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Lizzie Borden Webquest

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" Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her father 40 whacks; and when she saw what she had done, she gave her mother 41."

 

This rhyme echoed through the town of Fall River, Mass. following one of the most interesting murder trials in American history. Using late nineteenth century sources you are to investigate this murder and reach a decision based on the evidence. Did Lizzie Borden eliminate her father and step-mother on that hot summer's day? If she did what caused the justice system of the time to fail and the jury to render a verdict of not guilty? Or was she truly not guilty and just circumstantial evidence makes her appear to be guilty of the heinous crimes of patricide and matricide.

 

Your Task

 

You will be divided into groups of 6. Each group will either represent the prosecution or the defense involve in the Lizzie Borden trial. We can include historians and others in this group because this can be called a "cold case" file, and it is being examined from a historical perspective.

 

Question to help guide your research:

1.     In the case of Fall River, Mass. vs. Lizzie Borden, did the legal system or overt sexism of the time obtain her verdict of not guilty?

 

Roles :

Prosecution : Forensic investigator, District Attorney, Witnesses (2), Cultural Anthropologist, & a Historian.

Defense : has the same roles except the District Attorney is replaced with a Defense Attorney.  

Suggested Web sites to investigate [ Be sure to look for others not appearing on this list]  

        Lizzie Andrew Borden, Virtual Museum and Library

                  (Includes Testimonies)

        The Virtual Lizzie Borden House

         Inductive Approaches to History: The Lizzie Borden Case

        Law Buzz - Lizzie Borden

        The Crime Library

        Anatomy of a Murder: A Trip Through Our Nation’s Legal

                Justice System

        Biography of Lizzie Borden

           Lizzie Borden . com

 

Product produced by each role:

Attorneys = a brief for the court Witnesses = written deposition

Cultural Anthropologists = Position paper as to how cultural misconceptions can influence the legal system

Historian = Position paper as to the role of women in the 19th Century society

Time schedule:

Day 1 = role assignment & research time

Day 2 = research time

Day 3 = Team meeting time [ All defense & prosecution groups will meet together and discuss what they have discovered.]

Day 4 = Team meeting time : Teams should design the best information to support their positions at this time.]

Day 5 = The Press Conference: Each side will present their briefs, position papers, & testimony.

Follow-up assignment: each student will write either a letter to the editor or a newspaper article as to their decision on the merits of the Lizzie Borden ruling.

Assignments you will be graded on:

1.You research paper: brief, position paper or witness deposition

2.Your editorial or newspaper article

3. The quality of your sides oral presentation on the day of the press conference.

 

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