1. The Bill of Rights Chapter 6

2. The First Amendment Lesson 1
Essential Questions:
How do societies balance individual and community rights?
It Matters Because:
The rights granted under the First-Amendment are among our most basic freedoms.
Guiding Question
Which individual rights are protected by the First-Amendment?

3. Guaranteeing Civil Liberties
Have you ever seen people protesting a law:
Have you ever wondered why police officers in a movie have to tell a suspect his or her rights
Have you ever thought about who can vote?
Civil Liberties- Freedoms we have to think and act without government interference or fears of unfair legal treatment
Many of these civil liberties are protected under the Bill of Rights
The first 10 Amendments

4. First Amendment-Protects 5 Basic Freedoms
Freedom of Religion
Congress cannot establish or set up any religion as the official faith of the United States (establishment clause)
Thomas Jefferson- The idea of “Separation between church and state”
Americans have the right to practice their faith in the way they want

5. Freedom of Speech
The right to say our opinions, in public or in private, without fear of being stopped or punished by the government for those ideas
Meetings, conversations, speeches and lectures
Words spoken in radio, television
Internet messages, art, music, clothing

6. Freedom of the Press
“Only a press that is free to criticize the government can keep that government from misusing its power”
The government cannot censor new reports
Censorship- the banning of printed materials or films due to alarming or offensive ideas

7. Freedom of Assembly
First Amendment-protects our right to gather in groups for any reason, as long as the groups are peaceful
Meetings rallies, celebrations, parades
Government can make rules about when and where these activities are held
Includes freedom of association
Form and join clubs, political parties, labor unions, and other groups

8. Freedom of Petition
First Amendment gives us the right to send petitions to the government
Petition-a formal request for government action
Written statement that hundreds or thousands of people sign
Could be a simple letter or from one person
Petitions gives us the right to express ourselves to the government
If enough people express their views, the government may act.

9. Limits on Civil Liberty
First Amendment gives very broad rights to all Americans
Not intended to allow citizens to do whatever they want
Must be balanced against the rights of others and the community
Free speech restrictions
Slander – you have the right to criticize public officials,, but you don’t have the right to spread lies that will harm their reputation
Libel – written untruths that are harmful to someone’s reputation

10. Other Bill of Rights Protections Lesson 2
It Matters Because:
Other parts of the Bill of Rights protects the rights of the accused.
Guiding Question
How does the Bill of Rights protect the rights of the accused?
Accused- people officially charged with crimes
The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments protects the rights of the accused
Accused- a person who is officially charge with a crime

11. The Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment protects us against “unreasonable searches and seizures”
No officer can search a persons property or take his or her possessions at will.
Probable cause- the officer must have strong reasons to think that the person’s property was involved in a crime.
Search warrant- officer must obtain a court order allowing police to search property and seize evidence
Search suspect’s home, business or other property
Only items listed in the warrant can be taken

12. The Fifth Amendment
Indictment- a document issued by a grand jury to charge someone with a crime
No one can be tried for serious crime without an indictment
Someone who is indicted is not necessarily guilty
Double jeopardy- putting someone on trial for a crime he or she was previously found innocent
Can’t put a person on trial more than once for the same crime.

13. The Fifth Amendment
Self-incrimination- giving evidence about yourself that could lead to you being found guilty of a crime
The accused has the right to remain silent
This prevents the government from forcing people to confess to crimes they have not committed
Due process –following legal procedures
No one may be denied life, liberty, or property without due process
Laws to be followed must be reasonable
Eminent domain- the right of the government to take private property for public use
Usually land, and the government has to pay a fair price

14. The Sixth Amendment Guarantees other rights to the accused
Requires that persons clearly be told the charges against them
Requires that the accused be allowed a trial by jury
Accused can choose trial by jury of a judge
Jury trial must be speedy and held in public
Jurors must be fair
If possible trial must be held in the community where the crime took place
An accused has the right to question all witnesses
An accused must be allowed to call witnesses in defense
He or she has the right to a lawyer
If they can’t afford one, the government must provide for one

15. The Eight Amendment
Sometimes months can pass before a trial can be held
The accused may be allowed to pay bail and be released
Bail- a sum of money used as a security deposit to ensure that an accused person who is released from jail returns for his or her trial
A judge decides how much bail the person must pay
Excessive bail (too much) is forbidden

16. Determining the Bail Amount
How does a judge decide the bail amount?
How much is the person able to pay?
Type of crime committed, criminal record
Will they appear in court, or will they flee
The Eight Amendment also protects from punishment that is too harsh
Also forbids “cruel and unusual punishment”
Should you get life imprisonment for stealing a loaf of bread?

17. Additional Protection
Guiding Question:
Which other protections does the Bill of Rights offer:
Certain actions taken by the British government were abuses of power
The founders wanted to prevent these abuses
The Second Amendment-the right to keep and bear arms
The Third Amendment- Bans the quartering of soldiers
The Seventh Amendment- Concerns civil cases
The Ninth Amendment-All rights not spelled out in the Constitution are retained, or kept by the people. The people have additional rights that are not spelled out in the Bill of Rights.
The Tenth Amendment- Recognizes that the power of the federal government is limited. Any powers the Constitution does not specifically give to the federal government belongs to the states or the people

18. Civil War Amendments Lesson 3
Guiding Question:
How were civil rights extended following the Civil War?
It Matters Because:
Voting is the way people in a democracy make their wishes known.
Black codes- laws from after the Civil War that kept African Americans from holding certain jobs, gave them few property rights, and limited their rights in other ways
Suffrage- the right to vote
Poll Tax- a sum of money required of voters before they are permitted to cast a ballot

19. Constitutional Amendments
Eleventh Amendment (1795)
Places limits on lawsuits against states
Twelfth Amendment (1804)
Revises procedure for electing the president and vice president
Thirteenth Amendment (1865)
Abolishes slavery
Fourteenth Amendment (1868)
Defines U.S. citizenship; guarantees all citizens “equal protection of the laws”
Fifteenth Amendment (1870)
Prohibits restrictions on the right to vote based on race and color
Sixteenth Amendment (1913)
Gives Congress the power to levy an income tax
Seventeenth Amendment (1913)
Enables voters to elect senators directly
Eighteenth Amendment (1917)
Prohibits making, transportation, selling, importing, and exporting alcoholic beverages
Nineteenth Amendment (1920)
Gives women the right to vote
Twentieth Amendment (1933)
Changes the dates of congressional and presidential terms
Twenty-first Amendment (1933)
Repeals Prohibition (Eighteenth Amendment)

20. Constitutional Amendments
Twenty-second Amendment (1951)
Limits presidents to two terms in office
Twenty-third Amendment (1961)
Gives residents of the District of Columbia the right to vote
Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964)
Abolishes poll taxes
Twenty-fifth Amendment (1967)
Establishes procedures for succession to the presidency
Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971)
Sets voting age at 18 years
Twenty-seventh Amendment (1992)
Delays congressional pay raises until the term following their passage