The Bill of Rights
"[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 (Justice McKean's point is that adding a Bill of Rights would give the federal government more power because it would delegate the federal government powers that are not included 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 excerpt above, Jefferson is arguing for the adoption of a bill of rights to protect liberties like freedom of religion and "protection against standing armies.")
"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 (Daniel Adams is arguing for the US Constitution to include a bill of rights to protect civil liberties. His argument is that the Constitution gives the legislative branch a lot of power that could violate people's right to freedom of religion.)
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) A restaurant refuses to serve a group of people because of their race b) A state gerrymanders a district giving one political party an advantage when attempting to get candidates elected c) A federal court refuses to provide a lawyer for a defendant who cannot afford one d) A state refuses to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple
A federal court refuses to provide a lawyer for a defendant who cannot afford one (The Sixth Amendment protects the right to legal counsel.)
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 (In Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), the Court ruled that by mandating that Amish students to attend school past the eighth grade, the state had violated these families' individual interests in their free exercise of religion, which is protected under the First Amendment.)
Which of the following best defines civil liberties? a) Rights given to the states to protect them from the federal government superseding their power b) Freedoms that protect citizens, opinions, and property against government abuse of power c) Freedoms that give people the right to refuse to obey laws as a peaceful form of political protest d) Rights that guarantee individuals freedom from discrimination at both the state and federal levels of government
Freedoms that protect citizens, opinions, and property against government abuse of power (Civil liberties are best described as constitutionally-established guarantees and freedoms that protect citizens from government interference. Examples of civil liberties protected in the Bill of Rights are freedom of speech, the right to trial by jury, and protection from unreasonable search and seizure.)
"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 (Daniel Adams is advocating for adding a bill of rights to the US Constitution. He argues that the Constitution needs to protect individual liberties from government interference.)
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 (Anti-Federalists pushed for the inclusion of a Bill of Rights because they believed that the Constitution created a strong central government with no protections for the individual.)
Problem "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 (Jefferson states that "I do not like ... the omission of a bill of rights," which every person should be "entitled to" as protection from the government.)
When the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1789, the amendments protected civil liberties infringement from which levels of government?
The federal government only (Delegates insisted on the inclusion of the Bill of Rights as a way to protect individual liberties from a strong central 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 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) (The decision in Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) was that Amish students did not have to attend public school past the eighth grade because it violated their rights to exercise their religious practices. Freedom of religion is protected by the First Amendment.)
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of civil liberties and civil rights? a) Right to a fair court trial and Freedom from racial discrimination b) Freedom of religion and Freedom of assembly c) Freedom from gender discrimination and Freedom from unreasonable search and seizure d) Right to vote and Right to privacy
a) Right to a fair court trial and Freedom from racial discrimination (The right to a fair court trial is a civil liberty protected by the Sixth Amendment. Freedom from racial discrimination is a civil right protected by the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause.)
