The First Amendment
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the
press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.”
The First Amendment protects the rights of every American. It
defines the freedoms of religion, speech, and press. Most
Americans believe that the First Amendment guarantees their most
important rights.
This means that the First Amendment allows us to speak freely,
follow whatever religion we want to follow, and publish what we
want to publish without being censored. This amendment also
allows us to gather in groups as long as they are peaceful and sue
the government if we feel like they are not doing what they are
supposed to be doing.
The Second Amendment
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the
right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
The Second Amendment guarantees Americans the right to bear
arms, or own guns.
The Founding Fathers realized that the American militia was a key
factor in winning the Revolutionary War, so they recognized the
people’s right to own guns.
The Third 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 Third Amendment prevents the government from forcing
citizens to shelter soldiers in their homes.
Remember the Quartering Act from our American Revolution
unit? This amendment is a response to that! Americans hated the
fact that the British forced them to house soldiers when they didn’t
want to. So, when it came time to write the Bill of Rights, they
wanted to make sure that something like the Quartering Act could
never happen again.
The Fourth Amendment
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects,[a] against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and
no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons
or things to be seized.”
The Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of American citizens.
It prohibits, or prevents, unnecessary or unreasonable searches of
a person's property.
This means that police or military cannot randomly search your
property without a warrant and/or probable cause. Probable cause
means that there is a good reason to believe that the person is
committing a crime.
Individuals Fourth Amendment rights are something that are often
ignored by bad policemen.
The Fifth Amendment
“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising
in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of
War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case
to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use,
without just compensation.”
In the Fifth Amendment, all Americans are guaranteed the right to
a fair and legal trial. It also protects someone from testifying
against him- or herself under oath.
The Fifth Amendment also says that you cannot be tried twice for
the same crime---that means if you go to court for committing a
crime and are found not guilty they can’t take you to court again
for that same crime.
Americans also have the right to “plead the fifth”, which means
that they can choose NOT to incriminate or testify against
themselves. For instance, if a lawyer asks them a question that
might get them in trouble they are allowed to say, “I plead the 5th”
and not answer that question.
The Sixth Amendment
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime
shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained
by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be
confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his
defence.”
A right to a speedy trial is guaranteed in the Sixth Amendment. It
also guarantees a jury of the individual’s peers---that means the
people deciding whether or not someone is guilty all come from the
same area as the crime. This jury should also be “impartial”, that
means that when selecting people to be in the jury both sides of the
case get to interview people to make sure that the ones selected do
not all immediately think the person is guilty or innocent without
hearing both sides argued first. This also says that the individual
being accused of the crime can have witnesses that help to prove
their innocence, if available.
The Seventh Amendment
“In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty
dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury,
shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than
according to the rules of the common law.”
The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a trial by jury
in civil, or private, legal cases where damages are more than $20.
Civil cases solve disputes between citizens.
This just means that if citizens choose to sue each other, they can
still have a jury decide whether someone is guilty or not. This way,
it’s a group of people discussing and coming to a decision of
someone’s guilt. Usually in civil suits, when one citizen sues
another citizen, it is over money.
The Eighth Amendment
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and
unusual punishments inflicted.”
This means that if you are put in jail, the cost for you to be released
(your bail) has to fit the crime you committed and/or your income
level. For example, if someone who is really poor goes to jail for
stealing an apple, their bail can’t be $1 million. The same goes for
fines. A speeding ticket for going 5 MPH over the limit cannot be
$7,000.
Cruel and unusual punishments mean that the government cannot
torture you for committing a crime, either.
The Ninth Amendment
“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to
deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
The Ninth Amendment recognizes that Americans have rights that
are not listed in the Constitution. This amendment says that even
though the Bill of Rights and the Constitution may not have
specifically listed certain rights, that doesn’t mean that the citizens
do not have them. In other words, the Bill of Rights are not the only
rights citizens have. This amendment is basically a protection for
the people, so the government cannot become tyrannical.
The Tenth 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 Tenth Amendment says that the powers not given to the
United States government by the Constitution belong to the states
or to the people.
Remember that the group of Founding Fathers who wanted the
Bill of Rights were anti-Federalists. Anti-Federalists believed that
states should have more power than the central government. So,
the final amendment in the Bill of Rights states that any power not
specifically given to the central government goes to the states or the
individual people.
Skit Instructions
Using the information about your assigned amendment, your group will be
writing a 2-minute skit. You will need to think of a situation, or scene, where
you can show an individual exercising their amendment rights, or maybe a
situation where someone’s rights are being violated. You could also write a
scene where people are describing the amendment.
Some guidelines:
• You need to have a role or character for every person in your group--everyone should have at least one thing to say if you were to act this
out.
• Your skit should be AT LEAST one page written.
• You need to describe what is happening in the scene as well---so
maybe have a narrator or someone who describes what is happening.