American Government Study Guide

Chapter 4 The Amendments to the Constitution

Overview This chapter will provide the amendments and the proper context to the amendments in order to understand why the constitution needed to be changed. The amendment process is dif�icult to com- plete, so these were necessary changes that ultimately needed to be made. Learning Objectives 1. Identify the amendments to the United States Constitution. 2. Understand the proper historical context as to why amendments needed to be added. 3. Evaluate the current need for some of the past amendments and possibly more needed. 4.1 The Bill of Rights Between the development of the United States Constitution and the rati�ication of the Bill of Rights, a battle between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists was raging. Federalists fav ored the rati�ica- tion of the constitution and the anti-federalists felt it made the federal government too strong. Ulti- mately, a compromise needed to be met between the two groups, and the compromise was the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is the �irst ten amendments that were passed in 1791. These ten amendments ad- dress individual and states’ rights that needed to be protected from a strong central government. 1 st Freedom of religion, press, peaceful assembly, speech, and petition. 2 nd Right to bear arms. 3 rd No illegal quartering of soldier during peacetime. 4 th No illegal searches and seizures without probable cause or a warrant. 5 th Right to due process, no double jeopardy, no self-incrimination, just compensation for land taken by the government. 6 th Right to a speedy and fair trail, trail by an impartial jury, right to representation, to be confronted by the witnesses against the accused. 7 th Right to a trial by jury in civil cases. 8 th Protection from cruel and unusual punishment and no outstanding �ines or bail. 9 th Rights guaranteed even if not expressed in the constitution. 10 th If not expressed in the constitution, the remaining powers are left to the states.

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