Bill of Rights/Amendments Test:

Directions: Neatly fill in the Missing Information.

Protections in the First Amendment:

  1. The government can’t establish an official state religion.
  2. The government can’t prevent citizens from freely exercising their religion.
  3. Citizens have the right to free speech.
  4. The press and other media have the right to report the truth(freedom of the press).
  5. Citizens have the right to assemble peacefully.
  6. Citizens have the right to petition the government for the redress of grievances (righting of wrongs).

Protections in the Second Amendment:

  1. Citizens have the right to keep and bear (carry) arms (guns).
  2. A well regulated militia is needed to keep us safe and free.

Protections in the Third Amendment:

  1. The government can’t house soldiers in citizen’s homes without their permission in peacetime.
  2. During a war the government may keep soldiers in citizen’s homes, but only in a manner prescribed by law.

Protections in the Fourth Amendment:

  1. The government can’t arrest you, search your house, or seize your property unreasonably.
  2. Search warrants will only be issued if probable cause has been established.
  3. Warrants must list the specific people or property to be seized and the specific places to be searched. (no blanket warrants).

Protections in the Fifth Amendment:

  1. No one will be tried for a serious crime unless a grand jury has first decided that there is sufficient evidence that the accused may have committed a crime.
  2. There is an exception for active duty military personnel who are fighting in a war.
  3. No one can be tried twice for the same offense (double jeopardy).
  4. No one can be forced to testify against herself.
  5. No one can be convicted or punished without due process.
  6. Property can not be taken for public use without just compensation.

Protections in the Sixth Amendment:

  1. The accused has the right to a speedy and public trial.
  2. The accused has a right to an impartial jury.
  3. All trials shall take place in the locality where the crime was committed.
  4. The accused has the right to know the charges against her.
  5. The accused has the right to confront(face and question) the witnesses against her.
  6. The accused has the power to compel (force) witnesses to appear in her favor.
  7. The accused has the right to counsel (a lawyer).

Protections in the Seventh Amendment:

  1. Citizens have the right to a jury trial in civil cases.
  2. The verdict(decision) of the jury can not be set aside except in a manner prescribed by law.

Protections in the Eighth Amendment:

  1. The amount of bail or fines shall not be excessive.
  2. No one shall be punished in a way that is cruel or unusual.

Protections in the Ninth Amendment:

  1. People have rights that are not listed in the Bill of Rights.

Protections in the Tenth Amendment:

  1. Any powers not exclusively given to the Federal Government belong to the States or to the people.
  2. Any powers that the Constitution does not deny to the States are held by the States.

Protections in the Eleventh Amendment:

  1. No federal court may try a case in which one of the states is being sued by a citizen of a different state or citizens of a foreign country.

Protections in the Twelfth Amendment:

  1. The candidate with the majority of electoral votes shall be President.
  2. If no candidate has a majority, the House of Representatives will pick a President.
  3. President and Vice-President will be chosen separately.

Protections in the Thirteenth Amendment:

  1. Slavery and involuntary servitude (forced labor) are forbidden.
  2. Forced labor is o.k. for convicts.
  3. Congress has the power to enforce the ban on slavery.

Protections in the Fourteenth Amendment

  1. All people born or naturalized in The United States (including former slaves) are citizens.
  2. No state can make or enforce a law that takes away or limits a citizen’s rights.
  3. No state shall deprive any person of life liberty or property without due process.
  4. If a state denies eligible citizens the right to vote, those citizens will not be counted as part of the state’s population for purposes of representation.
  5. Anyone who took an oath to support the Constitution and then took part in rebellion (Civil War) is banned from government service.
  6. A two-thirds vote of each house of Congress can remove the ban.
  7. The United States will not pay debts that result from rebellion (Civil War).

Protections in the 15th Amendment

  1. No one shall be denied the right to vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude.

Protections in the Sixteenth Amendment

  1. The federal government may collect income tax. (1913)

Protections in the Seventeenth Amendment

  1. Senators will be elected by the people of each state, not by the state legislatures.