The Bill of Rights

Which of the following scenarios would be an example of a violation of one of the civil liberties protected by the Bill of Rights?

A federal court refuses to provide a lawyer for a defendant who cannot afford one

Which of the following scenarios represents a violation of one of the civil liberties protected by the Bill of Rights?

A state compels Amish students to attend school past the eighth grade

Which of the following best defines civil liberties?

Freedoms that protect citizens, opinions, and property against government abuse of power

"In the Bill of Rights for this Commonwealth it is declared that the happiness of the people & the Preservation of civil government depend upon the piety religion & morality & that the people have a right to invest their Legislature with power to require that provision be made for the public worship of God & the support of protestant teachers & require the attendance of people upon such worship instructions. . . . We must insist that the Continental Constitution contain a Bill of Rights which by Express shall secure to us our privileges especially our religion." Daniel Adams, at a town meeting in Townshend, Massachusetts, 1787 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

Individual liberties must be secured against governmental intrusions by specific language in foundational documents

Which of the following describes a reason why the Framers decided to include a Bill of Rights?

It was specifically designed to protect individual liberties and rights from a strong central government

"There are other good things of less moment. I will now add what I do not like [about the Constitution]. First the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly & without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction against monopolies, the eternal & unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury in all matters of fact triable by the laws of the land & not by the law of Nations. . . . Let me add that a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, & what no just government should refuse or rest on inference." -Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, 20 December 1787 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

The Bill of Rights places necessary restrictions on the federal government's power

When the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1789, the amendments protected civil liberties infringement from which levels of government?

The federal government only

"In the Bill of Rights for this Commonwealth it is declared that the happiness of the people & the Preservation of civil government depend upon the piety religion & morality & that the people have a right to invest their Legislature with power to require that provision be made for the public worship of God & the support of protestant teachers & require the attendance of people upon such worship instructions.... We must insist that the Continental Constitution contain a Bill of Rights which by Express shall secure to us our privileges especially our religion." Daniel Adams, at a town meeting in Townshend, Massachusetts, 1787 Supporters of Adams's view that a bill of rights is necessary to protect individual liberties could point to which of the following cases?

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of civil liberties and civil rights?

A Civil liberties: right to fair trial Civil rights: freedom from racial discrimination

"[I]t has already been incontrovertibly shown that on the present occasion a bill of rights was totally unnecessary, and that it might be accompanied with some inconveniency and danger if there was any defect in the attempt to enumerate the privileges of the people. This system proposes a union of thirteen sovereign and independent states in order to give dignity and energy to the transaction of their common concerns. It would be idle, therefore to countenance the idea that any other powers were delegated to the general government than those specified in the Constitution itself." Justice Thomas McKean at the Pennsylvania State Convention to ratify the Constitution, edited by John Back McMaster and Frederick D. Stone, 1788 Which of the following best summarizes the author's argument?

A Bill of Rights would potentially give the federal government more power than is explicitly stated in the Constitution

"There are other good things of less moment. I will now add what I do not like [about the Constitution]. First the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly & without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction against monopolies, the eternal & unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury in all matters of fact triable by the laws of the land & not by the law of Nations. . . . Let me add that a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, & what no just government should refuse or rest on inference." -Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, 20 December 1787 Which of the following statements best summarizes Jefferson's argument?

A bill of rights is necessary to protect civil liberties from infringement from the federal government

"In the Bill of Rights for this Commonwealth it is declared that the happiness of the people & the Preservation of civil government depend upon the piety religion & morality & that the people have a right to invest their Legislature with power to require that provision be made for the public worship of God & the support of protestant teachers & require the attendance of people upon such worship instructions.... We must insist that the Continental Constitution contain a Bill of Rights which by Express shall secure to us our privileges especially our religion." Daniel Adams, at a town meeting in Townshend, Massachusetts, 1787 Which of the following statements best summarizes the author's argument?

A bill of rights would protect civil liberties such as freedom of religion