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The Bill of Rights and an Enduring Constitution

US History/Napp Name: __________________

The first ten amendments of the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights.

Questions:

1- What is the Bill of Rights? ________________________________________________________________________

2- How does the Bill of Rights protect individuals? ________________________________________________________________________

|1. Antifederalists opposed ratification of the United States |5. The major reason the Bill of Rights was added to the United States |

|Constitution until they were assured that |Constitution was to |

|(1) a bill of rights would be added to the original document |(1) limit the power of state governments |

|(2) their supporters would receive a fair share of federal government |(2) protect individual liberties against abuse by the Federal |

|jobs |Government |

|(3) the president would be given increased powers |(3) provide for equal treatment of all people |

|(4) senators would be elected directly by the |(4) separate powers between the three branches of government |

|People | |

| |6. The amendment process was included in the United States |

|2. Many Antifederalists opposed ratification of the Constitution until|Constitution in order to |

|they were guaranteed |(1) remove government officials from political office |

|(1) better protection of individual liberties |(2) check the power of the Supreme Court |

|(2) increased presidential authority to wage war |(3) allow government to meet the changing needs of society |

|(3) stricter control over state spending |(4) preserve the federal system of government |

|(4) expanded police powers | |

| |7. The Bill of Rights was added to the United States Constitution to |

|3. What is the first step in adding an amendment to the United States |(1) provide the president with the power to enforce the laws |

|Constitution? |(2) protect individuals’ civil liberties |

|(1) approval by the president |(3) establish a presidential cabinet |

|(2) review by the Supreme Court |(4) guarantee voting privileges to all citizens |

|(3) vote by the people in a national referendum | |

|(4) passage by a two-thirds majority in both |8. “Illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in a court of law.” |

|houses of Congress |This statement is based on a person’s constitutional right to |

| |(1) face an accuser in open court |

|4. The flexibility of the original United States Constitution is due |(2) protection against double jeopardy |

|mainly to |(3) a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury |

|(1) its provision for the amending process and judicial interpretation|(4) protection against unreasonable searches and seizures |

|(2) its guarantees of freedom and justice for all people | |

|(3) the ability to create new branches of government as needed | |

|(4) the willingness of the states to accept Federal control | |

| | |

| | |

There are 27 Amendments. The Bill of Rights provided the first ten at the same time in 1791. In addition to the Bill of Rights, here are some of important amendments that may be tested on the New York State Regents Examination:

Questions:

1- Identify several significant changes that occurred after the Civil War. ________________________________________________________________________

2- Identify several significant changes that occurred during the Progressive Era. ________________________________________________________________________

Remembering Federalists and Anti-Federalists:

“After the Congress’s adjournment, it was up to the states to ratify (approve) or reject the proposed Constitution as the new law of the land. Following a bold strategy that favored its ratification, the framers of the Constitution stated that 9 of the 13 state conventions had to approve the constitution before it could go into effect. Ratification by the necessary states took less than one year. In the nine long months of discussion and debate, two camps were quickly formed. The Federalists supported the Constitution, and the Anti-Federalists opposed ratification of the Constitution. The name Anti-Federalist is somewhat misleading, because the term federalism describes a relationship of independent states that share power with a central government. What the Anti-Federalists were really opposed to was a central government that might dominate the state governments. The Constitution, they charged, gave too much power to the central government at the expense of the power of the states. The Anti-Federalists did not want another level of government with the power to tax the people. Finally, the Anti-Federalists believed that without a bill of rights, the Constitution did not adequately protect individual liberties.

The new government was different from other republics. It was no longer a confederation of sovereign states, nor was it simply the merging of states into a national government. It was somewhere in between. Patrick Henry, the persuasive orator who was violently opposed to the new Constitution, called it ‘horribly defective, horribly frightful, [because it squints toward monarchy.’ He went on to say: ‘This government is so new, it wants a name.’

Along with Alexander Hamilton, the brilliant and popular John Jay led the fight for ratification. With help from James Madison, together they bombarded New York newspapers with essays that presented well-thought-out arguments in favor of ratification. Eventually collected and published in booklet form, these essays were published in 1788 as The Federalist and are often referred to as The Federalist Papers. Today they stand out as early statements of American political theory. In The Federalist Number 9, Hamilton explained how the state and national governments work together:

The proposed Constitution, so far from implying an abolition of State Governments, makes them constituent parts of the national sovereignty by allowing them a direct representation in the Senate, and leaves in their possession certain exclusive and very important portions of sovereign power. This fully corresponds…with the idea of Federal Government.

The Federalist Number 10, written by James Madison, is generally considered the most important document for describing how a large republic has advantages over a small one:

The smaller the society, the fewer probably will be the distinct parties and interests composing it…the more easily they will concert and execute their plans of oppression. Extend the sphere and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens.

~ The American Century

Questions:

1- Define ratify. ________________________________________________________________________

2- How many state conventions had to approve the Constitution before it could go into effect? ________________________________________________________________________

3- How long did ratification of the Constitution take? ________________________________________________________________________

4- What two political parties developed during the Constitutional debate? ________________________________________________________________________

5- What did the Federalists support? ________________________________________________________________________

6- What did the Anti-Federalists oppose? ________________________________________________________________________

7- Why is the name Anti-Federalist somewhat misleading? ________________________________________________________________________

8- What does Federalism mean? ________________________________________________________________________

9- What did Anti-Federalists really oppose? ________________________________________________________________________

10- What did Anti-Federalists want added to the Constitution? ________________________________________________________________________

11- How was the new American republic different from other republics? ________________________________________________________________________

12- How did Patrick Henry describe the new government? ________________________________________________________________________

13- Who wrote the essays known as The Federalist Papers? ________________________________________________________________________

14- What did Alexander Hamilton explain in The Federalist Number 9? ________________________________________________________________________

15- What did James Madison write in The Federalist Number 10? ________________________________________________________________________

16- How does the Constitution prevent abuse of power? [Think Montesquieu!] ________________________________________________________________________

17- What is the Bill of Rights and why is it important? ________________________________________________________________________

|What is the most democratic feature of the original Constitution of |Base your answers to questions 5 and 6 on the speakers’ statements |

|the United States? |below and on your knowledge of social studies. |

|(1) role given to the electoral college in presidential elections | |

|(2) appointment of ambassadors by the president |Speaker A: Our national government should be strong. State governments|

|(3) direct election of the members of the House of Representatives |should have only limited powers. |

|(4) lifetime appointments for Supreme Court justices |Speaker B: A bicameral legislature would protect the power of both the|

| |large states and the small states. |

|The years between the end of the American Revolution and the |Speaker C: The expansion of the national government will lead to |

|ratification of the Constitution are sometimes called the “critical |tyranny. |

|period” because |Speaker D: The executive branch should have significant power. |

|(1) the western territories were left ungoverned | |

|(2) the United States fought a war with France |5. Which speaker is expressing an idea that was included in the Great |

|(3) Spain refused to sell Florida to the United States |Compromise during the drafting of the Constitution in 1787? |

|(4) the central government failed to solve many economic problems |(1) A (3) C |

| |(2) B (4) D |

|According to the United States Constitution, the federal census is | |

|used to determine the |6. During the debate over ratification of the |

|(1) size of the United States Supreme Court |Constitution, people who agreed with the |

|(2) maximum number of cabinet members |statements of Speakers A and D became known as |

|(3) apportionment of members in the House of Representatives |(1) Loyalists |

|(4) number of senators allotted to each state |(2) Federalists |

| |(3) Antifederalists |

|4. Which protection guaranteed by the first amendment to the United |(4) Democratic Republicans |

|States Constitution was influenced by the trial of John Peter Zenger | |

|(1735)? |7. Which constitutional principle best protects the public from abuse |

|(1) freedom of press (3) right to assemble |by one branch of government? |

|(2) freedom of religion (4) right to petition |(1) equality |

| |(2) federalism |

| |(3) executive privilege |

| |(4) checks and balances |

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The Bill of Rights

“The first Congress to serve under the new Constitution altered that document by adding a bill of rights that would protect individual liberties on a national level. Many ideas for amendments had been submitted by the states and by individuals to the Congress. James Madison organized these ideas into 19 amendments and submitted them for Congress to consider. After a good deal of debate, Congress accepted 12 of these amendments and sent them to the states for ratification. The states, in turn, ratified 10 amendments, and these make up the Bill of Rights. The last two of the original 13 colonies – North Carolina and Rhode Island – joined the Union once the Bill of Rights had been ratified. Vermont became the fourteenth state in 1791.”

~ The American Century

Some of the more frequently occurring Bill of Rights Amendments on the New York State Regents Examination:

1st – Freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and the right to petition the government

2nd – Right to bear arms

4th – Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures

5th – Due process rights (rights to fair justice and freedoms from self-incrimination)…Also, one cannot be tried twice for the same crime – this is a freedom from “double jeopardy”

6th – Right to a fair trial and attorney

10th – Division of power between the states and federal government (federalism)

~ Jeremy Klaff & Harry Klaff

The Constitution Endures

“Four principles are central to the American form of constitutional government. These principles include:

• Protection of individual rights and liberties

• Limited government with the separation of power and checks and balances

• The federal system

• Judicial review

The Constitution is a ‘living’ document. It is flexible and can be changed to adapt to changing times.”

~ The American Century

Civil War Amendments:

13th Amendment (1865) – Abolition of Slavery

14th Amendment (1868) – Equal Rights for Citizens

15th Amendment (1870) – Universal Male Suffrage

~ Jeremy Klaff & Harry Klaff

Progressive Era Amendments:

16th Amendment (1913) – Graduated Income Tax

17th Amendment (1913) – Direct Election of Senators

18th Amendment (1919) – Prohibition

19th Amendment (1920) – Women’s Suffrage

~ Jeremy Klaff & Harry Klaff

Other Important Amendments:

22nd Amendment (1951) – Two Term Limit for Presidents

26th Amendment (1971) – Lowered the voting age to 18 in 1971m as Vietnam soldiers were not old enough to vote

~ Jeremy Klaff & Harry Klaff

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