Ruth Bader Ginsburg Artifacts
Smithsonian political history curator Lisa Kathleen Graddy displayed and talked about items recently donated by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s family. She explained the meaning and significance of the artifacts, including one of her robes, her majority and dissent collars, and items from her Supreme Court office.
Description
Smithsonian political history curator Lisa Kathleen Graddy displayed and talked about items recently donated by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s family. She explained the meaning and significance of the artifacts, including one of her robes, her majority and dissent collars, and items from her Supreme Court office.
Bell Ringer Assignment
- Based on the clip, describe how and why the Smithsonian Institution acquired the Ruth Bader Ginsburg artifacts.
- What type of judicial robe did Ginsburg wear while serving on the Supreme Court, and how did both Ginsburg and Sandra Day O'Connor "customize" their robes?
- According to Lisa Kathleen Graddy, what did Ginsburg's collars often "signal?" How did Ginsburg acquire her collars and pins?
- How did Ginsburg's career as a "civil servant" begin and when did she become a Supreme Court Justice? Who was Ginsburg "immortalized" alongside in 2015?
- For what was Ginsburg "famed," according to Graddy?
- What did Ginsburg's dissent in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (2007) "spur?"
- According to Graddy, what will the artifacts allow the Smithsonian to do in the future?
Additional Resources
- Video Clip: Supreme Court Justice Roberts Remembers Justice Ginsburg
- Video Clip: Justice Ginsburg on the Centennial of the 19th Amendment
- Video Clip: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Equal Rights Amendment
- Bell Ringer: Dissenting Opinion
- Bell Ringer: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Lesson Plan: Opening Statements of Female Supreme Court Justices
- Lesson Plan: Women and the U.S. Supreme Court
Participants
Vocabulary
- Antonin Scalia
- Avatar
- Bill Clinton
- Collar
- Constitution
- Elena Kagan
- Jabot
- Jimmy Carter
- Judicial Opinion
- Ledbetter V. Goodyear Tire And Rubber Company (2007)
- Lying In Repose
- Plaintiff
- Pop Culture
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Sandra Day O Connor
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Supreme Court