A Team Foster Study Guide

To change, or amend, the Constitution, there
are two steps: PROPOSAL and RATIFICATION.


Amendments 1 through 10 are known as the
Bill of Rights. These were ratified together in
1788.
As of now, there are 17 more amendments
after the Bill of Rights. The most recent
amendment was ratified in 1992.

The government can’t stop you from
expressing your beliefs/opinions.

Freedoms of Expression:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Religion (How you worship God)
Speech (Saying your opinion)
Press (Writing your opinion)
Assembly (Hanging-out with others)
Petition (Asking the government to change a law)
◦ HINT: Really Special Presents Are Pets

The right to bear arms.

HINT: How many ARMS to you have?


Citizens cannot be forced to quarter soldiers
in a time of peace.
HINT: If a general and his two aides come up
to your door and want to stay, you can tell
them to get lost! (3 soldiers, go away)


Your property cannot be searched or seized
by the police without your permission or a
warrant.
HINT: They can’t search the FOUR corners of
your house without a warrant!


These amendments deal with your
protections if you ever find yourself in trouble
legally.
The fifth amendment says you don’t have to
speak in court if it could make you look
guilty. You can ‘plead the 5th’, which means
refuse to answer questions. Think of it as
holding up your hand, to STOP the
questioning! (FIVE fingers on your hand)



The 6th Amendment gives people the right to a
speedy trial in a criminal case. It also gives them
the right to have a jury decide their guilt or
innocence.
The 7th gives people the right to a jury trial in a
civil case, which deals with money.
To remember the difference, think of time any
money. Would you rather spend SIX or SEVEN
days in jail? Would you rather have SIX million
dollars of SEVEN million dollars? Also, remember
7 deals with money = $EVEN


The 8th Amendment says if you are found
guilty of a crime, the government can’t
punish you in cruel and unusual ways. So if
you get caught stealing a piece of gum, they
can’t take you out and shoot you for
punishment.
HINT: It’s CRUEL and UNUSUAL to beat up an
OCTOPUS (8 arms)!


The 9th Amendment is kind of odd…it doesn’t
really ‘list’ any rights, but it DOES say that
you have many other rights that aren’t
necessarily written down.
Nine = not necessarily listed


The 10th Amendment says powers not given
to the federal (US) government are reserved
to the states. Things like schools and roads
are handled by the states.
This amendment often causes friction
between the states and the federal
government. The Civil War was fought over
slavery, sure, but it was actually more of a
10th Amendment issue!


11: One person can’t sue one state in federal
court.
12: The candidate for President will choose
his Vice-President. (1 chooses 2)
Before the 12th Amendment, the guy
who lost the election for President would
become the Vice-President. Can you see how
that would be a big problem?

13: Slavery abolished

14: If you are born here, you are a citizen.

15: All men can now vote, no matter their color.
*These amendments were written to free slaves
and then to give them rights. But remember, it
took until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s
for blacks to really have any voting power.

16: Established a federal income tax.

17th: Direct election of U.S. Senators.
◦ Before, only the House of Representatives were
elected directly by voters.
◦ Senators were elected by STATE LEGISLATURES.
◦ Now, voters (like me and you) get to vote for both
Representatives AND Senators, thanks to the 17th
Amendment.


The 18th Amendment banned alcohol. This
was what we call “Prohibition”, because
alcohol was prohibited.
The 21st Amendment repealed, or took back,
the 18th. It basically said the 18th
Amendment was no longer applicable.