Download - cc_day08
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
1/23
CONSTITUTION DAY& CITIZENSHIP DAY
September 17
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
2/23
Why Recognize thisDocument?
The purpose of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is to ensure
that students in our country have an increased knowledge andappreciation of this valuable and important document of freedom.
The Constitution is a handwritten document which is over 200 years old.
It is a living document that protects our rights and freedoms.
Why September 17?This is the day that the original document wasadopted in 1787.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
3/23
Background
1787 -- The 13 original colonies were united by the Articles of Confederation.
There were problems because the Articles did not provide a strong government.
Just a few of these problems were that the government had no power to collecttaxes, no power over trade or commerce and no control over money -- each statecould print its own.
On May 25, 1787 in Philadelphia, PA, delegates from 12 statesgathered to begin a convention where they planned to rewritethe laws in the Articles of Confederation.
Philadelphia, the largest and most modern city at thetime, was picked to host the convention because it wasin the geographic middle of the states.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
4/23
The Constitution Composition
The Constitution is comprised of the following:
Preamble
Articles
Amendments
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
5/23
PreambleWhat does it mean?
The preamble is the introduction to the Constitution.
It outlines the general goals of the framers: to create a just government,insure peace, provide an adequate national defense, and promote a healthy,free nation.
With its first three words, We the People, the preamble emphasizes that
the nation is to be ruled by the people - not a king or dictator, not the president,Supreme Court Justices, members of Congress or statelegislators.
The Supreme Court held in 1905 (in Jacobson v.Massachusetts) that the preamble is not a source offederal power or individuals rights.
All rights and powers are set out in the articles
and amendments that follow.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
6/23
Preamble to theConstitution
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a
more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domesticTranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the
general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty toourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish thisConstitution for the United States of America.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
7/23
The Articles
Article I covers the Congress or legislative branch.
Article II covers the President or executive branch.
Article III covers judges and national courts or judicial branch.
Article IV covers how the states relate to each other and the nationalgovernment.
Article V covers how the Constitution can be changed.
Article VI covers how the Constitution is thesupreme law of the land.
Article VII covers the ratification of the
document.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
8/23
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights was not included in the 1787Constitution.
The first ten amendments (Bill of Rights) wereratified on December 15, 1791.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
9/23
First Amendment
Freedom of Religion, Speech and the Press;Right of Assembly and Petition
The First Amendment allows citizens to express and to beexposed to a wide range of opinions and views.
It was intended to ensure a free exchange ofideas even if the ideas are unpopular.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
10/23
Second Amendment
Right to Bear Arms
The principal debate surrounding the Second Amendment concernswhether the right to use and buy guns belongs to individuals or only toa militia.
Although the courts generally have held that the rightapplies to individuals, they have permitted the governmentto limit some rights of gun manufacturers, owners and
sellers.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
11/23
Third Amendment
Housing of Soldiers
Intended to protect citizens rights to the ownership and use of their
property without intrusion by the government.
The drafters of the Constitution, like many other colonists, wereresentful of laws, in place before the Revolutionary War, that allowedBritish soldiers to take over private homes for their own use.
The amendment bars the government from forcingindividuals to provide lodging to soldiers in theirhomes, except during war when the interest ofnational security may override an individuals
right of private property.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
12/23
Fourth Amendment
Search and Arrest Warrants
Protects people against unreasonable searches and seizures bygovernment officials.
A search can mean everything from a frisking by a police officer to a bloodtest to a search of an individuals home or car.
A seizure occurs when the government takes control of
an individual or something in his or her possession.
Items that are seized often are used as evidencewhen the individual is charged with a crime.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
13/23
Fifth Amendment
Rights in Criminal Cases
Requirement that serious federal criminal charges be started by a grandjury (a group of citizens who hear evidence from a prosecutor about
potential crimes).
This amendment is rooted in English common law.
Its basic purpose is to provide a fair method for beginningcriminal proceedings against those accused ofcommitting crimes.
Grand jury charges can be issued against anyoneexcept members of the military, who are insteadsubject to courts-martial in the military justice system.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
14/23
Sixth Amendment
Right to a Fair Trial
In a criminal case, the government prosecutes or charges adefendant with a violation of the criminal law and begins proceedings(bail hearings, arraignments and trials) to prove that charge beyond areasonable doubt.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
15/23
Seventh Amendment
Rights in Civil Cases
Extends the right to a jury trial to federal civil cases such as caraccidents, disputes between corporations for breach of contract, or most
discrimination or employment disputes.
In civil cases, the person bringing the lawsuit (the plaintiff) seeksmoney damages or a court order preventing the personbeing sued (the defendant) from engaging in certain
conduct.
To win, the plaintiff must prove his or her case bya preponderance of the evidence, that is by
over fifty percent of the proof.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
16/23
Eighth Amendment
Bails, Fines and Punishments
No Excessive Bail: The first portion of the Eighth Amendment concernsbailthe money paid by a defendant in a criminal case in exchange for his
or her release from jail before trial.
Bail is returned to the defendant when he or she appears at trialbut is forfeited to the government if he or she does notappear.
In this way, bail provides an incentive for a defendantto remain in the area and participate in the trial.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
17/23
Ninth Amendment
Rights Retained by the People
The Ninth Amendment is a constitutional safety net intended to make clearthat individuals have other fundamental rights, in addition to those listed in
the First through Eighth Amendments.
Some of the framers had raised concerns that because it was impossibleto list every fundamental right, it would be dangerous to list
just some of them (for example, the right to free speech,
the right to bear arms, and so forth), for fear ofsuggesting that the list was complete.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
18/23
Tenth Amendment
Powers Retained by the States and the People
The Tenth Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights to furtherdefine the balance of power between the federal government and the
states.
The amendment says that the federal government has only thosepowers specifically granted by the Constitution.
These powers include the power to declare war,to collect taxes, to regulate interstate businessactivities and others that are listed in the articles.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
19/23
Changes to the Constitution
An additional 17 amendments have been made to theConstitution.
The most recent change was made in 1992.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
20/23
Signed and Ratified
George Washington was the first of the delegates to sign.
Delegates signed in order from the northern states to the southern states.
Only 39 of the delegates actually signed, not all approved of the document.
After being signed, it became part of a 6 page report sent to the Congress.
Congress accepted the report and sent it to the states for their approval.
It was ratified by nine of the 13 states by June 21, 1788
-- becoming the law of the land.
After the text of the Constitution had been agreed upon,Jacob Shallus, an assistant clerk of the PennsylvaniaState Assembly, was the penman who wrote thedocument prior to signing.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
21/23
More on the Constitution
How long did it take to frame the Constitution?It was drafted in one hundred working days.
Who was called the Father of the Constitution?James Madison of Virginia
Which state was the first to ratify the Constitution?Delaware
How many pages long is the Constitution?Four
Which state didnt send any delegates to theconvention?Rhode Island
Does the Constitution give us our rights and liberties?No, it only guarantees them.
-
8/2/2019 cc_day08
22/23
Links
Notice of Implementation
Constitution Day, Inc.
National Archives and Records Administration
The United States Constitution 1789
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2005-2/052405b.htmlhttp://www.constitutionday.com/http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution.htmlhttp://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.htmlhttp://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.htmlhttp://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.htmlhttp://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.htmlhttp://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.htmlhttp://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.htmlhttp://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.htmlhttp://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution.htmlhttp://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution.htmlhttp://www.constitutionday.com/http://www.constitutionday.com/http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2005-2/052405b.htmlhttp://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2005-2/052405b.html -
8/2/2019 cc_day08
23/23
Source
Johnson, T.L. (Ed.). (2007). The U.S. Constitution and fascinating facts about it.
Naperville, IL: Oak Hill Publishing Company.