Watch the ARCHIVED March 5,11:15am performance Ex Parte Milligan

Watch the ARCHIVED March 5, 10:00am performance Ex Parte Milligan

Benjamin Harrison Day in previous years: 2003 2004/2005 2006

Courtroom Events & Teacher Resources

The Court will continue to hold this interactive program each September to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. We invite classroom teachers, home school groups, history clubs and so forth to contact Dr. Elizabeth Osborn at eosborn@courts.state.in.us if you are interested in participating in future programs. For other field trip programs in the Indiana Supreme Court courtroom, please contact Dr. Osborn or visit http://www.in.gov/judiciary/citc/trips.html

Students were invited to participate in the celebration of Benjamin Harrison Day at the Indiana State House on March 5, 2007. A ceremony honoring the winners of this year's Recruitment Poster Contest (see below) was held in the State House Rotunda, and the recreation of the 1871 Ex Parte Milligan case was held in the Indiana Supreme Court Courtroom. The performance was held twice, at 10:00am and 11:15am.

The next Benjamin Harrison Day will be Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at the Indiana State House.

Ex Parte Milligan at the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana - October 17 and 18

Ex Parte Milligan
Historic Case Script and Lesson Materials

Description. Lambdin Milligan lived near Fort Wayne, Indiana, and he opposed both President Lincoln and the Civil War. He was very outspoken in his opposition, and after a speech urging people to resist being drafted into the army, he was arrested and brought to Indianapolis for trial. Milligan was arrested by the military and charged with treason. His trial was held before a military tribunal. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. Milligan successfully appealed his case to the U. S. Supreme Court. Following the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, Milligan returned to Indiana for a third and final trial.

Materials. Download the script and create large cue cards so your students can recreate the trial themselves, then use the lesson plan for further study. This lesson plan includes a timeline, vocabulary, information about key people in the Milligan case, applicable Indiana standards, and more.

The following documents are available in Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF formats.

Document Title	WORD	PDF
Ex Parte Milligan Comes to Life [a scripted trial based on the Indiana Civil War case of Ex parte Milligan]
Ex Parte Milligan Teacher Guide [Lesson and background material for teachers]
Read the Ex Parte Milligan case from FindLaw.com	n/a	n/a

Poster Contest

Rules. Participants must be in 4th through 8th grade. Submissions can be on 8.5" x 11" paper or 11" x 17" paper. Submissions must include a campaign slogan and an image. Images may be hand drawn or computer generated.

Deadline. Submission deadline is February 16, 2007.

View the Flyer for this Contest

You can find information about Harrison by visiting www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org, or by reading some of the following books: ”Benjamin Harrison Our Twenty-Third President,” by Sandra Francis or a biography by Harry Sievers: “Hoosier Warrior,” “Hoosier Statesman,” or “Hoosier President.”