Unit 18
The Bill of Rights and Limits on Government Power
Reading
You will need to read the Bill of Rights! This is posted below, with notes that correspond to the lecture video.
Also watch the lecture video posted below.
You will need to read the Bill of Rights! This is posted below, with notes that correspond to the lecture video.
Also watch the lecture video posted below.
Instructions for 2019 Class
Due to the calendar this year, the final class is "virtual". You will "attend" the class by studying the video lecture below. To prove you attended the class, prepare a full set of professionally-looking notes as you watch/study the video, and turn them in no later than Monday, June 10th. I expect you to prepare at least 3 to 4 pages of neatly-written notes for this lecture - which covers the Bill of Rights and the subsequent Amendments to the Constitution. Your rights as a citizen are important!
I recommend you organize your notes as follows:
I will be grading on:
Due to the calendar this year, the final class is "virtual". You will "attend" the class by studying the video lecture below. To prove you attended the class, prepare a full set of professionally-looking notes as you watch/study the video, and turn them in no later than Monday, June 10th. I expect you to prepare at least 3 to 4 pages of neatly-written notes for this lecture - which covers the Bill of Rights and the subsequent Amendments to the Constitution. Your rights as a citizen are important!
I recommend you organize your notes as follows:
- Historical background: Constitutional Convention - Civil War - New Deal - etc etc
- Amendment 1...
- Amendment 2...
- Amendment 3...
- etc
I will be grading on:
- Neatness
- Completeness
| 18._bill_of_rights & subsequent_amendments__annotated_.docx |
Bill of Rights Case Study assignment
You have 3 options for this assignment. Choose one of the following:
You have 3 options for this assignment. Choose one of the following:
- Choose a landmark 1st Amendment case (freedom of speech, religion, and assembly) that interests you, research it, and write a 1-1/2 page "brief" on the case, using 11-pt font and 1.15 spacing. Here is a good place to start searching: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Supreme_Court_cases_involving_the_First_Amendment. There are lots and lots of very interesting 1st Amendment cases, covering all sorts of things! Find one that interests you.
- Or.....Choose a landmark 2nd Amendment case (right to bear arms), research it, and write a 1-1/2 page "brief" on the case, using 11-pt font and 1.15 spacing. Search "Second amendment landmark cases" and you will get many cases to choose from. A very recent landmark 2nd Amendment case is "District of Columbia v. Heller" (self-defense of the home), which would be an excellent example. Another recent case is Caetano v. Massachusetts. (defendant carried around a "stun gun").
- Or.....Write a 1-1/2 page summary of the article, "How the second amendment works to prevent tyranny", posted below, using 11-pt font and 1.15 spacing. In your analysis, specifically address: a) what are the arguments?, b) what is a "militia", c) what did Madison say in "Federalist #46"?, d) how would an armed populace protect against tyranny?.
| 18._how_the_second_amendment_works_to_prevent_tyranny.pdf |
If you choose to "brief a case" (options 1 or 2), follow this structure:
- Title and year of the case, as in: "___________ vs. __________, 2001"
- Facts of the case, as in, "In January, 2001, defendant Witherspoon was participating in a rally in which he was carrying a sign that said, "I Hate Cops", and generally minding his own business; when the Police Chief suddenly rode up on a horse, snatched the sign from his hands, and proceeded to.... (go into all the details... what happened?)"
- Issues or Questions of Law: What laws and/or Constitutional provisions come into play? How does the 1st or 2nd Amendment apply to the case? What is the applicable law? How does it pertain to the case?
- Decision: How did the court decide the case? Who won? Who wrote the decision? Who wrote the "dissent"? Summarize.
- Reasoning: What was the reasoning behind the court's final decision?