FOUNDING DOCUMENTS
The Bill of Rights

 

Watch the video above and complete the question.

 

Content Statement #7

The debate presented by the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers over protections for individuals and limits on government power resulted in the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights provides constitutional protections for individual liberties and limits on governmental power.

Content Elaboration

The Federalists published a series of essays to convince others to support the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. The Federalists advocated for:

·     national taxation to fund the central government;

·     a standing army for a strong national defense; and  

·     a strong central government with checks and balances.

 

The Anti-Federalists also published their concerns about shifting power from state governments to a strong central government. Their concerns included the following:

·     national taxation becoming repressive;

·     the use of a standing army against their own citizens; and

·     establishing a balance of power between national and state governments.

 

One of the key issues in the debate over the ratification of the Constitution concerned individual rights. Anti-Federalist arguments regarding the lack of protections for individual liberties led to the introduction and eventual ratification of the Bill of Rights, which included:

·     freedom of speech, press, assembly, petition, religion;

·     due process of law; and

·     protections against illegal search and seizure.

 

Lesson provided by

 

Lesson Summary

This lesson introduces students to the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Through video, images, and text, students learn how the Bill of Rights limits the federal government's power, safeguards the people's rights, and continues to frame and support the basic ideals and principles of the U.S. government.

 

 

 Key Concepts

The Bill of Rights is the first of 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States. The amendments were added to limit the federal government's power and safeguard the people's individual rights.

The Bill of Rights was designed to protect the people's basic rights, and they continue to frame and support the basic ideals and principles of the U.S. government.

 

 

Background

Before the Bill of Rights went into effect, American colonists were not guaranteed individual rights and freedoms, so some members of the Constitutional Convention first refused to sign the U.S. Constitution into law. These members felt that a Bill of Rights was essential to the Constitution because it would help guarantee the security of the people’s fundamental rights.

 

When writing the Bill of Rights, James Madison was inspired by several historical documents, including England’s Magna Carta (1216) and England’s Bill of Rights (1689), written to protect the rights of citizens and limit the monarchy's power. These documents protected people from unfair taxes and punishment without a fair trial. Madison also borrowed ideas from George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights. These ideas included the concept that everyone is “equally free” and “have certain inherent rights.” Stemming from these documents, 12 amendments were written for the Constitution, with 10 of them passing into law to become the U.S. Bill of Rights in 1789.

 

This lesson lays the groundwork for understanding, at the high school level, the ideas and principles contained in the founding documents of the United States and how they influence the social and political system.

 

Click the following link to begin the unit on "The Bill of Rights."

The class code is: A8US32