Unit 6: The Constitution Lesson 5: The Bill of Rights

Why do we have a Bill of Rights? It emerged as part of a compromise between 2 groups of people, called… Federalists & Antifederalists

During the Constitution’s ratification process (while the states were deciding whether or not to approve the Constitution), Antifederalists opposed the Constitution’s ratification. They favored strong… state gov’ts and believed that the federal gov’t created by the Constitution was… too strong Federalists supported the Constitution and wanted a strong… federal gov’t to keep the country in order

Federalists: Antifederalists: written into the Constitution. Strong national gov’t Thought that elite people were the most fit to govern Antifederalists: Strong state gov’ts (b/c the states knew their people better) Thought that average people should have great input into their gov’t, and should have their personal rights… written into the Constitution.

Antifederalists: Federalists: Distrusted elites; thought they were corrupt Small farmers, shopkeepers, laborers, merchants Federalists: Distrusted rule by the people Property owners, wealthy, high social status

Federalists campaign for what they want Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote convincing arguments in favor of ratification (ie: they were pro-Constitution guys!) in a series of essays known as the… Federalist Papers.

How balanced were these 2 groups? Federalists: better organized, controlled more newspapers, were in greater positions of power Anitfederalists: more of them

So the Federalists were definitely powerful, but given that there were so many Antifederalists, there was no guarantee that the required 9 out of 13 states would ratify the Constitution.

-To increase the likelihood that states with a lot of Antifederalists would ratify the Constitution, the Federalists promised that, once the Constitution was in effect, they would add a Bill of Rights

This compromise was an agreement to add some amendments to the Constitution that… described the powers & rights of American citizens.

How do you add to/change the Constitution? You add an amendment: something added to a document, such as a change to the Constitution An amendment must first be proposed, then it must be ratified

There are 2 ways to propose an amendment OR 2. 2/3 of the state legislatures must request a national convention Such a convention has never been called 1. 2/3 of the members of both houses of Congress must vote for it

After an amendment has been proposed, ¾ of the states must ratify it The states have 2 ways to ratify an amendment: 1. by a vote in each state legislature OR 2. by calling a special state convention Only 1 amendment was ratified this way

Since 1789, over 9,000 amendments have been proposed Only 27 have been ratified

Since the early 1900s, if ¾ of the states have not approved an amendment within 7 years of it being proposed, the amendment dies Exception: Congress can extend this time limit if necessary

The Bill of Rights As we said, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, describe the powers & rights of American citizens (just like the Constitution describes the powers & rights of the gov’t)

What rights does the Bill of Rights give us? The First Amendment protects five basic freedoms: Freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and to petition the gov’t

The Second Amendment guarantees the right to serve in a state militia & to bear arms

The Third Amendment limits the power of the national gov’t to force Americans to house soldiers

The Fourth Amendment protects us against unreasonable searches & seizures

The Fifth Amendment protects the rights of people accused of a crime It does this in several ways First, it says that no one can be put on trial without first being formally accused by a group of citizens called a grand jury

The Fifth Amendment cannot be put on trial again for the same crime Second, it protects people from double jeopardy Meaning that people who are accused of a crime and judged not guilty cannot be put on trial again for the same crime

The Fifth Amendment Third, it protects an accused person’s right to remain silent This guarantees that a person cannot be forced to testify against himself

The Fifth Amendment Finally, it limits the gov’t’s power to take private property (usually land) for public use

The Sixth Amendment also addresses the rights of people accused of a crime It says they must be told the exact nature of the charges against them They are allowed a trail by jury (though they may ask to be tried only by a judge)

The Sixth Amendment They have the right to hear & question all witnesses against them They must be allowed to call witnesses in their own defense And they are entitled to have a lawyer

The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases Very few civil cases go to the federal court system these days, and only if the amount of money involved exceeds $75,000

The Eighth Amendment protects someone accused of a crime from Not quite “cruel and unusual punishment” but this guy does not look happy The Eighth Amendment protects someone accused of a crime from excessive bail and from “cruel & unusual punishment”

The Ninth Amendment clarifies that the rights stated in the Constitution aren’t the only rights of the American people

are reserved for the states or for the people The Tenth Amendment says that any powers the Constitution doesn’t specifically give to the national gov’t are reserved for the states or for the people

So the Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to the Constitution Since those were ratified in 1791, the Constitution has only been changed 17 times (there are 27 total amendments)

Back to Reality So, why is it a good thing that we can amend the Constitution? Our ability to change it helps it adapt to changing times