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Teaching the Judicial Branch & Supreme Court

  • Activities: 5
  • Quiz Questions: 43

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The judicial branch is the most glamorous branch of government—just check out the stylish robes on the Notorious RBG. Let's take a tasteful peek behind the robes, shall we?

In this guide you will find

  • activities analyzing judicial review, judicial activism, judicial restraint, and other terms that begin with the word "judicial."
  • a timeline activity chronicling the changing size of the court.
  • discussion questions on the Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Legacy, and more scandals than an episode of The Good Wife.

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Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 4-10 Common Core-aligned activities (including quotation, image, and document analysis) to complete in class with your students, with detailed instructions for you and your students. 
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes to be sure students are looking at the material through various lenses.
  • Resources to help make the topic feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the topic and how you can overcome the hurdles.

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Instructions for You

Objective: The judicial branch is by design largely independent of political intervention. Judges serve for life and their decisions are not subject to routine review by the other branches. 

The president, however, possesses the authority to grant pardons and reprieves. The power is virtually unlimited—only impeachments are beyond his intervention. Yet for the most part presidents have exercised this power infrequently.

In this exercise your student will review and evaluate President Gerald Ford’s pardon of President Richard Nixon.

Length of Lesson: One class period + an essay assignment

Materials Needed:

  • Proclamation 4311: Granting Pardon to Richard Nixon, by President Gerald Ford 
  • Gerald Ford's Remarks on Pardoning President Nixon, September 8, 1974

Step One: Show your students Proclamation 4311: Granting Pardon to Richard Nixon, by President Gerald Ford.  Give them time to read it (or read it aloud) and ask them to identify the critical reasons Ford cites for pardoning the former president. They can jot down notes citing the key reasons they notice as they read or listen.

Step Two: Have students identify Ford's reasons for pardoning Nixon. Write these on the board as they are mentioned, and then briefly discuss their validity. The questions below may help to guide your conversation.

  1. If Nixon were to go to trial, what effect might that have on the country, according to Ford?
  2. How long does Ford think the legal process would take? Why is this factor important to him?
  3. Do you think Ford has made a good case for his pardon?
  4. What effect do you think a trial of a former president would have had on the country at that time?
  5. Ford states that it is important for the country to begin healing after the divisive controversy. 
    • Would a trial have delayed this healing?
    • Would it have contributed to this healing?
    • Explain your answer.
  6. Do you agree that  Nixon suffered enough “punishment and degradation” without a trial? Why or why not?
  7. Do other suspected criminals receive similar consideration?
    • Should they?
    • Is public humiliation and loss of position adequate punishment for certain types of people?
  8. Do presidents deserve an entirely different sort of consideration? Why or why not?
  9. If such a situation should arise again, what do you think would be best for the country? To pardon a president, or to have a trial? Explain.

Step Two: Once your students have sorted out their positions ask them to read Gerald Ford's Remarks on Pardoning President Nixon, delivered on September 8, 1974. 

Step Three: Finally, ask students to write an essay in which they take a stance as to whether or not President Ford made the right decision when he pardoned Richard Nixon. They should be sure to support or rebut Ford's reasons for acting as he did and explain their reasoning. 

(Lesson aligned with CA 12th grade American government standards 12.4.4, 12.7.8)

Instructions for Your Students

Some people get elected to the presidency of the United States. Others get there when the current president has to resign in disgrace following a long, drawn out controversy. 

Okay. So only one person has ever become president the second way: President Gerald Ford. He was Vice President when Nixon had to resign after the Watergate scandal.  

Soon after taking office, Ford started a controversy of his own. He gave Nixon a full pardon, ensuring that Nixon would never face trial for crimes allegedly committed during the Watergate affair. 

So... was Ford's use of the pardon power appropriate? Sure, the Constitution places no limits on the presidential power of the pardon, but still—should he have done it? That's what you'll be deciding today. 

Step One: Take a look at Proclamation 4311: Granting Pardon to Richard Nixon, by President Gerald Ford. As you read it (or as someone in your class reads it aloud), try to identify the critical reasons Ford cites for pardoning the former president.

Step Two: With your teacher and classmates, identify Ford's reasons for pardoning Nixon. Someone can write these on the board as they are mentioned, and then you and your classmates can briefly discuss their validity. 

The questions below may help to guide your conversation.

  1. If Nixon were to go to trial, what effect might that have on the country, according to Ford?
  2. How long does Ford think the legal process would take? Why is this factor important to him?
  3. Do you think Ford has made a good case for his pardon?
  4. What effect do you think a trial of a former president would have had on the country at that time?
  5. Ford states that it is important for the country to begin healing after the divisive controversy. 
    • Would a trial have delayed this healing?
    • Would it have contributed to this healing?
    • Explain your answer.
  6. Do you agree that  Nixon suffered enough “punishment and degradation” without a trial? Why or why not?
  7. Do other suspected criminals receive similar consideration?
    • Should they?
    • Is public humiliation and loss of position adequate punishment for certain types of people?
  8. Do presidents deserve an entirely different sort of consideration? Why or why not?
  9. If such a situation should arise again, what do you think would be best for the country? To pardon a president, or to have a trial? Explain.

Step Two: Now read Gerald Ford's Remarks on Pardoning President Nixon, delivered on September 8, 1974. Ford goes into greater detail about how he came to his decision in these remarks.

Step Three: Time to take a stand. Did Ford do the right thing or not? 

Write an essay in which you take a stance on this question. Be sure to support or rebut Ford's reasons for acting as he did and explain your reasoning.