What is a Constitution?
What makes up the U.S. Constitution?
7 “Articles”
• These tell the government what it can and can’t do
27 Amendments
• The Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments)
• 17 more Amendments
Who authored & signed the U.S. Constitution?
Credit: Howard Chandler Christy [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Why are Constitutions important?
Freedom of Religion
Freedom of Speech
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent
Community School District, 1969
Freedom of the Press
Credit: Rory Finneren, www.flickr.com/photos/roryfinneren/2791855730
Prohibition of Searches & Seizures
Equal Protection of the Laws
Constitutional guarantees of due process
and equal protection apply to every person,
regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation and immigration status.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 1954
Why voting is important
How does the Constitution limit government?
Why do we celebrate Constitution Day?
Constitution Review & Quiz
What if different people had helped write the U.S. Constitution?
Susan B. Anthony
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_B._Anthony
Henry Frye
www.nytimes.com/2015/07/29/magazine/voting-rights-act-dream-undone.html
Happy Constitution Day!
Award-winning mural by students at Hasten Hebrew Academy in Indianapolis, 2013
FUN WAYS TO LEARN ALL YEAR!
https://constitutionday.aclu.org/