Editorial Assignment
Students will read and annotate an excerpt from a speech in support of a permanent world court by Robert H. Jackson and an editorial in opposition to such a court by the Omaha World-Herald.
Students will assume the role of Robert H. Jackson and write an editorial arguing that the United States should ratify the International Criminal Court treaty. The assignment can be found here.
Students will assume the role of Robert H. Jackson and write an editorial arguing that the United States should ratify the International Criminal Court treaty. The assignment can be found here.
Enrichment Questions
Upon completion of the lesson, teachers may engender further class discussion by exploring the following questions. A key with sample answers can be found here.
- Do people always pursue their self-interest, as is assumed by the Hippie and Hobbes game?
- Should government have the power to pass any law so long as it reduces levels of aggression?
- Are current international institutions capable of resolving the Pacifist's Dilemma?
- Do you personally disagree with the arguments put forth in your Jackson editorial? If so, why?
Interdisciplinary Connections
- ELA - Read The Oresteia trilogy by Aeschylus. Discuss how the establishment of law, via the jury system, brings an end to the cycle of violence that plagued the House of Atreus.
- Economics - Examine the concepts of costs and benefits, utility, and the tragedy of the commons through Prisoner's Dilemmas, such as the Pacifist's Dilemma.
- Biology - Explore the role of the Pacifist's Dilemma in evolution and its implications for how we conceive of the notion of the survival of the fittest (Poundstone 230-251).
- Math - Research the biographies of mathematicians who developed game theory, such as John von Neumann and John Nash.
Bibliography
Ehrenfreund, Nobert. The Nuremberg Legacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillian, 2007.
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Jackson, Robert. Speech prepared for Inter-American Bar Association. Havana, Cuba: March 27, 1941.
Jackson, Robert. Opening statement at Nuremberg. Nuremberg, Germany: November 21, 1945.
Jarrow, Gail. Robert H. Jackson. Pennsylvania: Calkins Creek, 2008.
Pinker, Steven. The Better Angels of Our Nature. New York: Viking, 2011.
Poundstone, William. Prisoner's Dilemma. New York, Doubleday, 1992.
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Jackson, Robert. Speech prepared for Inter-American Bar Association. Havana, Cuba: March 27, 1941.
Jackson, Robert. Opening statement at Nuremberg. Nuremberg, Germany: November 21, 1945.
Jarrow, Gail. Robert H. Jackson. Pennsylvania: Calkins Creek, 2008.
Pinker, Steven. The Better Angels of Our Nature. New York: Viking, 2011.
Poundstone, William. Prisoner's Dilemma. New York, Doubleday, 1992.
Additional Robert H. Jackson Resources
For more information on Robert H. Jackson, please visit the Robert H. Jackson Center website at http://www.roberthjackson.org/.