Nazi Germany “A Totalitarian State” - Government has all the people and the people have none

The Bill of Rights The first TEN Amendments to our US Constitution Added in 1791 / George Mason They are a list of rights that ALL AMERICANS enjoy today

TWO CLAUSES ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion… FREE EXERCISE CLAUSE …or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

Roots of Religion -Founders from Great Britain. -Christianity - Catholics vs Protestants -New King… New Faith… Bad News -King tried to control the Church -King forced Christians to believe what he wanted them to believe The Founders did not want History to repeat itself!

Freedom of Speech

Freedom to express yourself through any form of communicating Freedom to express yourself through any form of communicating Speaking Speaking Music Music Apparel Apparel Art Art Demonstrations Demonstrations There are boundaries There are boundaries Physical danger Physical danger Environment your in Environment your in Obscenity Obscenity “Fighting Words” “Fighting Words”

John Peter Zenger  Zenger was arrested and jailed in 1734  Published newspaper articles that criticized the Royal Governor of NY  Jury found him innocent  WRITING THE TRUTH IS NOT A CRIME!!!

Today…  Applies to all forms of news media  Newspapers  Music  Blogs/Podcasts  Television  CANNOT TELL LIES IN AN ATTEMPT TO DAMAGE SOMEONE”S REPUTATION!!!  Libel (if written)  Slander (if spoken)

THE FIRST AMENDMENT R - Religion A - Assembly S - Speech P - Press P - Petition

Freedom of Assembly  Right to gather peacefully to discuss things or express ideas  Homes, Churches, Streets, etc  Example – Peacefully protesting

Freedom of Petition  Right to ask the government to do something or to change a law  Writing letters or calling your representative  Helps the government know what the people want!

THE SECOND AMENDMENT

The Second Amendment In 1787 and Today  2 nd Amendment guarantees Americans the right to own firearms  Founders felt Americans could protect themselves from the government if it tried to rule by force  …But do we need it today?  Crime and Violence  School Shootings  Outdated

Third Amendment  No Quartering of Soldiers!  Government cannot force during peacetime  …Do we need it…?

Thoughts…

The Fourth Amendment  Citizens are protected from unreasonable searches and seizures  Police need a search warrant, approved by a judge.  Warrant must describe specifics of where and what is being searched for.

The Fifth Amendment  Person must be “indicted” before going to trial / grand jury  Protection from…  “self-incrimination” (aka … right to remain silent) (aka … right to remain silent)  “double jeopardy” (aka… can’t be tried twice for same crime) (aka… can’t be tried twice for same crime)  Guaranteed a trial before being punished… “due process of law”  Citizens can own private property  But what about “eminent domain”?

The Sixth Amendment  Guarantees the accused the right to…  A “quick and speedy” trial  Know what they’re accused of  Call witnesses to court and ask questions to them  Have a lawyer  If you can’t afford one, the government must provide one for you

The Seventh Amendment Trial by jury is guaranteed in cases that are primarily about money and property

The Eighth Amendment  Courts cannot set bail that is excessively high.  Protects citizens from “cruel and unusual punishment”

The Ninth Amendment  Americans enjoy many other rights not listed in the first eight.  Movement  Work  Marriage  Education  People cannot use the first eight amendments to take away from others rights.

The Tenth Amendment  Any powers not delegated to the Federal government are RESERVED for the States.  States have power to take action for the people in their state.  “STATES’ RIGHTS”