Civics_Ch3_info

=**Rights and Responsibilities Background Information**=

Read through the chapter overview and write the important notes in your notebook. When you see __//NOTE//__ written, be sure to take the note.

We learned last chapter that the Federalists supported the Constitution and the Anti-Federalists were against the Constitution. One of the reasons the Anti-Federalists were against the Constitution was because it lacked a bill of rights at the federal level with the new Constitution. Between 1787 and 1790, the 13 original states ratified the new Constitution. Many people believed that it didn't go far enough though to protect individual rights. They wanted their rights spelled out in a bill, or a list. Thomas Jefferson even wrote to James Madison that he wished they put in a bill of rights (Jefferson was the ambassador to France during the Constitutional Convention and so he wasn't there). Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton disagreed arguing that the new nation did not need laws to stop the government from doing things that the Constitution gave it no power to do. Hamilton also argued that the states all had their own constitutions with freedoms protected in their own bills of rights. In the first Congress, James Madison was a leading representative in the House of Representatives and pushed for several amendments, or changes, to the Constitution. Ten of the twelve proposed amendments passed and were ratified, or approved, and put onto the Constitution. __//NOTE//__: The Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution passed in 1791.
 * __The Bill of Rights__:**

__//NOTE//__: The 1st amendment protects personal freedoms by giving freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. Freedom of religion was put in to keep the government from forcing people to practice a certain faith. It's not that the Founding Fathers wanted to eliminate religion from laws or the government and they definitely didn't want to eliminate religion from society. They simply didn't want Congress to establish an official church in which the people were required to support by taxes. They wanted the government to stay out of making demands on peoples' religion beliefs. Over time, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this freedom meant the separation of church and state, or that there should be a clear division between religion and the government. __//NOTE//__: Our Founding Fathers saw faith as an important civic responsibility, but Secular-Progressives use the term "separation of church and state" to try to eliminate religion from society. What is meant by eliminating religion from society? In the 1960s, the Supreme Court banned school prayer. Schools use to begin the school day with a prayer. No one was forced to do it, but it still was banned. A few years later the Supreme Court banned Bible readings. There was even a controversy in May 2012 when a federal judge told a school it had to take down the Ten Commandments unless they eliminated the first 4 commandments that mention God. Free speech is important in that it allows us the freedom to voice our opinions and criticize our government and officials by suggesting other ideas. __//NOTE//__: There are some limits to free speech such as not being allowed to say anything that leads to a "clear and present danger." One reason free speech is important is that it allows us the freedom to criticize our government and government officials. People who live under the control of a Totalitarian dictator can not criticize their leaders, or else they'd get punished. __//NOTE//__: Another limit is a person cannot commit slander - speaking a lie that hurts a person's reputation. Freedom of the press means allowed to print stories in newspapers and report on TV and radio (although at the time of the Bill of Rights there were only newspapers). __//NOTE//__: The press can't commit libel - a written lie that hurts a person's reputation. The courts have also interpreted to mean electronic media was well, or the Internet. Assembly means that people are allowed to hold meetings as long as they are not violent. A petition is something that a person uses to try to convince the government to make change. What a person has the right to do is come up with an idea and then get signatures. That's a petition. Overall, the basic freedoms that Bill of Rights protects is religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.

There are other amendments in the Bill of Rights that protects citizens. __//NOTE//__: The 2nd amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms (guns). The Founders wanted to make sure citizens had the ability to protect themselves and their property. Some states, including Pennsylvania, allow the use of guns to defend their property (there are specific provisions in the law code). There are some restrictions though on owning a gun. For example, __//NOTE//__: the Brady Bill is a federal law that puts a waiting period and background checks on purchasing a gun. The meaning of the 2nd amendment is a source of heated debate today in the government. Some believe that a well-regulated militia is the only reason to allow gun ownership and since we have a military there is no longer a need for a militia and therefore the government can put limits on gun ownership. The other side of the argument is that the original intent of the amendment was for protection and self-defense. //__NOTE__//: The 3rd amendment says citizens can't be forced to house soldiers. This isn't an issue today, but at the time of the Bill of Rights, the Founding Fathers remembered how the British forced the colonists to house the soldiers.

The 4th through 8th amendments protect from abuses of the criminal justice system by protecting the rights of a person accused of a crime. __//NOTE//__: The 4th amendment protects citizens from unreasonable/illegal searches or seizures. For police to legally search and seize evidence to use in court, __//NOTE//__: police need a search warrant or probable cause to search or seize evidence. If evidence is seized illegally then that evidence cannot be used against a person in court even if the person is guilty. Police and government officials are required to follow proper procedures. The 5th amendment has several parts. __//NOTE//__: The 5th amendment says a person can't be forced to testify against their self in court, can't be put on trial for the same crime twice (no double jeopardy), and can't be denied life, liberty, or property without the due process of law. __//NOTE//__: The 6th amendment gives the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. This protects a person from a judge or government official having a bias. A jury's members are regular citizens who aren't allowed on the jury if they know anyone involved. __//NOTE//__: The 7th amendment provides for jury trials in cases dealing with money or property. NOTE: The 8th amendment says no excessive bails or fines and no cruel or unusual punishment. This means that the punishment must fit the crime.

The 9th and 10th amendments complete the Bill of Rights. __//NOTE//__: The 9th amendment says any right that is not mentioned is a right the people have. The Founding Fathers knew they wouldn't be able to think of every right especially those that may come up in the future. Therefore, the 9th amendment would be a catch all to get anything they couldn't think of. One example is privacy. We have the right to privacy, or the right to be left alone. It's not explicitly written in the Constitution, but is a right we have from the 9th amendment. __//NOTE//__: The 10th amendment says powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states.

There are 17 other amendments to the Constitution. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are collective called the Civil War Amendments. This is because they were passed after the Civil War in order to protect the newly freed slaves. These amendments protect __//NOTE//__: civil rights, or rights to be treated equally. __//NOTE//__: The 13th amendment outlawed slavery. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves in the state that were at war against the Union. After the war though it became necessary to ban slavery with the Constitution so that no territory or state ever again tried to have slaves. __//NOTE//__: The 14th amendment gave blacks citizenship and said no state could take away life, liberty, or property without the due process of law and provides equal protection under the law for all citizens. __//NOTE//__: The 15th amendment gave blacks the right to vote. The word suffrage means the rights to vote. Blacks got suffrage from this amendment. __//NOTE//__: The 16th amendment began the income tax. Most people are unaware that the federal government tried to pass an income tax in the 1890s but it was ruled unconstitutional. It wasn't acceptable back then to tax what people earned through working. This is why the Constitution had to be amended to start an income tax. It's interesting that the first person to suggest an income tax was Karl Marx, the person who began Communism. Today, the federal government raises income tax as a way to try to bring in more money. In reality, higher income taxes discourage people from working harder to earn more money and higher taxes actually means that the government brings in less money. __//NOTE//__: The 17th amendment says voters will elect U.S. senators. Before this amendment, the state legislatures in each state chose their U.S. senators. This made U.S. senators vote on what was best for their state. After the 17th amendment, U.S. senators would vote on what their political parties wanted, not necessarily for what was best for their state. __//NOTE//__: The 18th amendment began Prohibition (outlawed alcohol), but this amendment was repealed by the 21st amendment. __//NOTE//__: The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote. It was pushed by women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Carrie Chapman Catt. __//NOTE//__: The 20th amendment sets the inauguration of a president at January 20. __//NOTE//__: The 22nd amendment sets the 2 term limit on the presidency. __//NOTE//__: The 23rd amendment gave D.C. electoral votes to vote for president. __//NOTE//__: The 24th amendment banned the poll tax (tax to register to vote). __//NOTE//__: The 25th amendment set up the line of succession to the presidency. This amendment gives details as to when the Vice President assumes the duties of the presidency (not just when there's an assassination). The line of succession goes President, then Vice President, then Speaker of the House, then President Pro-Tempore of the Senate (oldest member of the Senate of the majority party), and then the Cabinet by order of the department's creation. __//NOTE//__: The 26th amendment lowered the voting age to 18. The reason behind making 18 the age is that an American in the Vietnam War era could be drafted into the military and sent off to war. The theory was (in the 1970s) that if you're old enough to be drafted and go to war, then you're old enough to vote. __//NOTE//__: The 27th amendment says how Congressional pay raises work.
 * __Other Amendments to the Constitution__:**

There are several duties and responsibilities of citizens. Duties are almost like requirements...things citizens must do. __//NOTE//__: Some civic duties include obeying the law, attending school to get educated, and paying taxes. Responsibilities are what citizens should do to make their communities better. Obeying the law is important because what would happen if people didn't? Our society would quickly collapse. To obey laws, you have to know what the laws are. Fore example, if a police officer stops you for speeding, it will not help to claim that you didn't know the speed limit. Why? It is your duty to find out the laws and obey them. Education is important too because a democracy cannot function without educated citizens. People need good thinking skills so they can wisely choose their leaders. Taxes must be paid because they are necessary to fund (pay for) our safety (military, police, fire protection) and services. __//NOTE//__: Some civic responsibilities include voting, being informed, helping the community, respect the rights of others and our Founding Fathers said faith was one too. Voting is important for our democracy to function properly. American editor George Nathan once said "Bad officials are elected by people who don't vote." If you do not vote, you leave the choice up to others and you might not like the candidate others choose. Our government is based on the consent of the governed, or the people. Therefore, we must let our legislators (lawmakers) know when we approve or disapprove of their actions. Helping in the community involves helping those who are less fortunate. All citizens should care about their communities and want to work to make their community better and safer.
 * __Citizens' Duties and Responsibilities__:**

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