The
Bill
of
Rights
The Bill of Rights: A Charter of
Liberties
Although the terms are used
interchangeably, a useful distinction
can be made between
civil liberties
and
civil rights
Rights and Liberties
CIVIL LIBERTIES are protections of
citizens from unwarranted government
action.
CIVIL RIGHTS describe government’s
responsibility to protect citizens.
The Bill of Rights’ emphasis on limiting
the powers of the national government
makes it more a “bill of liberties”
Civil Liberties
As restraints on government action, there are
at least two kinds of civil liberties:
1.Substantive liberties are restraints on what
the government shall and shall not have the
power to do.
2. Procedural liberties are restraints on how
the government is supposed to act when it
acts; for example, citizens are guaranteed
“due process of law” when accused of a
crime.
Nationalizing the Bill of Rights
Throughout American history, the
Courts have wrestled with the question
of whether the Bill of Rights restrains
only the national government or are its
protections applicable to the states.
The 1st Amendment
Establishment clause of the 1st Amendment
Government
•
•
•
•
Can
Teach about religions in
school
Allow voluntary prayer in
many examples
Transport students to a
religious school
Read Bible for culture or
literacy content
•
•
•
•
•
Cannot
Set a state religion
Government cannot order a
prayer
Teach religious doctrine in
the school
Pay seminary teachers
Teach creationism
Free Exercise clause of the 1st Amendment
People
Can
• Choose whatever religion
they wish to worship.
• Lead a prayer in most
examples
• Ask questions about
religions
• Worship whomever want
you
Cannot
• Break the law and claim it is
religious belief
• Raise children without
education
• Deprive children of basic
needs
Free speech–
The individual can:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Profess any political belief
Protest (without getting out of control)
Say things about someone that are true
Burn the flag
Say racist and hate slogans
Free speech means someone might say
something you disagree with
Free speech
limits on the person
• Threaten to blow up airplanes, schools or the
president
• Sexual harassment
• Create too much social chaos
• Extremely crude language in a public form
• Disrespectful, vulgar language in schools
• Hate crimes
Freedom of the press-the press
Can
Cannot
• Print any political
position
• Make fun of people,
especially politicians
• Expose wrongs by the
government
• Say things you might
not agree with
• Libel– intentionally
injuring a person’s
reputation by false facts
• Disclose defensesecurity secrets
• Detail how to make a
certain weapons
Freedom of Assembly
The right to assemble is not an absolute right. There are
some restrictions on this right as there are with other
rights.
The government may place restrictions on the right to assemble
that will maintain law and order, facilitate traffic, protect private
property and reduce noise congestion.
Reasonable restrictions would include such things as requiring
permits to hold a large public gathering in a park or to hold a
parade downtown, making local curfews for teenagers or
preventing protesters from holding up traffic.
2nd Amendment
This Amendment is
a right of states to
decide for themselves
3rd Amendment
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be
quartered in any house, without the
consent of the Owner, nor in time of
war, but in a manner to be prescribed
by law.
The 4th Amendment
Fourth Amendment
• What does a police
officer need in order to
search your home or
seize your property?
– A warrant given to
him by a judge
– Probable cause is
also needed
The 5th Amendment
Fifth Amendment
• You cannot be tried for the same crime twice
called “Double Jeopardy”
• You do not have to testify against your self. “I
plead the fifth”
• You must have due process of law before you are
convicted
• The government cannot take your land unless it
pays you a fair price.
• You must be indicted by a Grand Jury before
standing trial for a crime.
Sixth Amendment
• Right to speedy trial by
impartial jury—meaning
not favoring either side
Sixth Amendment continued
• You must be told of
charges
• You must be
provided a lawyer if
you cannot afford
one
The 7th Amendment
The British Crown had
created separate
courts for the colonists
that did not allow
juries to decide the
cases. Because the
colonists' juries were
consistently rejecting
British law and
undermining the
wishes of the King and
Parliament.
The 7th Amendment
This was one of the colonists' ways of protecting themselves
from unjust laws and it leads to the second reason the
Founders included the 7th Amendment in the Bill of Rights trial by jury provides a bulwark for the people against the
government. Juries are not required to base their decisions
on the wishes of government officials, but can choose to
declare a person innocent of a crime they are accused of
committing if they think it is the right thing to do so.
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The 8th Amendment
Capital punishment or execution is still argued
about today and probably always will be. Some
argue that it helps stop others from committing
crimes because they won't want to be executed.
Others argue that no matter how terrible the
crime, the state does not have the right to kill
a human being. Each state decides whether or
not to have executions.
Eighth Amendment
• No excessive bail
• No cruel and
unusual
punishment
Prisoner kissing his Mom in prison
Firing Squad - 3
Hanging - 4
Lethal Gas - 7
Electric Chair - 11
Lethal Injection - 33
The U.S. Supreme Court
rule in 1976 that the death
penalty was constitutional.
Since 1976 there have been
628 inmates executed.
9th Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people.
It assures people that there are rights
that members of a free society are
entitled to, although neither Madison
nor any of the other founding fathers
ever stated just what they thought
these rights were. Some people
believe that they include the so-called
natural rights including life, liberty, and
property, or the right to pursue
happiness.
10th Amendment
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states
respectively, or to the people.
The governmental powers not listed in the Constitution
for the national government are powers that the states,
or the people of those states, can have.
Examples: The states determine the rules for marriages,
divorces, driving licenses, voting, state taxes, job and school
requirements, rules for police and fire departments, and many more.