Amendments

1. The Declaration stated that men
have a natural right to “Life,
Liberty and pursuit of Happiness”;
that Government can rule only with
“the consent of the governed”; that
any government may be dissolved
when it fails to protect the right of
the people. This theory of politics
came from the British philosopher
John Locke, and it is central to the
Anglo-Saxon political tradition.

2. The 13 colonies were now “free and independent states”
– but not yet one united nation. Since 1781 they were
governed by the Article of Confederation, a Constitution
that set up a very weak central government.

3. In May 1787 a convention met in
Philadelphia with instruction to
revise the Article of Confederation.
The delegates – among whom were
George Washington, Benjamin
Franklin and James Madison –
drafted a new and more workable
Constitution. It established a
stronger federal government
empowered to collect taxes, conduct
diplomacy, maintain armed forces
and regulate foreign trade and
commerce among the states.

4. It established a Supreme Court
and Federal Courts, and it
gave executive power to an
elected President. It also
established the principle of a
“balance of power” to be
maintained among the three
branches of government –
executive, legislative and
judicial.

5. The Constitution was accepted in
1788. Many Americans feared that
a powerful central government
would trample on the liberties of
the people, and in 1791 10
amendments – the Bill of Rights –
were added to the Constitution.
This document guaranteed
freedom of religion, a free press,
free speech, the right of citizens to
bear arms, protection against
illegal house searches, the right to
a fair trial by jury and protection
against “cruel and unusual
punishment”.

6. http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=yYEfLm5dLMQ
Watch the video and answer the question:
Daily, Americans exercise their rights secured by the
Constitution.
Watch the video and answer the following questions:
What is the most widely discussed and debated part of the
Constitution?
What do the first ten amendments grant every American
citizen?