The Bill of Rights

The Amendments The Constitution is the backbone of the country and our government. The Constitution is a living document that, through the amendment process, can always evolve with the changing times and needs of the country. It is vital to understand how and why the Constitution can be and has been changed because then one can see where the country has been and where it may go in the future.

What is an amendment??? ●An Amendment is a formal change to the Constitution. ●Article V (five) of the Constitution allows for amendments to be made. ●Amendments have been made to the Constitution in order to change existing laws.

How are amendments made??? ●For an amendment to be proposed, it requires a ⅔ vote by both the House of Representatives and the Senate ●Though over 12,000 amendments have been proposed, only twenty-seven (27) have been made

How are amendments made??? ●Once Congress approves an amendment, it takes ¾ of all the states to ratify, or approve, it

What changes have been made? ●There have been 27 amendments ●The first ten of these amendments are called The Bill of Rights ●The 27th amendment was passed in 1992

The Bill of Rights ●The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments to the Constitution ●Let’s look at each of these ten amendments

1st Amendment ●The 1st Amendment establishes freedoms for all U.S. citizens, including: o Freedom of religion o Freedom of speech o Freedom of assembly (gathering/protesting) o Freedom of the press (news) o Freedom to petition (change problems)

2nd Amendment ●Establishes the right of American citizens to bear arms ●To bear arms is to own a gun.

3rd Amendment ●Protects us from having to quarter soldiers ●Quartering soldiers is having to house soldiers

4th Amendment ●Protects us from unreasonable search and seizure ●Unreasonable searches include authorities going through your belongings ●Unreasonable seizure includes authorities taking your belongings

4th Amendment ●Authorities need a warrant to search your house and/or seize your belongings ●Warrants are only given to authorities by a judge if there is probable cause (good reason)

5th Amendment ●Rights you have when going on trial ●You have the right to be presented to a grand jury ●No double jeopardy, which means being tried for the same crime twice

6th Amendment ●Right to a speedy and public trial with an unbiased jury ●Habeas Corpus says the accused criminal has the right to have the charges against them read to them ●People accused of crimes have the right to a lawyer

7th Amendment ●Right to a trial by jury

8th Amendment ●Criminals cannot be punished with cruel and unusual punishments ●Criminals cannot be given excessive, or crazy high, fines

9th Amendment ●Enumeration, or collection, of rights cannot be denied ●This means everyone has the rights to life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness

10th Amendment ●If it is not written in the Constitution as a right the federal government has, then the power is given to the states ●This means the powers the federal government has are limited to what is written in the Constitution ●If it’s not written in the Constitution, states have the power

The Bill of Rights ●In summary, the amendments 1-10 are called the Bill of Rights ●They say what our guaranteed rights are as United States citizens ●They were not in the original Constitution but were added as amendments

Video: Bill of Rights Hand Trick

Amendments ●Amendments made changes that we felt were needed as time went on and our country progressed ●Lets look at each one separately…….

11th Amendment ●People cannot sue other states in federal courts. ●Ensures that states retain, or keep, their power

12th Amendment ●Outlines the rules of electing the President and Vice President ●States that 270 electoral votes are needed for the President to win an election ●States that if no candidate gets 270 electoral votes, then the House of Representatives decides who the winner is

Reconstruction Amendments ●The 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments are known as the Reconstruction Amendments ●Reconstruction is what historians call the time period directly after the end of the Civil War ●All have to do with giving African Americans rights

13th Amendment ●Abolished, or ended, slavery ●Passed in 1865 at the end of the Civil War

14th Amendment ●Guarantees equal protection to all citizens ●Gave citizenship to African Americans ●The “doll test” proved that segregation of the races was affecting children’s views of each other ●It also proved that segregation in schools was a violation of the 14th Amendment

Violations of the 14th Amendment Segregation in Schools The Doll Test

15th Amendment ●Voting rights cannot be denied to a citizen based on their race ●Gave African Americans the right to vote ●Was violated by the use of poll taxes and literacy tests

16th Amendment ●This amendment created what we know as an income tax

17th Amendment ●Establishes the rules for how Senators are elected ●Instead of being appointed to their positions they are elected

18th Amendment ●Prohibited, or outlawed, the making, transporting or selling of alcohol ●It was still technically legal to drink it! ●Another word for the 18th Amendment is Prohibition

19th Amendment ●Gave women the right to vote ●This is also known as women’s suffrage ●Was passed in 1921 School House Rocks

20th Amendment ●Established a presidential term ●States that the president’s term is four years ●He/she can run for two terms for a total of eight years in office

21st Amendment ●Repeals, or cancels, the 18th Amendment ●It made alcohol legal again ●This stopped gangsters from profiting from illegal activity ●Prohibition lasted for almost 14 years ●This is the only time that an amendment has been repealed

22nd Amendment ●The 20th Amendment states the President’s term is four years ●This amendment limits the President to only serving two terms, or a total of eight years ●Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was the only president to serve more than two terms and died at the beginning of his fourth term

23rd Amendment ●Washington, D.C. gets to have electors in the electoral college ●Gets 3 electoral votes ●Since D.C. isn’t in any state they were not involved in the electoral college until this amendment passed in 1961

24th Amendment ●Prohibited, or outlawed, poll taxes ●Declared that poll taxes violated the 15th amendments right for African Americans to be able to vote ●In the old south at this time there was a lot of poverty in African American communities

25th Amendment ●Established the Presidential line of succession ●Establishes the line of people who will become president if something happens to the President Line of Succession Video

26th Amendment ●Lowered the voting age from 21 years old to 18 years old ●Passed in 1971 ●Vietnam War soldiers protested that they could go fight in a war but not vote for their leaders

27th Amendment ●Passed in 1992 ●Puts limits on the amount of money members of Congress can make

Something to ponder……. With all of these amendments in mind, what current events or issues may lead to the creation of new amendments in the future?