CHAPTER 4

The Bills of Rights

First Amendment Freedoms

Protects 5 Basic Freedoms of the American Life: Freedom of Religion Freedom of Speech Freedom to Press Freedom of Assembly Freedom to Petition

Freedom of Religion

Prohibits Congress from establishing an official religion in the United States.

Protects Americans to practice their own faith.

Protects Americans from having the government interfere with their beliefs.

Freedom of Speech

Guarantees that we can say what is on our minds, in public or in private, without fear or punishment by the government.

Examples: Face to face discussions Telephone conversations Lectures Radio and TV broadcasts

Freedom of the Press

Americans can express themselves in print as well as in speech.

Examples: Books Newspapers Magazines Radio and TV Computer Networks

Freedom of Assembly

You may gather in groups as long as the assemblies are peaceful.

May attend: Meetings, parades, political rallies, and public

celebrations. May form:

Social clubs, political parties, labor unions, and other organizations.

Freedom to Petition

We have the right to petition (A formal request) the government.

By doing so we express our idea to the government .

Examples of petitions: A simple letter Email

Limits to First Amendment Freedoms

Slander- If a lie is spoken

Libel- If a lie is printed

When are our 1st Amendment Rights revoked?

Section 2: Other Guarantees in the Bill of Rights

The Forth Amendment:-The Fourth Amendment protects Americans“Against unreasonable searches and seizures.”

-A law enforcement official can search or take property without good cause.

-A search warrant is a court order allowing law enforcement officers to search a suspect’s home or business and take specific items as evidence.

The Fifth Amendment

No trial may be held unless a person is formally charges, or indicted by a grand jury.

A person found not guilty may not be put on trial again for the same crime (Double Jeopardy).

Accused persons may not be forced to testify against themselves.

Due process Eminent Domain Compensation for deprivation of property.

The Sixth Amendment

Every person has a right to a jury, a quick and speedy trial, and to be told the nature of the charges that are brought up against them.

The individual may question any witnesses against them.

Every person has the chance to have a lawyer and if a person can not find or afford one, a lawyer will be provided and paid for by the federal government.

The Eighth Amendment

Bail is a sum of money used as a security deposit.

-Measures the crime committed to the punishment an individual receives.

-Protects against cruel and unusual punishment.

Amendments that protect our rights

The Second Amendment:

The right to bear arms. The government may pass laws to control, but

not prevent the possession of weapons.

The Third Amendment

In peacetime, soldiers may not move into private homes without the consent of the homeowner.

The Seventh Amendment

Unlike the 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments which deal with criminal cases, the 7th concerns civil cases- lawsuits that involve disagreements rather then crimes.

The 7th Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases if the amount of money involved is more than $20.

The Ninth Amendment

The unwritten rights

Examples:-Privacy in our homes-Friendships-Companions-Careers

The Tenth Amendment

Under the 10th Amendment, any powers the Constitution does not specifically give to the national government are reserved to the states or the people.

Section 3: Extending the Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights was intended originally to restrain only the national government.

It now limits all government to certain powers and gives specific powers to the people.

The Thirteenth Amendment

Outlawed slavery in the United States and freed thousands of slaves.

It also outlawed Forced labor, not including punishment for a crime.

The Fourteenth Amendment

It defined a United States citizen as, “born or naturalized in the United States.”

This included most African Americans Had states grant it’s citizens, “equal

protection of the laws.” A state can not take an individual’s “life,

liberty, or property, without due process of law.

This is called the naturalization of the Bill of Rights.

The Fifteenth Amendment

No state may take away a person’s voting rights on the basis of race, color, or previous enslavement.

The Amendment aimed to guarantee suffrage-the right to vote- to African Americans.

The Seventeenth Amendment

This amendment was passed in order to allow voters to elect their senators directly.

Gave Americans a greater voice in their government.

The Nineteenth Amendment

The Nineteenth Amendment protected the right of women to vote in all national and state elections.

The Twenty-Third Amendment

Washington DC is the nation’s capital. “DC” stands for District of Columbia.

It is located between Maryland and Virginia.

This gave the right to residents of Washington DC to vote for the President and Vice President.

The Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Poll taxes- Required voters to pay a sum of money before casting a ballot.

In 1964, the 24TH Amendment made poll taxes illegal for national elections.

Two years later the Supreme Court ruled it illegal in state elections as well.

The Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Set the voting age at 18. It was previously 21 years of age.

Section Four: The Civil Rights Struggle

African Americans routinely faced discrimination even after the Civil War.

“Jim Crow” laws required African American and White students to be separated in most public places.

The social separation of the races was known as segregation.

Civil Rights Struggle Cont.

It was a struggle for American Americans to secure their civil rights-the rights of full citizenship and equality under the law.

Brown v. Board of Education It was found that racial segregation in public

schools was unconstitutional.

Dr. Martin Luther King

Main leader in the civil rights movement

Believed in non-violent resistance

Helped organize marches, boycotts, and demonstrations that caused awareness.

Gave his famous “I have a dream speech.”

Ongoing Changes

What we still struggle with today:

Affirmative Action, which encouraged the hiring and promoting of minorities and women in fields that were traditionally closed to them.

Racial Profiling, which is being singled out as suspects because of the way they look.