History Chp. 8 Sec. 3

What are two ways that an amendment can be propsed? (1)

An amendment can be proposed by a 2/3 vote of each house of Congress. All amendments have been proposed using this method.

The 5th Amendment protects the rights of persons accused of a crime. A. In order to try someone, an indictment or formal accusation must be obtained from a grand jury. What does the grand jury base their decision on?

A grand jury determines if there is enough evidence to hold a trial. If they do, an indictment is issued and the accused is bound over for trial. If not, an indictment is not issued and the accused goes free.

The 5th Amendment protects the rights of persons accused of a crime. C. What is an important protection for the person accused of a crime in terms of the evidence used against them?

A person accused of a crime cannot be forced to give evidence or testimony against themselves.

The 6th Amendment guarantees a person accused of a crime a speedy and fair trial by a jury of their peers. B. What right does this amendment give the accused in regard to a lawyer?

A person accused of a crime has the right to have a lawyer (attorney) to help defnd them. If the accused cannot afford to pay for a lawyer, the government must provide one for them.

The 6th Amendment guarantees a person accused of a crime a speedy and fair trial by a jury of their peers. A. What right does this amendment give the accused in regard to witnesses?

A person accused of a crime has the right to know what they are being charged with and they have the right to question witnesses against them and to have witnesses in their favor.

What are two ways that an amendment can be propsed? (2)

An amendment can also be proposed by a national convetion called by Congress at the request of 2/3 of the state legislatures. This method has never been used.

What are the two ways that an amendment can be ratified? (2)

An amendment can also be raified by a special convention in 3/4 of the state voting in favor of the amendment. This method was used to ratify the 21st Amendment.

What are the two ways that an amendment can be ratified? (1)

An amendment can be ratified or approved by 3/4 of the state legislatures voting in favor of the amendment. All amendments except one have been ratified using this method.

The 8th Amendment prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusal punishment? A. What is a bail?

Bail is money that a person accused of a crime gives to the court in order to get out of jail until their trial. If the accused shows up for their trial, they get their money back. If they fail to show up for their trial, the court keeps their money.

The 4th Amendment protects Americans from unreasonable searche and seizures. A. What must the police get before they can conduct a search in most cases?

Before the police can condict a search, they must obtain a warrant from a judge.

The 13th, 14th and 5th Amendments are sometimes reffered to as the Civil War Amendments. Tell what each amendment did in regard to African-Americans? B. 14th Amendment

Defines citizenship in the U.S. It also extended citizenship to the newly freed slaves.

The 5th Amendment protects the rights of persons accused of a crime. B. Double jeopardy is prohibited under the 5th Amendment. What does that mean?

Double jeopardy means that a person cannot be tried more than once for the same crime. This means tha if the accused is found not guilty, the government cannot try them again for that crime. The government can appeal the verdict if they feel the trial wasn't fair. If the appellate court finds that the trial wasn't fair (mistakes were made by the court), a new trial can be ordered. If the appellate court finds that the trial was fair. The verdict stands.

The 5th Amendment protects the rights of persons accused of a crime. D. What is meant by the term "due process of law"

Due process of law means that a person accused of a crime is entitled to a fair hearing or trial.

The 1st Amendment protects basic individual liberities or freedoms. The two best known of these are freedom of religion and freedom of speech. What are the other three freedoms. (1)

Freedom of the press - This means that the government cannot censor or limit the communication of information by the news media.

The 13th, 14th and 5th Amendments are sometimes reffered to as the Civil War Amendments. Tell what each amendment did in regard to African-Americans? C. 15th Amendment

Guarantees the right to vote to the freed slaves and other persons that had been denied this right because of their race or ethnicity.

The 4th Amendment protects Americans from unreasonable searche and seizures. C. What happens if the police don't make a lawful search?

If evidence is obtained unlawfully, it cannot be used in court.

The 4th Amendment protects Americans from unreasonable searche and seizures. B. What requirment must the police meet to get an item from letter a?

In order to obtain a search warrant, the police must convince the judge that there is probable cause that evidence of a crime will be found.

The 1st Amendment protects basic individual liberities or freedoms. The two best known of these are freedom of religion and freedom of speech. What are the other three freedoms. (3)

Right to petition - This means that people have the right to complain to the government without fear of government reprisal or puinishment.

The 13th, 14th and 5th Amendments are sometimes reffered to as the Civil War Amendments. Tell what each amendment did in regard to African-Americans? A. 13th Amendment

Passed shortely after the Civil War and it abolished slavery and freed al slaves in the U.S.

Why was the 24th Amendment passed to abolish or do away with poll taxes? (You'll need to explain what a poll tax is in your answer as well.)

Poll taxes were fees that were charged in some states in order to vote. Thay were created in order to keep blacks from voting since many were too poor to pay the fee. The 24th Amendment outlaed the use of poll taxes.

The 1st Amendment protects basic individual liberities or freedoms. The two best known of these are freedom of religion and freedom of speech. What are the other three freedoms. (2)

Right to assemble - This means that the people have the right to assemble or come together as a group to express themselves or protest without the government interfering with or stopping them.

What is the purpose of the 10th Amendment?

The 10th Amendment states that any powers not given to the national government belong to the governments of the states. This is intended to limit the powers of the powers of the national government.

What change did the 17th AMendment make to the Congress?

The 17th Amendment changed the way that senators are elected. Prior to this amendment, senators were elected by a state's legislature. This amendment called for senators to be elected by popular election (the people).

The19th and 26th Amendments allowed more Americans to vote. For each amendment, tell what group of Americans was given suffrage or the right to vote. A. 19th Amendment

The 19th Amendment extended suffrage (the right to vote) to women.

The 22nd Amendment made what change to the presidency?

The 22nd Amendment placed a limit on the number of terms a president can serve. The president is now limited to two full terms.

The19th and 26th Amendments allowed more Americans to vote. For each amendment, tell what group of Americans was given suffrage or the right to vote. B. 26th Amendment

The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age form age 21 to 18 years of age.

The 2nd Amendment protects the right of private citizens to own what?

The 2nd Amendment protects the right of private citizens to own and possess firearms.

Why was the 9th Amendment added to the Constitution?

The 9th Amendment states that people that have rights that are not listed in the Constitution. This amendment was added because some thought that the Bill of Rights would be used to limit rights.

The 8th Amendment prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusal punishment? B. What is the amount of bail usually based on?

The amount of bail is based on the severity of the crime. The more serious the crime, the higher amount of bail. For many minor cases, bail is not required and the accused may be released after signing a pledge to show up for their trial. For extremely serious crimes or if the accused is belived to be a flight risk, bail may be denied.

Why did the framers of the Constitution create a complex amendment process?

The framers of the Constitution didn't want it too easy to amend or change the Constitution. They made the process complex so that only changes that were important to a large majority of Americans could be made to the Constitution.