WASHINGTON,
D.C. (Achieve3000, November 13, 2006). In
the United States, Americans have certain freedoms. These are promised by the
Bill of Rights.
The
Bill of Rights was signed on December 15, 1791. In 1941, President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt named that date as Bill of Rights Day. Roosevelt wanted people
to remember their freedoms as Americans.
The
Beginnings of the Bill of Rights
The
idea for a bill of rights is much older than the United States. In 1689,
Britain drew up its own bill of rights. It gave people certain freedoms. It
also said that the king or queen must ask elected leaders before doing certain
things.
In
the 1700s, many people wanted America to be free from Britain. Why? Britain
fought wars on American land. It wanted Americans to let British soldiers live
in their houses. It made Americans pay money to Britain. Also, Americans had no
voice in the British government. Americans had no rights of their own.
In
1774, many people said that Americans should have rights. These should be the
same rights as the British had. In 1775, the war with Britain began. Each of
the 13 colonies wrote its own laws. A new nation was formed.
The Writing
of the Bill of Rights
I n
1787, leaders wrote the U.S. Constitution. They sent it to the states. The
states would vote on it. The Constitution gave the U.S. government certain
powers. However, it did not talk about some rights for people. The Constitution
was passed in 1789. Still, many states wanted a bill of rights.
The
First United States Congress met that same year. Lawmakers wrote a bill of
rights. It was a list of amendments, or changes, to the Constitution. It told
about people's rights. The lawmakers wrote 17 amendments. Congress and the
states passed 10 of them. These became the U.S. Bill of Rights.
Today,
Americans live by the Bill of Rights. It gives them their day-to-day freedoms.
Dig
Deeper
Life
in the U.S. would be different if it weren't for the Bill of Rights. Look back
at some events in history. They took place before America had a democratic
government.
First
Amendment
Congress
shall make no law [ordering a] religion, or [outlawing] the free exercise
thereof, or [taking away] the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right
of the people peaceably to [gather].
Take
John Peter Zenger, for example. He printed The New York Weekly Journal.
In 1735, Zenger's newspaper ran a story about William S. Cosby. Cosby was a
government leader. The news story said Cosby was breaking laws. Zenger was
jailed. He was accused of libel. At the time, this meant he had criticized a
government leader. But Zenger was lucky. He had a great lawyer. Zenger was
found not guilty. But what if the First Amendment had already been in place?
Would Zenger have been jailed?
Second
Amendment
A
well regulated militia [and] the right of the people to keep and bear arms,
shall not be [taken away].
During
Colonial times, America did not have an army. So the colonists formed militias.
These were fighting units. They were made up of citizens. These militias became
a problem for the British. This was in the 1760s. It was after the French and
Indian War. The British had passed new laws. The laws created new taxes for the
colonists. These taxes helped Britain pay its war costs. The British wanted to
make sure these laws were followed. So they placed troops in the colonies.
Fights arose between the soldiers and the militias. So the British tried to
take people's guns. This made things worse between the colonies and Britain.
The problems led to the American Revolution. Does this explain why the Second
Amendment was written?
Fourth
Amendment
The
right of the people to be [safe] against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be [taken away]. No Warrants shall [be given], but upon probable
cause.
Some colonists smuggled taxable goods.
They did not want to pay the new taxes. So the British got search warrants.
They were called "writs of assistance." They allowed the British to
search homes and companies. The searches were arbitrary. The British didn't
need to explain them. They could simply claim they felt someone had smuggled
goods. This is why the Fourth Amendment outlaws "unreasonable
searches." There must be "probable cause" for a search warrant.
Question for the
day
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Question for day 1:
Why did President Roosevelt name December 15 as
Bill of Rights Day?
a. Roosevelt wanted Congress to write a new bill of
rights.
b. Roosevelt wanted Americans to remember their
freedoms.
c. Roosevelt wanted lawmakers to write down the
rights of Americans.
d.
Roosevelt wanted people
to think about the war with Britain.
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Question for day 2:
Here is a sentence from the news story:
It also said that the king or queen must ask elected
leaders before doing certain things.
Elected
leaders are those who are __________.
a. Named by other lawmakers
b. Put in place by Congress
c. Voted into office by the people
d. Named by the president of the U.S.
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Question for day 3:
In 1775, the United States formed a new nation.
Each state __________.
a.
Made its own laws to
follow
b.
Was without any laws
c.
Went only by the laws of
Britain
d.
Wrote laws for the new
country
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Question for day 4:
Because Americans had no voice in the British
government, they had __________.
a. No families of their own
b. No rights of their own
c. Lots of new land to live on
d. Lots of money to spend
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Quiz Day 5
Loyalists, Fence-sitters, and Patriots
It is impossible to know the exact number of American colonists
who favored or opposed independence...
The current thought is that about 20 percent of the colonists
were LOYALISTS— those
whose remained loyal to England and King George. Another small group in terms
of percentage were the dedicated PATRIOTS,
for whom there was no alternative but independence.
On the Fence
Often overlooked are the fence-sitters who made up the largest
group.
With so many Americans undecided, the war became in great measure
a battle to win popular support. If the patriots could succeed in selling their
ideas of revolution to the public, then popular support might follow and the
British would be doomed...
The British understood the need to attract American popular
support… as well. Some colonists who were not persuaded by the political
struggle joined the British for personal gain or military glory. Some joined
out of sheer loyalty to the Crown — they still believed themselves loyal British
citizens. There were also many American farmers willing to sell their goods to
the British for profit.
In the long run, however, the patriots were much more successful
attracting support. American patriots won the war of propaganda. Committees of
Correspondence persuaded many fence-sitters to join the patriot cause. Writings
such as Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" stirred newfound American
nationalism.
Patriots subjected Loyalists to public humiliation and violence.
Many Loyalists found their property vandalized, looted, and burned. The
patriots controlled public discourse. Woe to the citizen who publicly
proclaimed sympathy to Britain.
Families were sometimes divided over the revolution. Benjamin
Franklin's son, William, a Loyalist governor of New Jersey, supported the
British effort during the war.
What Happened to the Loyalists?
In the end, many Loyalists simply left America. About 80,000 of
them fled to Canada or Britain during or just after the war. Because Loyalists
were often wealthy, educated, older, and Anglican, the American social fabric
was altered by their departure. American history brands them as traitors. But
most were just trying to maintain the lifestyles to which they had become
accustomed. After all, history is always written by the winners.
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1.
According to the article, what was the single MOST
IMPORTANT factor in
winning the Revolutionary War in
the view of both the
Americans and the British?
a.
Number of
soldiers
b.
Assistance
from the French
c.
Support
from the American colonists
d.
Loyalists
fleeing to Canada and Britain
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2.
All of these are reasons people remained loyal to the
crown EXCEPT
a.
The fear
of vandalism and violence
b.
The desire
to sell goods to the British
c.
A wish for
military glory
d.
A desire
to remain British citizens
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3.
Based on the information in the article, what are
“fence-sitters”?
a.
People who
needed to guard their farm crops
b.
People who
were protesting for the king
c.
People who
were on look-out for the British
d.
People who
were not on either side
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4. What is
the meaning of the last statement in the article
“history is always
written by the winners”?
a.
The losers
are not allowed to write history books.
b.
The
winners have the power to influence what is written.
c.
The author
sympathizes with the Loyalists more than the Patriots.
d.
There were
no losers left to tell their side of the story.
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