Republicanism People elect representatives to create and enforce laws

The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights Added to appease the Anti-Federalists- those who feared a national government with too much power. Many, like T.J., agreed to support the Constitution only if a listing of basic rights were added right away. Today, it is the first 10 amendments, but it originally included 12 Ratified in 1791, 2 years after the Constitution

Answer in your notebook Why did the colonists fear they would not have these freedoms under a federal government? Where did the colonists express their feelings on their rights being trampled on? From which 3 documents did the Bill of Rights evolve from?

In your own words…. In your notebook, write down what you think each amendment means.

Tweeting the Bill of Rights Work in your group to compose a Tweet for each of the first ten amendments Tweet Guidelines Accurately & briefly summarize the amendment 140 characters or less (letters, numbers, punctuation, & spaces count!) NO outside sources! Use your own words Example for 18th amendment Can’t sell, make or transport liquor.

Turner High School Bill of Rights Mini-Project In this activity, you will explore which 10 rights or freedoms are most important to you as a high school student at Turner. Write ten new “rules” for Turner that summarize the rights you want to maintain at school. Create your own title. Be fancy. Complete a rough draft. All group members must sign final draft. Think about what Turner may look like in 5, 10, 20 or even 100 years. Remember- they must be able to stand the test of time and not infringe on any current school or district rules.

Formal Amendments

Formal Amendments Article V outlines the ways to amend the Constitution An amendment is a change or addition to the Constitution Thousands of amendments have been proposed, but only 33 have been sent to states and 27 have been ratified

Amending the Constitution There are 4 methods The process emphasizes federalism & popular sovereignty. Why? Amendments cannot be vetoed

How long does it take? Average is about 1 year, 8 months Has varied widely, from a few months to over 200 years! Shortest 26th Amendment: voting age lowered to 18 3 months, 8 days Longest 27th Amendment: Congressional Pay Ratified in 1992, took 202 years (It was part of the Bill of Rights that was not ratified in the late 1700s)

Some Notable Amendments The Bill of Rights took a little over 2 years to ratify (Originally had 12 amendments) Only amendment to be repealed? The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) fell just 3 states short of ratification in 1982

The amendments tell us something about society at the time What do you know about what was going on in the U.S. when these amendments were proposed?

13th, 14th, 15th

22nd

24th

26th