The Bill of Rights: Every Amendment, Why it's important, and How it limits the government

Hi Civics Review! Thank you so much for the shout out----Very cool! I will definitely be sharing this video with my students. Done well---You make learning the Benchmarks for Civics fun and interesting and educational all at the same time. You ROCK!!!

One thing that I noticed. At least in one section you refer to the bill of rights as giving the people the right. Instead we should think of it as protecting an existing right. The government does not give rights, or only takes them away. That was the very reason for the bill of rights.

It’s been decades since the Bill of Rights and the Constitution has been taught in schools for no other reason than an uninformed citizen is easy to control. A well educated free thinking citizen is a threat to society. Knowledge is Power.

As clear and straightforward as these are, it's sad how often today the government is getting away with violating them.

Juries DO NOT determine innocent. Under the law you are presumed innocent. The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant is guilty. The jury simply votes if the prosecution has met the burden of proof by voting guilty, or not guilty. They do not determine innocence.

It does not limit the government when the government chooses to not abide by the constitution. The 4th Amendment is now so eroded it barely exists.

It's clear we've lost the Fourth Amendment; Law enforcement routinely search homes without warrants, and have no consequences for doing so.

2A does not refer to guns. It refers to weapons and tools of war. Guns, knives, clubs, tanks, swords, etc. Not just guns.

The 2nd ammendment isnt about guns. Its purpose is to mention that the government can not tell you what weapons you can posess or use in any way at all. That is why it uses the word arms rather than specifically saying rifle or musket.

You mentioned a “fair & speedy trial”. All I could think about was the J6 political prisoners… And when it says a “right to a fair & impartial jury”. They should find a way to make sure cases involving politics have equally different voting parties. So in NY, DC & Cali all republicans wouldn’t be guaranteed to be guilty regardless of the Lack of evidence.

Miranda Rights are not part of the Fifth amendment but are also called the Miranda warning and they stem from a 1966 Supreme Court case: Miranda v. Arizona. In the original case, the defendant, Ernesto Miranda, was a 24-year-old high school drop-out with a police record when he was accused in 1963 of kidnapping, raping and robbing an 18-year-old woman. During a two-hour interrogation, Miranda confessed to the crimes. Lawyers would contend that Miranda had not been clearly informed of his rights to have a lawyer and against self-incrimination. Their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court forever changed U.S. criminal procedure.

This was excellent! My 5th graders will love it. Thank you for being funny, yet appropriate, and for putting this tough stuff on a 10 year olds level!

What Does the Word “Arms” Mean in the 2nd Amendment? By: TJ Martinell|Published on: Jun 30, 2016|Categories: 2nd Amendment, Constitution 101 Previously I’ve examined what the phrase “bear arms” meant in the Second Amendment. The evidence makes it obviously clear it referenced both military and civilian use of weapons. But what did the word “arms” mean at the time? Today the word “arms” refers collectively to offensive or defensive weapons. The word’s meaning has changed little since it was first used seven hundred years ago. It’s definition has never restricted civilian use of military weapons, including when the Second Amendment was approved. “Arms” comes from Middle English and originated from the Old French word “armes,” which meant “weapons of a warrior.” This word dates back to 1300. “Arms” also originates from the Latin word for “weapons,”arma.” This word was also first used in the 14th Century. (On a side-note, the word “firearms” popped up around 1640 to describe weapons that used gunpowder compared to other arms like bows and arrows) It’s clear the meaning allowed for a very broad definition of what constituted “arms.” The Bill of Rights of 1689 states that the “subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law.” The last part of the sentence is very telling. It’s a conditional phrase meant to limit the type of “arms’ allowed by Protestant subjects. The limitation imposed meant that the word “arms” had a definition permitting a very wide range of weapons including those the document’s authors decided could be restricted by law. From this we can conclude that the word “arms” referred to weapons found among contemporary military arsenals. In 1755 Dr. Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was first published. It defined “arms” as “weapons of offence, or armour of defence.” Again, the meaning does not exude military weapons. Since the word “arms” means the same thing today as it did centuries ago it’s only logical the authors of the Second Amendment meant the same thing. And unlike the English Bill of Rights, there are no limitations placed on the right to keep and bear arms in the U.S. Constitution. Not that it would matter, since it is a natural right not a privilege granted to us by the government. But it removes this one final argument a gun control advocate might make to justify restrictions. But most importantly, the same people who advocated for the Second Amendment preferred an armed populace over a standing army. During the Virginia Ratifying Convention anti-federalist George Mason said the following (bold emphasis added): No man has a greater regard for the military gentlemen than I have. I admire their intrepidity, perseverance, and valor. But when once a standing army is established in any country, the people lose their liberty. When, against a regular and disciplined army, yeomanry are the only defence,–yeomanry, unskilful and unarmed,–what chance is there for preserving freedom? If you don’t believe your country should have a standing army, it would make sense to advocate a populace have military weapons capable of warding off invasion or mobilizing for war rather than disarming the people and hoping the army doesn’t become a threat to freedom. It’s also why Mason referred to “militia” as the ‘whole of the people, except for a few public officials.” We do not need to explain why we should be allowed to keep weapons used by the military. Those who believe we should have a permanent military with exclusive access to certain types of firearms need to explain how such an arrangement will ensure liberty in contradiction of both common sense and the warnings of founders like Mason. It’s common to hear gun control advocates argue that the founders wouldn’t have included modern firearms under their definition of “arms.” At best this is amusing speculation at best and at worst an argument made in bad faith. It could also be used to justify Internet censorship under the claim the founders were only referring to an 18th Century printing press in the First Amendment. It’s obvious to the intellectually honest that in using the word “arms” the Second Amendment’s writers acknowledged the right of ordinary citizens to keep and bear the same weapons used by soldiers in the military. Our rights are not and should not be be based on the technology at the time those rights were acknowledged.

Well done! Thanks for going through the entire Bill of Rights

Good video the only thing I believe you missed was on the 10th amendment it says, or to the people which means the people have the right to disagree over whatever the state say. They hate when you know this everyone will try to tell you you’re wrong any amendment you try to invoke you will get bullied and be told a lie saying you actually don’t have that right

Needed this refresh of my Rights History is Coool!!! Thanks for the Video🙏🏽🙏🏽

Thank you for the basic education on the Bill of Rights.

Channel deserves much more subscribers... Still long way to go.. Keep it up Bro!

Your videos have helped my class so much! Keep up the good work!

Thank you for making this video The Bill of Rights is something I know I need to know but have not taken the time to do so