Chapter 10 The Bill of Rights



Chapter 10 The Bill of Rights

10.1 Introduction

-For the Constitution to be officially adopted, it had to be ratified, or approved, by 9 of the 13 states.

-The first 5 states ratified easily, but Massachusetts objected to it because they felt that the Constitution did not list the rights of the people. Many said they wouldn’t vote on it, until a list was added.

-Massachusetts and other states finally ratified the Constitution, and they did this because the Federalists strategy was to ratify now, and amend later. This plan worked and the Constitution became the law of the in 1788.

10.2 Creating the Bill of Rights

-George Washington became the 1st president and John Adams the 1st Vice President.

-Thomas Jefferson argued that “a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, and what no just government should refuse”.

-James Madison, who was at the head of creating the amendments, felts it was a long, hard process, but he kept going until the congress approved them.

-3/4 of the states had to approve the amendments for them to become official. 9 or ¾ of the states ratified the first 10 amendments in 1791, they became the Bill of Rights.

-At first some people saw the amendments as paper barriers against abuses of the government power, but they have lasted over 200 years and are much stronger than Madison ever hoped.

10.3 First Amendment Rights

-Madison combined 5 basic freedoms into the First Amendment. They are the freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly and the right to petition the government.

-If a person believes that the government has violated these rights, they

can challenge the government’s action in court.

Religion:

There are two guarantees of religious freedom.

1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion

Meaning they can’t make one faith the official U.S. religion

It can not make laws that favor any religion over another.

TJ said the amendment build a wall of separation between church and state.

The leaders argued over how high this wall should be. The supreme court case of Lemmon v Kurtzman, 1971, laid down the law with this. Separating church and state.

2. Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of relgion.

Meaning that people can believe whatever they want about are religion without being afraid of being punished.

Speech and Press:

The freedom of press is very important in our democratic society. All of the different forms of media act as watch dogs on the government. Without the freedom of press, democratic self-government would be impossible.

In colonial times Americans learned that their free press was their best protection against abuse of government power.

John Peter Zenger was the example of this. In 1735 he was arrested for printing

reports that the governor of NY had taken bribes. The prosecutors said that it

was illegal for him to damage the governors name, even if it was the truth. The

jury agreed with Zenger’s lawyer who said that no one should be jailed for

exposing the truth through writing and speaking, he was then freed.

With Press you can’t spread false information or info that could help an enemy during wartime. With Speech you can speak freely in public places, except when it may endanger someone. Example, you can’t falsely yell fire in a theatre and cause panic.

Speech also stands for symbolic expression, actions you take to express opinions. The Supreme Court case of Texas v Johnson let a guy who burned an American Flag go free. They said no form of expression could be banned, just because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable.

Assemble and Petition:

Assemble means that citizens can use public property for meetings and demonstrations.

Examples are parades, marches and rallies. All peaceful assemblies.

If you close a building or are violent, it is not protected by the 1st amendment.

10.4 Citizen Protections

-Amendments 2 through 4 protect the people form government abuse and reflect the unhappy experiences of American colonists under British rule.

2nd Amendment:

-The Right to Bear Arms. This was created because Americans were suspicious of standing armies, and during the time of and right after British rule. They wanted to have state militias to protect their new nation, and this amendment let their men in the militias bear arms when necessary to protect their state.

-The meaning of this has been highly debated. Some say it only protects the right to own guns if you are a part of a militia, others believe it is the right to own guns for self-defense.

3rd Amendment:

-Quartering Troops in Homes. This amendment gave Americans the right to refuse to have to quarter troops without their consent. Even though we don’t’ do this today, it shows that the government must respect the privacy of peoples homes.

4th Amendment:

-Searches and Seizures. Peoples belongings are protected from unreasonable searches and seizures with this amendment. To search someone’s home the police show a judge good reason to need to do it, and then he issues a warrant for the search.

This guarantee’s the right to be left along, a right that many Americans value most.

10.5 Legal Rights and Protections

-Amendments 5-8 lay out the rights and protections that apply to people who are accused of crimes or other legal disputes.

5th Amendment:

-Legal Rights. This is the longest amendment and lists 5 important rights for citizens involved with the justice system.

1. Right to a grand jury hearing. A grand jury is a group of citizens who hear the

governments evidence and decides whether it justifies a trial.

2. Protects citizens from double jeopardy. You can’t be tried for the same crime

twice if found not-guilty the first time.

3. Prohibits self-incrimination. The police can’t force a person to say things that

might be used against them in a trial. The police read a person their Miranda Rights before they question them. These rights tell you that whatever you say can be used against you in trial. Taking the 5th is also part of this. You can plead the 5th and refuse to answer questions on trial that might damage the case. Also Due Process of Law is part of this. It means that a person cannot be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process. Which means that the government must follow the rules and act reasonably when it carries out the law. Beyond reasonable doubt is when the government must prove its case against a defendant beyond reasonable doubt.

4. Government cannot take a persons private property for public use without just compensation. They must pay fair price for a persons property.

6th Amendment:

-Lists a number of right that are set up to provide accused persons with fair trials.

-A speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. A person cannot be kept in jail for

a long period before going on trial. Speedy trials help the witnesses memories.

Public means that trials may not be held in secret. The jury must be impartial,

meaning that they are not prejudiced against the defendant. The defendant also

has the right to question all witnesses. The defendant also has the right to an

attorney. The Supreme Court feels that this is the most important of these

rights of accused persons.

7th Amendment:

-Civil Trial Rights. In all but the most minor cases, people involved in a civil case have a right to a jury trial. Also after a jury decides the facts of a case, no judge can overrule the jury’s decision.

8th Amendment:

-Bail and Punishments. This amendment protects an accused person’s rights both before and after trial. Before a trial, it forbids a judge from demanding excessive bail. After trial, if the person is found guilty, excessive fines and cruel and unusual punishments are forbidden. Punishments must be proportionate to the crime.

-In 1976 in the case of Gregg v. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled that the punishment of death for the crime of murder does not under all circumstances violate the 8th Amendment.

10.6 Other Rights and Powers

-Amendments 9 and 10 help keep a balance of rights and power among the federal government, the people and the states.

9th Amendment:

-Rights Retained by the People. This means that even though certain rights are listed in the Constitution, other rights not listed there are also retained by the people.

Example is the right to privacy.

10th Amendment:

-Powers Reserved to the States. This one was included to protect the states from excessive federal power. Powers not given to the national government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or to the people.

In McCulloh v. Maryland in 1816, the Supreme Court sided with McCulloh and said that the 10th Amendment did not forbid the chartering of a federal bank. The necessary and proper clause(elastic clause) of the Constitution gave Congress the power to do so.

They also said that when the national and state power conflict, the national law is supreme.

10.7 Chapter Summary

-The promise of creating a bill of rights was the key to getting the Constitution ratified. James Madison proposed the amendments that guarantee the rights of citizens of the U.S.

-1st Amendment spells out 5 basic freedoms of all Americans.

-2nd through 4th Amendments give protections for citizens against the abuse of government power.

-5th through 8th Amendments guarantee fair treatment for people who are involved in legal actions.

-9th and 10th Amendments deal with the relationship among the federal government, the states and the people.

-Over time the Supreme Court has interpreted the provisions of the Bill of Rights and applied them to new situations.

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