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

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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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.

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

8. 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.

9. -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

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

11. 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

12. There are 2 ways to propose an amendmentOR
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

13. 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

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

15. 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

16. 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)

17. 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

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

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

20. The Fourth Amendment protects us against
unreasonable searches & seizures

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

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

25. 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)

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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”

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

30. 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

31. 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)

32. 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