Most Americans expect to wake up the morning after a presidential election knowing who won. That didn't happen during the 2000 election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore. The Supreme Court had to weigh in on a messy ballot situation, which determined the outcome of the election. Using clips from Supreme Court Justices, speeches from election night, and officials reflecting on the experience, learners relive that night and consider the impact the 2000 election has on today's politics. 

Concepts

the bush administration, the supreme court, supreme court cases, presidential elections

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• View the concession speech from Al Gore to contrast to other election night speeches
• Use clips from scholars and supreme justices to create discussion questions about the impact of the 2000 election

Classroom Considerations

• Teachers can create a free C-SPAN Classroom account or the use of the following login credentials: Username: students, Password: C-SPANCLASSROOM
  

Pros

• Clips engage pupils in history as it happened
• Videos include a variety of voices and perspectives to examine a controversial issue

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.4 RH.9-10.6 RH.9-10.10 RH.11-12.1 RH.11-12.2 RH.11-12.4 RH.11-12.6 RH.11-12.10