Sources of our Rights 1.3

Essentials  Essential Standards   Evaluate the rights of individuals in terms of how well those rights have been upheld by democratic government in the United States.   Learning Target   I know the foundational documents that the United States’ Constitution was built on.

1. Documents  Magna Carta: took away power from monarch: 1215  English Bill of Rights: 1689  Certain rights to citizens  Declaration of Independence: 1776  Constitution: 1789  Bill of Rights: 1789  Added for protection against gov’t abuses

2. Laws  Gov’t laws  Federal, state, local

3. Courts  Rulings in courts, precedents (has this happened before?)  Decisions in court interpret meaning (2 kinds) of Constitution  Loose: gov’t has more power than Constitution gives  Strict: gov’t has ONLY power written

Rights 1) Security Rights  Protect us from the government  some rights deny certain powers to the gov’t  Article I: limitations on gov’t power

Rights cont. 2) Liberty Rights  Protect our civil rights (rights given to all citizens in a democracy)  Rights for the accused  Most are listed in Bill of Rights  5/10 Bill of Rights protect the accused.

Rights cont. 3) Equality Rights  All persons are treated the same  14th Amendment—all protected by the law  15 th : suffrage (voting) for black males  19 th : suffrage for women

Testing our Rights  Prejudice: unfair thoughts to a group of people  Discrimination/racism: unfair actions  14 th Amendment: protects against both

Rights debated  Affirmative action: gives “edge” to minority groups and women  Work, college  Reverse racism?  Bakke vs University of California   Glass ceiling: certain groups do not rise in status in jobs, businesses