CHAPTER SEVEN
Our Enduring Constitution
FIRST, LETS GO BACK TO THE BILL OF
RIGHTS…

Interpreting the Bill of Rights
People often disagree about the meaning of
Constitutional rights
 The Bill of Rights are broad and difficult to
interpret


So, who do we turn to in a disagreement
regarding our rights?
Judges in our national court system
 Usually it is resolved on a local level
 Sometimes it goes to the Supreme Court

CASE STUDIES: TINKER V. DES MOINES




Mary Beth, John
Tinker, and other
students wore black
armbands to school to
protest American
involvement in the
Vietnam War.
The students are
suspended
The parents argued they
were denied free
speech
The Supreme Court
ruled in favor of the
students
CASE STUDIES: SKOKIE V. ILLINOIS




A Nazi group with
uniforms displaying the
swastika, plans a march
in Skokie
The city blocks the
march and protest
Illinois Supreme Court
says the swastika
cannot be banned,
because it is a symbol of
free speech
U.S. Supreme Court lets
the decision stand
THE REST OF THE Amendments
17
more amendments
following the Bill of Rights
Reflect efforts to adapt the
Constitution to meet
changing needs and
attitudes
11TH AND 12TH AMENDMENT
 11th
Amendment
 A private citizen
from one state
cannot sue the
government of
another state in
federal court
 12th
Amendment
 Changed
the way
voting was done
for President
and Vice
President
13TH AMENDMENT
Abolished
Slavery
14TH AND 15TH AMENDMENT



14th Ensured citizenship
for African-Americans
Took the power to grant
citizenship away from
the states
Called the Second Bill
of Rights

Declares that no state
may “deprive any person
of life, liberty, or
property without due
process of law” or “deny
any person…..the equal
protection of the laws”
o

Declares that states
may not deny the right
to vote to any person on
the basis of “race, color,
or previous condition of
servitude”
African American
men now allowed to vote
SOME MORE AMENDMENTS

16th Amendment


17th Amendment


Congress has the
power to collect taxes
on people’s income
Senators now elected
directly by the people
of each state
18th Amendment

Banned alcohol
making, selling, and
transporting
WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE

19th Amendment

Women have the
right to vote
(suffrage)
MORE AMENDMENTS!

20th Amendment

Commencement of
Terms for the
President and VicePresident

21st Amendment

Repealed the 18th
Amendment
THE 22ND AND 23RD AMENDMENTS
 22nd
 Two
term
limit for
Presidents
 Follows
Franklin D.
Roosevelt,
who was
elected to four
terms
23rd
 Gave
residents of
Washington,
D.C., the
right to vote
in presidential
elections
ANOTHER STEP FORWARD FOR VOTERS

24th Amendment
Poll tax (a fee to vote)
no longer allowed
 A poll tax had been
used in past years to
keep poor people from
voting, many of which
were African
American

JUST A FEW MORE….AND WE ARE DONE!
25th Amendment
 Presidential
succession
 26th Amendment
 The right to vote age
lowered from 21 to 18
 27th Amendment
 Congressional pay
increases cannot go
into effect until next
term
