Reading the Language of Law as Data

Across 15 historical US laws, students analyze patterns in justification language to discover how governments frame restriction as protection, pairing a categorical language dataset with primary-source excerpts to argue why a law's self-justification matters — while acknowledging what word-pattern data leaves out.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Subject Area U.S. History
Grade Band 11-12
Class Time Estimate 1
Data Science Focus
  • 11-12.A.1.1a Recognize that multiple types of data can provide valuable insights into the same inquiry.
  • 11-12.A.1.4a Design and compare alternative data representations, justifying choices to address inherent uncertainty.
Standards Alignment
  • C3.D2.Civ.12.9-12
  • C3.D2.Civ.8.9-12
  • C3.D4.1.9-12
Prerequisites Ability to read a short legal or primary-source excerpt; a basic idea of what a law is meant to do.
Version 1.0
Date Created July 9, 2026
Last Updated July 9, 2026