Amendments Study Guide
Amendments Study Guide:
Bill of Rights = Civil Liberties
1st – (1st Amendment limits: can’t endanger government or other citizens)
Freedom Of:
1. religion– the government cannot set up a national religion
You CAN:
• Choose whatever religion you like
• Lead a prayer in most examples
• Ask questions about religions
• Worship whoever or whatever you want
You CANNOT:
• Break the law and claim it is religious belief
• Raise children without education
• Deprive children of basic needs
The Establishment Clause (is separation of church and state)of the 1st Amendment ensures
Government CAN:
• Teach about religions in school
• Allow voluntary prayer in many examples
• Transport students to a religious school
• Read Bible for culture or literacy content
The Establishment Clause of the 1st amendment ensures
Government CANNOT:
• Set a state religion
• Government cannot order a prayer
• Teach religious doctrine in the school
2. press– objectionable material cannot be banned in newspapers or magazines. News cannot
be censored even if public safety is at stake.
You CAN:
• Print any political position
• Make fun of people, especially politicians
• Expose wrongs by the government
• Say things you might not agree with
You CANNOT:
• Libel– intentionally injuring a person’s reputation by false facts (pronounced lie-bl)
• Disclose defense-security secrets
• Detail how to make a certain weapons
3. to assemble – peacefully.
You CAN:
• Protest
• Parade (with a permit)
• Parade chanting hate slogans
• Gang members can congregate in public
You CANNOT:
• Protest by throwing rocks and breaking windows/ insight a riot
• Hang out on private land against owners will—loitering
• Break teen curfew
4. speech- Freedom to express opinions and beliefs
• Not absolute (there are somethings you cannot say).
• Obscenity is not protected
You CAN:
• Say any political belief
• Protest (without getting out of control)
• Say things about someone that are true
• Burn the flag
• Say racist and hate slogans
• Free speech means someone might say something you disagree with
You CANNOT:
• Threaten to blow up airplanes, schools, the president or other official
• Sexually harass
• Create too much social chaos
• Use extremely crude language in a public form
• Use vulgar language in schools
• Commit hate crimes
5. petition the government
You CAN:
• You may sue the government for wrongs
• You cannot be punished for exposing wrongs by the government
• The courts decide the wrongs
You CANNOT:
• Threaten the president or officials
2nd – Right to bear arms
3rd – No quartering (housing) soldiers in times of peace
4th – In order to search your house, the police need to have probable cause( a reason to believe you have done something wrong) and a warrant signed by ajudge –this is the right to privacy act.
5th- 1. You cannot be tried for the same crime twice—called “Double Jeopardy”
2. You do not have to testify against yourself. “I plead the fifth”
3. You must have due processof the law before you are convicted.
Due process - the right of theaccused persons (defendants) to receive notice of the charges against them,
to face theiraccusers,
to provide evidence to the court,
and to be judged by a jury of their peers.
Writteninto the US Constitution, these rights are described as every American's right to a fair trial.
4. The government cannot take your land unless it pays. (Eminent domain)
5. No trial may be held unless a person is formally charged, or indicted by the grand jury. The
purpose of the Grand Jury is to decide whether evidence supports an indictment (to send aperson to trial).
6th - 1. Right to speedy trial by impartial jury—meaning not favoring either side.
2. You must be told of your charges.
3. You must be provided a lawyer if you cannot afford one.
4. If possible, the trial to be held in an area where the crime took place
5. Must be permitted to hear and question all witnesses
6. The accused is entitled to a lawyer and to call witnesses for his/her own defense.
7th - Allows a jury trial in Civil Cases when the amount disputed is more than $20.
8th - No excessive bail
No cruel and unusual punishment- the punishment must be in proportion to the crime committed.
9th – States that rights not listed in the Constitution are protected. Meaning that there are rights listed
in the Constitution, but citizens have more rights than what is listed there.
10th – Powers Reserved for States & People
1) Gives some powers to the US Government
2) Says that there are some powers the states do not have
3) Reserves all other powers to the state or to the people.
11th - Limits ability of people to sue the states.
12th – Revises procedure for electing president and vice president. Previously, candidates running for
President were on the same ballot. The person with the most votes was the President and the candidate
with the second most votes was the Vice President. This amendment placed the Presidential candidates
on one list and the VP candidates on another. However, they now run on the same ticket, as a team.
(Background info: When John Adams was chosen for President in the 1796 election, the secondplace
candidate, Thomas Jefferson, became Vice President — but Adams was a Federalist and
Jefferson was a Democratic-Republican. The two clashed several times during Adams's
presidency.) A similar problem occurred in the election of 1800. So, this amendment solved that
type of problem.)
13th – Abolishes slavery (1865) and grants Congress power to enforce abolition (abolishment of
slavery).
14th – Defines US citizenship; guarantees all citizens ‘equal protection of the laws.’(1868) There is much
discussion in the news today about this amendment because of the citizenship rights granted to the
children born of illegal immigrants. This law makes those children legal immigrants if they are born in
the US, even though the mother is an illegal immigrant. This law was originally enacted to ensure that
the children of slaves would become legal citizens of the US. (1868)
On the basis of this amendment, the Supreme Court decided in 1964, that the segregation of schools
was unconstitutional.
The purpose of the 14th Amendment was to nationalize the Bill of Rights.
15th – Prohibits restrictions on the right to vote based on race and color (1870). However, for many
years some states tested ‘Jim Crow’ laws. These were laws enacted to keep African American from
voting.
The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are called the ‘Civil War Amendments.’ The 14th and 15th
amendments were written because the 13th amendment had not guaranteed the full rights of formerslaves. These laws freed the slaves and helped guarantee their civil rights.
16th – Gives Congress the power to levy (charge citizens) an income tax (1913).
17th – Enables citizens to vote for senators directly. Previously the state legislators chose the USsenators.
18th – Prohibits the making, drinking, or selling alcoholic beverages.
19th – Gives women the right to vote (women’s suffrage 1920).
20th – Changes the dates of congressional and presidential terms.
21st – Repeals Prohibition (the 18th amendment)
22nd – Limits presidents to two terms in office.
23rd – Gives residents of the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) the right to vote.
24th – Abolishes poll taxes, which required voters to pay a tax in order to vote. (1964) Because many
African Americans could not afford the tax, they could not vote. Almost one hundred years after African
Americans won the right to vote with Amendment 15, they could enjoy their full rights as voters for the
first time!
25th – Establishes procedures for succession to the presidency:
(No, you do not have to know all of these. Just understand the first six (not who they are). Then
know that the rest of the list, the Cabinet members (Secretaries) are in order of the day their office was
created.
1. VP
2. Speaker of the House
3. President pro tempore of the Senate - A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the VicePresident
4 Secretary of State
5 Secretary of the Treasury
6 Secretary of Defense
7 Attorney General
8 Secretary of the Interior
9 Secretary of Agriculture
10 Secretary of Commerce
11 Secretary of Labor
12 Secretary of Health and Human Services
13 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
14 Secretary of Transportation
15 Secretary of Energy
16 Secretary of Education
17 Secretary of Veterans Affairs
18 Secretary of Homeland Security
26th – Sets the voting age at 18 years of old, down from 21 years old.
27th – Delays congressional pay raises until the term following their passage. This means that Congress
can vote on a raise for themselves, but it will not happen until the next Congress is serving.
Also Know:
1. Affirmative action is an effort to eliminate the current and lingering effects of priordiscrimination. It is a race and sex conscious effort to achieve equal employment opportunityfor all race/sex groups in a workforce.
2. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a legislative measure to protect women, African Americans,and other minority groups from discrimination. It was signed in to law by President Lyndon Johnson.
3. Although the civil rights movement has reduced discrimination, some Americans still faceracial profiling.