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Foundations of American Government

Bill of Rights & Later Amendments

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SS.7.C.2.4

Evaluate rights contained in the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the Constitution.

SS.7.C.3.6

Evaluate constitutional rights and their impact on individuals and society.

 

There are three categories of rights, freedoms, and protections listed in the Bill of Rights. The first category is about individual freedoms as stated in the First Amendment: free speech, press, religious exercise, peaceable assembly, and petition.

 

The second category is the rights of those accused of a crime. Search and seizure occurs when police believe that a crime has been committed. Police conduct a search to seize (collect) evidence that may have to do with the crime. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure means that police must have a reason for the search, and in most cases a warrant from a judge to search a person’s personal property, home, or body. Rights of those accused of a crime also include the right to due process. Due process means that a person cannot have his or her life, liberty, or property taken without a Constitutional legal process. Pleading the Fifth, or protection against self-incrimination, means that people accused of crimes may refuse to testify against themselves in a court of law. Pleading the Fifth prevents anything that an accused person may say from being used as evidence against him to convict him of a crime. Double jeopardyis also protected by the Bill of Rights. If evidence is found after an accused person is found “not guilty” of a crime, that person cannot be brought back to stand trial for the same crime. The right to legal counsel (a lawyer) allows all people accused of a crime to have legal representation in court. Also, trial by jury is protected by the Bill of Rights. This means that a judge and jury must decide the issue based on the facts and evidence of the case. Finally, people accused of a crime are protected against cruel and unusual punishment, which may include torture or other forms of punishment considered too harsh for the crime committed. The constitutionality of the death penalty has been debated in this country for a long time as an example of what should be considered as cruel and unusual punishment.

 

The third category is protection from government abuse of power. This may include property rights, voting rights, or the right to protect oneself. For example, the right to bear arms is included in this category. The right to bear arms means that one is able to own and carry weapons, such as guns, for self-protection. Eminent domain allows the government to take private property (property owned by people, organizations, or companies) for public use. However, the owner must be compensated (paid) fairly for it. For example, a road may need to be expanded and someone’s property is in the path of the road. The government must pay the owner for the land that will be taken by the government for expanding the road. The Ninth Amendment gives the people unenumerated rights (rights that are not listed in the Constitution). Unenumerated rights may include privacy rights that are not listed in the Constitution but that people still expect to have. Finally, equal protection under the law guarantees that citizens are protected from state laws that may treat them in a way that denies them their rights under federal law. Finally, the 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th Amendments each guarantee suffrage (the right to vote) to make sure that various groups have their right to vote protected.           

 

The wording of the Bill of Rights is not totally clear. What is “speech”? “What is the freedom of religious exercise”? What does it mean to “guarantee the right to counsel”? The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to interpret situations where individuals have asked whether their rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution have been violated (abused) by a federal, state, or local law. Through analyzing these situations, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted what the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the Constitution mean. Through these interpretations, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized violations (abuses) of Constitutional protections. Also, these decisions have established precedents for future court decisions.

 

One example is Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). This case interpreted the First Amendment right to free speech to include “symbolic speech”. John and Mary Beth Tinker, who attended public school in Des Moines, Iowa, wanted to wear black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War in 1965. The school did not allow students to wear black armbands, and the Tinkers were suspended. Their parents sued the school district, and the U.S. Supreme Court eventually heard the case. The Court decided that the wearing of black armbands was a form of “symbolic speech” or “political speech” that was protected by the “free speech” right in the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court said that denying students the right to wear the black armbands violated their free speech rights under the Bill of Rights.

 

Miranda v. Arizona (1966) was a case about protection from self-incrimination or the right to plead the fifth (remain silent). The police did not tell Miranda that he did not have to say anything to police when they questioned him. He confessed to a crime, and the confession was used against him in court. The U.S. Supreme Court decided that his confession could not be used against him in court because the police did not tell him he had the right to remain silent (not to incriminate himself). As a result of this case, police must inform people of their rights if they are arrested for committing a crime. These rights are now called Miranda Rights.

 

The Bill of Rights includes the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1791, three years after the U.S. Constitution was ratified. These amendments define individual freedoms, explain the rights of those accused of a crime, define citizens’ protections from the federal government and extend powers to the states.

 

The First Amendment includes five individual freedoms. Those freedoms are the right to freedom of speech, press, religious exercise, peaceable assembly, and petitioning the government.

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  • Freedom of speech allows individuals to express their opinions. This includes speech that may criticize the government or government officials.

  • Freedom of the press allows individuals to publish or print information and news.

  • Freedom of religious exercise allows individuals to practice their religion freely or to choose not to practice a religion at all.

  • Freedom to peaceably assemble means that people have the right to gather in groups. These groups may include people who wish to hold a public protest about their ideas or beliefs.

  • Freedom to petition allows individuals to express their concerns to the government. A petition may formally ask the government for changes in the law. It also may include the signatures of those who support the changes.

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SS.7.C.2.5

Distinguish how the Constitution safeguards and limits individual rights.

 

The writers of the U.S. Constitution wanted to create a federal system of government that was effective and powerful, but one that also safeguards the rights of individuals. The U.S. Constitution establishes a system that protects the rights of individuals and also limits the powers of the federal government. The Bill of Rights lists many individual rights and guarantees that the government will not interfere with these rights. Other individual rights safeguarded in the U.S. Constitution are located in Article I, Section 9. These rights include the writ of habeas corpus and ex post facto laws.

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Although the Constitution safeguards rights, it is reasonable and fair to put limits on most rights. This means that rights are not absolute; they can be limited in certain situations. Over the years, courts in the United States have developed various guidelines for limiting individual rights. These guidelines are used to help decide when individual rights interfere with other important rights and interests, including the rights of other individuals. Sometimes citizens may not use their freedoms as much as they might like because doing so would hurt the common good. Federal and state laws, and U.S. Supreme Court decisions have all limited First Amendment freedoms in order to protect the public interest.

 

Rights and freedoms have been safeguarded because they are a foundation of democracy in the United States, but they are also limited in some way so that the government can work effectively and people can feel safe.

 

Freedom of expression includes the First Amendment rights of free speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition. The unlimited right to free expression may be dangerous to public safety, national security, or other important issues. If the danger is great enough, the courts have allowed freedom of expression to be limited. Also, some rights may be limited when they conflict with other rights or values. In situations where the rights of one citizen may conflict with the rights of other citizens, courts may limit an individual’s rights in order to protect everyone’s rights.

 

In the landmark case Schenck v. U.S. (1919), the Supreme Court set the precedent of the “balancing test.” This balancing test is about the relationship between individual rights and the public interest. Rights may be limited when the public interest is threatened. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in different cases that the government may limit individual rights in order to protect the public interest. In these situations, there must be a balance of individual rights, the rights of others, and the common good.

 

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the government sometimes can limit individual rights, including freedom of speech and freedom of the press. In general, there must be a balance of individual rights, the rights of others, and the common good.

 

Here are some questions the Court has asked to decide whether to limit freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

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  • Clear and Present Danger – Will this act of speech create a dangerous situation?

  • Fighting Words – Will this act of speech create a violent situation?

  • Libel – Is information about another person false or does it make true information appear false?

  • Conflict with Government Interests – During times of war, the government may limit acts of speech because of national security (such as when the government is concerned that certain information may be found out by the enemy).

 

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Congress’ power to limit individual rights in Schenck v. U.S. (1919). In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Espionage Act of 1917, which limited free speech during World War I. Charles Schenck, Secretary of the Socialist Party of America, printed and distributed 15,000 pamphlets to possible draftees (people registered for selective service) encouraging them not to serve in the military during World War I. Schenck argued that the Espionage Act of 1917 violated his First Amendment freedom of speech by limiting what he could say about the war. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Schenck’s criminal conviction because, it argued, the First Amendment does not protect speech that would create a “clear and present danger”. In this case, the Court ruled that draftees who refused to serve in the military during World War I would threaten the public interest because they would harm the nation’s ability to defend itself.

 

The judicial branch plays an important role in how the government protects individual rights.

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The writers of the U.S. Constitution designed an independent judiciary where the judicial branch would have freedom from the executive and legislative branches. The U.S. Constitution guaranteed that judges would serve “during good behavior” and would be protected from any decrease in their salaries. Both of these features prevent the other two branches from removing judges or decreasing their salaries if they don’t like a judge’s opinion (decision) on a case. This gives the judicial branch the freedom to make decisions based on the law and not based on pressure from the other two branches.

 

The writers of the U.S. Constitution wanted to create a federal government that was effective and powerful, but one that did not step on the rights of the individual. In Article 1, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution, there are two key individual rights that are protected, or safeguarded:

 

The first is in this statement: “The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”Habeas corpus is an important individual right. This statement from Article I, Section 9 means that the government has to prove to a court why it is holding someone in jail. If the government cannot show why a person is being held in jail, that person must be released.

 

The second is in this statement: “No… ex post facto Law shall be passed.” An ex post facto law is one that makes an act a crime after it has been committed.

 

The appellate process in the federal and state court systems also protect the rights of the individual. The appellate process allows citizens to appeal a decision from a lower court to a higher court to make sure that everything in the trial was done properly.

 

By making sure that the rights of individuals would be protected, the Founders created a system where the powers of the federal government would be limited. The judicial branch interprets the U.S. Constitution and sets precedents on when and how individual rights are safeguarded and limited.

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SS.7.C.3.7

Analyze the impact of the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments on participation of minority groups in the American political process.

  • The 13th Amendment: Slaves were considered property. They were not considered citizens, and so they could not vote. While this amendment did not increase voting rights, it gave all slaves their freedom. It was an important first step toward voting rights for former slaves.

 

  • The 14th Amendment: This amendment said that anyone who had been born a slave was a citizen of the United States. It also said that state governments could not pass laws that limited U.S. citizens’ rights. Finally, it extended the right to vote to all males age 21 and over. The impact of the 14th Amendment on social movements in the U.S. was important. The U.S. Constitution now protected all U.S. citizens (including former slaves) from state laws that discriminated against them because of their race. This meant that African Americans and women could go to court when they believed that state laws discriminated against them and violated their rights as U.S. citizens.

 

  • The 15th Amendment: This amendment protected the right to vote for any male over the age of 21. It strengthened the 14th Amendment. The former slave states opposed the ratification of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. They decided to try other ways, especially passing new laws, to keep African-Americans from voting. For example, in Alabama, African-Americans had to take a 68-question “literacy” test that had to be answered completely and perfectly in a short time. If African-Americans taking the test missed even one question, they could not register to vote. In Mississippi, African-Americans were asked questions that had no correct answer, such as “How many seeds are in a watermelon?” Failing to answer such questions correctly meant that these U.S. citizens were not allowed to register to vote. The impact of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments on various social movements was significant. For example, individual citizens and interest groups sued states because state laws denied them their rights as U.S. citizens. Interest groups also organized marches and took part in civil disobedience as a way to protest these state laws. The number of protest activities and lawsuits against states increased greatly beginning in the 1950s.

 

  • The 19th Amendment: A person’s gender (meaning whether someone is male or female) could not be used as a reason to deny suffrage, or the right to vote. This amendment said that states and the federal government could not prevent women from voting. The ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women power that they had not had before. Beginning in the 1960s, women began to form interest groups to make sure they had equal job opportunities, and other economic and social opportunities. Women have also taken part in marches and protests for women’s rights. Today, more women than ever run for and win, elected offices at all levels of government. Several women have run for president and vice-president, although no women have been elected president or vice president yet women have also sued in court when federal and state laws discriminate against them because they are women.

 

  • The 24th Amendment: Before the 24th Amendment, many states tried to charge people money (a poll tax) to let them vote. This often kept minorities (especially African Americans in the former slave states) or poor people from voting. The ratification of the 24th Amendment allowed more minorities and poor people to vote because it made poll taxes unconstitutional. One impact of this amendment is that candidates and elected leaders now pay more attention to the concerns of the poor and minorities because they know that these individuals can vote in elections.

 

  • The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, said that any United States citizen age 18 or older could vote. Before 1971, the federal government and some states, only allowed people age 21 or older to vote. One impact of this amendment is that candidates and elected leaders pay more attention to the concerns of young people because they know that these young people can vote in elections.

 

Even though the 15th Amendment was supposed to allow all races to vote, some states did everything they could to prevent minorities from voting. Any Americans saw that this was unfair, and several laws were passed during the 1960s to protect the civil rights of minority groups, including African-Americans and Hispanics. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 said employers could not discriminate based on race or gender. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made racial discrimination illegal in voting laws. This act specifically banned the use of “literacy” tests to decide whether someone could register to vote. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 banned discrimination based on race or gender in the selling or renting of housing.

 

Even though the 19th Amendment guarantees that voters cannot be discriminated against based on their gender, there was a push to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and 1980s. This amendment would prohibit all discrimination based on gender. The amendment was introduced in Congress in the 1920s and ratified by Congress in the 1970s, but to this day it has never been ratified by enough states to be added to the U.S. Constitution.

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