Watch the ARCHIVED March 4,10:00am performance Real Media: Windows Media: Ex Parte Milligan

Watch the ARCHIVED March 4, 11:30am performance Real Media: Windows Media: Ex Parte Milligan

Benjamin Harrison Day in previous years: 2007 (in Fort Wayne, Indiana) 2007 2006 2004/2005 2003

Courtroom Events & Teacher Resources

The Court will continue to hold this re-enactment each March to commemorate the anniversary of this case. 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 performances. 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 are invited to participate in the celebration of Benjamin Harrison Day at the Indiana State House on March 4, 2008. A ceremony honoring the winners of this year's Recruitment Poster Contest (see below) will be held in the State House Rotunda, and the recreation of the 1871 Ex Parte Milligan case will be held in the Indiana Supreme Court Courtroom. The performance will be held twice, at 10:00am and 11:30am.

The next Benjamin Harrison Day will be Tuesday, March 4, 2009 at the Indiana State House.

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]
Dissent and Treason: Lamdin P. Milligan, Indiana, and the Civil War Article by Stephen E. Towne	n/a
The 1866 Milligan Decision: Important Then & Now Article by Justice Frank Sullivan, Jr.	n/a
Read the Ex Parte Milligan case from FindLaw.com	n/a	n/a
Biography of Benjamin Harrison	n/a	n/a
Benjamin Harrison Timeline - The Politician	n/a
Benjamin Harrison Timeline - The Man	n/a

State Seal Contest

View the Winning Entry and Other Entries From This Contest!
These entries were submitted by students from Mooresville Christian Academy | Available in Adobe PDF format only

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 an image. Images may be hand drawn only.  No digital images, please.

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.”