The Constitution and the Bill of

Rights
Objective
In this lesson, you will

Basic Principles of the Constitution

The Founding Fathers were firmly committed to the principle of ________________ sovereignty. However, the
Framers also feared a government system built on _________________ rule because a larger group could
_______________ control smaller groups. For this reason, the Constitution provides protections for
________________ rights.

Democracy with Limits

The Founding Fathers understood that _____________ democracy was __________________ in a country as
large as the United States. They also did not trust the mass of common people to vote directly on important
political ___________________. Thus, they made the United States a ______________________ democracy in
which the people ____________ respected citizens to make decisions on their behalf.

In the Constitution preamble, “We the people” means that the government is developed with the
consent of the nation’s people and gets its power and sovereignty from this consent.

Limited Government
Guarding the civil liberties of citizens provides one of the most effective ways to ______________ the
power of the government. The Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the Constitution), names and
protects US citizens' civil _________________.

Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

The phrase "separation of ______________" refers to a government system in which power is ____________,
usually between three branches.
The US Constitution divides the national government between the _________________ branch, the executive
branch, and the judicial branch. Congress, which has the authority to pass ___________, makes up the
__________________ branch. The president, who possesses executive authority, implements the laws passed
by Congress. The judicial branch, which consists of the Supreme Court and lower courts, _______________
laws and decides what is _______________________.
Under the system of checks and balances, the president has the power to _______________ the members of
the Supreme Court. The president also has the power to call a special ________________ of Congress and the
power to veto, or reject, laws passed by the legislature. Congress on the other hand, has the power to
override the president's __________ with a two-thirds majority vote. Congress holds the final power to fund
presidential initiatives and can ________________ presidential nominees to the Supreme Court and other
positions. If the president or a judge does something illegal, Congress also has the authority to remove officials
through the process of _____________________. The Supreme Court primarily exerts the power of judicial
review. If the court decides that a law passed by Congress or an action of the president goes against the
Constitution, it can declare that law or action unconstitutional and ________________ it.

Federalism
Federalism refers to how governing powers are shared between nation, state, and local governments.
Under the federal system, ______________ run most of their affairs, but the ______________
government takes precedence in many matters.

Articles of the Constitution

The Constitution consists of ____________ articles that describe the powers and functions of US government.

The Legislative Branch

Article I describes the powers, form, and process of __________________. The Constitution allows small
and large states to be equally represented: the House represents each state based on
_________________; the Senate has ____________ representation for all states, with two senators per
state. The people elect representatives to the House every ________ years, reflecting that sovereignty
rests with the people. Originally, the state legislatures chose ________________, but since 1913 the public
has directly elected senators to six-year terms. The Senate and the House have almost ___________
powers of legislation. Because all laws must pass both the Senate and the House, each chamber acts as a
____________ on the other. Nonetheless, each branch of Congress has certain _______________ powers.

Executive Branch
Article II of the Constitution describes the powers of the __________________, the qualifications for the
office, the process for indirectly electing the president and vice president through an
__________________ _______________, and the executive departments that serve under the president.
The Framers gave the president these important powers: conducting _______________ affairs, acting as
supreme military director, appointing executive and judicial officers, pardoning those accused of a crime,
and vetoing ________________.
 The Judicial Branch
Article III describes how the Supreme Court will be the chief court of the land. It gives the Supreme Court
and other ______________ courts the power to check the other branches by reviewing laws and
__________________ actions and __________________ whether they violate the Constitution.

Interstate and Federal-State Cooperation

Article IV requires the ______________ to respect one another's laws and court actions, to aid each other in
bringing persons accused of crimes to justice by returning fugitives to the states from which they fled
(________________). It also states that the national government must assist states in ____________________
rights of self-government, repelling invasion, and keeping ______________.

Amending the Constitution

Article V describes how the Constitution can be amended: either through a two-thirds __________ of
Congress, which must then be ratified by three-fourths of the states, or through a convention called by
Congress at the ___________________ of two-thirds of the state legislatures. Amending the Constitution is a
___________ and difficult process, which is why the Constitution has only 27 amendments.

The Supremacy Clause

Article VI states that the Constitution itself, all national laws, and the treaties made by the federal government
hold _________________ ___________________ in the nation. Thus, in a __________________ between
national law and state law, national law remains superior to state law.

Ratification
Article VII briefly describes how nine of thirteen states were needed to _____________ the Constitution.

Living Document
The ___________________ process gives rise to the understanding that the Constitution is a living document.

Loose Constructionism and Originalism

Choosing to amend the Constitution or deciding whether it allows a certain branch or official to have certain
powers brings up various viewpoints. Those who interpret the Constitution ______________ embrace the idea
of "loose constructionism." Those who believe that the original intent or meaning of the ________________
should guide the interpretation encourage a view called "originalism" or “strict constructionism.”
The Bill of Rights
First Amendment protections: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to
peaceably _________________, and the right to _______________ the government.

Religious Freedoms
The religious freedom clause of the First Amendment contains two pillars. The first pillar prohibits the
government from establishing an _____________________ religion. The second pillar prohibits the
government from interfering with the "__________ ______________" of religion. The government cannot
make laws that _________________ or limit the practice or expression of religious beliefs. The Founders
based the religion clause on the principle of _____________________ of church and state.

Political Freedom and Freedom of Speech

The First Amendment ______________ laws that prevent freedom of speech or freedom of the press.
There are _______________ to these rights, however. If you publish a false and damaging accusation
about someone, you can be sued for __________. The First Amendment also prohibits laws that violate
people's right to meet, assemble, or _______________ peacefully.

Second Amendment: The Right to Bear Arms

The Second Amendment guarantees the right of citizens to own and carry weapons for the purpose of
maintaining a "well-regulated _______________."

The Third Amendment: Quartering Troops

The Third Amendment prohibits the government from forcing citizens to house soldiers in times of peace.

Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure

The Fourth Amendment aims to protect citizens from the ______________ or intrusive use of government
power, particularly by the police. To protect the people against arbitrary intrusions into their privacy, the
Amendment bans "unreasonable _________________ and __________________." It also forces police officers
to obtain a ________________ before searching or confiscating a person's property.

Fifth Amendment: Rights of Persons Before the Law

Before someone can be brought to trial for a serious offense, the Fifth Amendment requires an
_________________, or formal accusation, by a grand __________. The amendment prohibits trying a person
twice for the same crime (known as double _________________). The government also cannot force people
to testify against _________________ in court. The ________ _______________ clause of the Fifth
Amendment ensures that the nation is governed according to the rule of law and not the personal, unfair
decisions of those in power.
Sixth Amendment: Rights of Accused Persons
The Sixth Amendment guarantees a number of rights to people who have been _________________ of
crimes. These rights help ensure procedural due process. Two of the rights apply to pretrial proceedings: the
right to be ___________________ what crime you are accused of and the right to assistance from a
_________________. The other clauses pertain to how criminal _____________ are conducted.

Seventh Amendment: Jury Trial in Civil Cases

The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a __________ trial in civil cases. Unlike criminal law,
__________ law does not determine whether a crime has been committed. Instead, it deals with conflicts
between ___________________.

Eighth Amendment: Criminal Punishment

The Eighth Amendment prohibits the imposition of "_________________" fines or bail and bans "cruel and
unusual _________________." The definitions of "excessive" and "cruel and unusual" remain unclear.

Ninth Amendment: Unenumerated Rights

The amendment explicitly states that just because the Bill of Rights ______________________, or mentions,
certain rights, that does not mean other rights of the people do not exist.

Tenth Amendment: Reserved Powers

This amendment reserves the powers not given to the ____________ government to the _____________ and
the ______________.

Beyond the Bill of Rights

Congress and the states added more ____________________ later to help the country live up to its
founding credo, "all men are created ______________."

The Abolition of Slavery

After the Union defeated the Confederacy's attempt to secede from the United States, the country passed
three amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) intended to _________ ________________ and extend freedoms
and rights to __________ people.

The Fourteenth Amendment

Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment to give full ____________________ to all Americans, including
former ________ ________ and all people ________ in the United States. The amendment guarantees ________
Americans ____________ protection under the law and prohibits states from violating the privileges and rights of
their citizens. For all states, the Fourteenth Amendment also reiterates the _______ _____________ clause of the
Fifth Amendment.
The Fifteenth Amendment
Although the Fifteenth Amendment theoretically guaranteed African American men the right to ___________,
states soon found ways to get around the ______________________ of the amendment.

The Nineteenth Amendment

In the early 1900s, support for _____________'s suffrage increased, culminating in the passage of the
Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. This amendment gave women the right to vote.

Other Notable Amendments

➢ In 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment forbade the sale, manufacture, and transportation of
_______________ in the United States. After 14 years, Congress passed the Twenty-First Amendment
which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment. The Eighteenth Amendment remains the only amendment to
have been ________________.
➢ Adopted in 1971, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment lowered the legal _____________ age from 21 to _____.

Summary
How does the Bill of Rights protect the unalienable rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" listed
in the Declaration of Independence?