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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Bill of Rights, Key Amendments and The Articles of Confederation

Mr. Hughes Hand Game

A lecture explaining the concept of the Bill of Rights and an overview on Amendments 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10. Geared for the N.Y. State United States History Regents examination for Juniors.

Comment:
During the era of the Revolution a 'militia' was the exact opposite of a state-controlled army- it was just a group of ordinary citizens- the implication of the 2nd amendment was that the citizens were allowed to be armed for protection. People still disagree when it comes to direct interpretation v. intention (based on a broader understanding of the text).

Note: Video Lectures from Mr. Hughes are from McKinley High School in Buffalo, NY. These video lectures are designed to explain concepts in U.S. History.

Mr. Rupert's Bill of Rights Tutorial

More Amendment Study with Mr. Hughes

A short lecture outlining the amendment procedure and some examples of amendments passed throughout US History. Covers material in preparation for the regents exam in United States History in NY State. Amendments covered include reconstruction amendments, the 16th, prohibition amendments, 22 and 26.

Memory boosters:

13-14-15FREE-CITIZENS-VOTE
18 and 21 (drinking ages)
18 - Prohibition
21 - repeals Prohibition
Note: Video Lectures from Mr. Hughes are from McKinley High School in Buffalo, NY. These video lectures are designed to explain concepts in U.S. History.

Let's travel back in time - just before the Bill of Rights . . . . .
The Articles of Confederation in Ten Minutes

A video lecture on the Articles designed for US History students taking the NY state regents.

The Articles of Confederation were weak because the feds were too weak.
Our form of government was Federalism.
Federalism is the division of power between the states and the federal government. Since the founding of the country, and particularly with the end of the American Civil War, power shifted away from the states and towards the national government.
Mini American Revolution in Massachusetts - Shay's rebellion of 1786–1787. Articles of Confederation failed.
Back to Philadelphia!

An excerpt from Wikipedia follows:

In 1787, fifty-five delegates met at a Constitutional convention in Philadelphia and generated ideas of a bicameral legislature (United States Congress), balanced representation of small and large states (Great Compromise), and checks and balances. James Madison stated in a long pre-convention memorandum to delegates that because "one could hardly expect the state legislatures to take enlightened views on national affairs", stronger central government was necessary. This convention almost immediately dropped its original mandate and instead set about constructing a new Constitution of the United States. Once the convention concluded and released the Constitution for public consumption, the Federalist movement became focused on getting the Constitution ratified.

The most forceful defense of the new Constitution was The Federalist Papers, a compilation of 85 anonymous essays published in New York City to convince the people of the state to vote for ratification. These articles, written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, with some contributed by John Jay, examined the benefits of the new, proposed Constitution, and analyzed the political theory and function behind the various articles of the Constitution. The Federalist Papers remains one of the most important documents in American political science.

Those opposed to the new Constitution became known as the "Anti-Federalists". They generally were local rather than cosmopolitan in perspective, oriented to plantations and farms rather than commerce or finance, and wanted strong state governments and a weak national government. The Anti-Federalist critique soon centered on the absence of a Bill of Rights, which Federalists promised to provide.

Because George Washington lent his prestige to the Constitution and because of the ingenuity and organizational skills of its proponents, the Constitution was ratified by all the states. The outgoing Congress under the Articles of Confederation scheduled elections for the new government, and set March 4, 1789 as the date that the new government would take power. In 1789 when Congress submitted twelve articles of amendment to the states. Ten of these articles, written by Madison, achieved passage on December 15, 1791 and became the Bill of Rights. The Tenth Amendment set the guidelines for federalism in the United States.

With the passage of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the first Federalist movement and the Anti-Federalist movements were exhausted, so they dispersed.

Note: Video Lectures from Mr. Hughes are from McKinley High School in Buffalo, NY. These video lectures are designed to explain concepts in U.S. History.