1. THE U.S. CONSTITUTION A PRETEST, FOLLOWED BY A BRIEF OVERVIEW SINCE THE U.S. GOVERNMENT REQUIRES ALL SCHOOLS THAT RECEIVE ANY FEDERAL $ TO TEACH ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION ON 9/17

2. TRUE/FALSE 1. The Constitution guarantees free speech; therefore, when teachers make you stop talking in class, they are violating the Constitution and you should be able to sue.

3. TRUE/FALSE 2. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are two separate documents.

4. TRUE/FALSE 3. The Constitution has parts that are crossed out.

5. TRUE/FALSE 4. Our Constitution is so awesome that other countries have copied it

6. TRUE/FALSE 5. The Constitution is so awesome that they made it so that it can’t be changed.

7. FALSE – THE JUDICIAL BRANCH (THE COURTS) DECIDE HOW FAR EACH OF THESE RIGHTS GO 1. The Constitution guarantees free speech; therefore, when teachers make you stop talking in class, they are violating the Constitution and you should be able to sue.

8. FALSE – THE BILL OF RIGHTS IS PART OF THE CONSTITUTION (THE FIRST 10 AMENDMENTS) 2. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are two separate documents.

9. TRUE – WE CAN CHANGE STUFF. CHECK OUT P485 IN YOUR GREEN BOOK 3. The Constitution has parts that are crossed out.

10. TRUE. MANY COUNTRIES HAVE COPIED LARGE PARTS OF IT. 4. Our Constitution is so awesome that other countries have copied it

11. FALSE. IT’S NOT EASY TO CHANGE IT – IT’S ONLY HAPPENED 17 TIMES IN 200+ YEARS OF U.S. HISTORY – BUT WE CAN CHANGE IT IF NECESSARY. 5. The Constitution is so awesome that they made it so that it can’t be changed.

12. WHAT IS IT ACTUALLY? The constitution is the document – yes, a series of pieces of paper – that forms the highest set of laws in our country. In theory, it states how the government should basically work, and also states what it can and can’t do It is a replacement for the Articles of Confederation, our country’s first attempt at a constitution, which did not work.

13. WHAT’S IN IT? IT HAS 4 SECTIONS: The Preamble, which is an introduction as to what it’s all about and why it was created The Articles, which… Determine the structure of our government Have rules about who can be in the government & what they can do State how we can amend, or change, the Constitution if necessary State that the Constitution is supreme law of the country The Amendments, which are changes that we have made or added to the constitution The most famous group is The Bill of Rights, a group of 10 amendments that guarantee U.S. citizens certain protections from our government Without the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution would not have been adopted The Signatures of the representatives of the 13 states. Without these signatures, it also would not have become law.

14. WHO CARES/WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? American colonists fought to gain independence from England because they didn’t like certain things about how the British ruled their colonies: The British government had almost unlimited power. Even though British citizens had certain protections, the King and/or parliament suspended freedoms regularly The British government made laws affecting the colonies, but wouldn’t allow the colonists to be represented in that government in any way Most colonists were okay with that until the British government started raising taxes on the Colonies, forcing colonists to provide for the housing of British soldiers, etc.

15. WHO CARES/WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? (CONT’D) The U.S. Constitution has created the system which has provided for the prosperous and free nation we have today Do we have problems? Of course. But how many of us really believe that life would be better somewhere else? The U.S. Constitution provides for: The Rule of Law – no one is above the law. No one. Law & order – we are safe and live in a productive, orderly society Protection from abusive government. There are many countries in which the government can do nasty things to you, and you can’t stop them. In theory, that is not true here.

16. WHAT IT ISN’T The constitution is not a collection of all U.S. laws. There are three levels of law: 1.U.S. law (also known as Federal law) 2.State law 3.Local law The higher levels outrank the lower ones if they contradict The Constitution is the very highest level of Federal law

17. DID YOU KNOW… The Constitution was written on paper?