patriot Act; national security versus constitutional rights
• Demonstrates a logical and clear plan of organization; includes an introduction and a conclusion
that are beyond a restatement of the theme
Score of 4:
• Develops all aspects of the task but may do so somewhat unevenly by discussing all aspects of the
task for one Supreme Court decision more thoroughly than for the second Supreme Court decision
or by discussing one aspect of the task less thoroughly than the other aspects of the task
• Is both descriptive and analytical (applies, analyzes, evaluates, and/or creates* information), e.g.,
Plessy v. Ferguson: discusses the growth of segregated public facilities that resulted from the Jim
Crow laws passed in the South after the Civil War, the Supreme Court decision that upheld
segregated railway cars using the “separate but equal” doctrine, and how that decision perpetuated
discrimination and unequal treatment of African Americans for over half a century; Schenck v.
United States: discusses the laws passed during World War I that limited anti-war criticism,
leading to the arrest of Charles Schenck for distributing anti-draft leaflets, the Supreme Court
decision that upheld Schenck’s conviction using the “clear and present danger” principle, and how
the ruling sanctioned government limits on individual liberties during times of war or national
crisis
• Supports the theme with relevant facts, examples, and details
• Demonstrates a logical and clear plan of organization; includes an introduction and a conclusion
that are beyond a restatement of the theme