Camp Constitution - Articles, Amendments, and US Constitutional Law

How does the US Constitution apply to you in your daily life - take this class to find out.  

In this 4-Part Social Studies, Civics, Law course we look at each part of the United States Constitution and how it has been applied. The first part of the course discusses the first 10 amendments of the US Constitution or the Bill of Rights. The second half discusses the rights provided by the Constitutional Amendments. The class looks at specific examples of actual cases and how the amendments have been applied. 

Day 1
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What are rights?
What is the US Constitution?
What is the Bill of Rights?
What are the Amendments?

The 1st Amendment: One of the best known, allows people to establish and practice their religion freely, and to speak their ideas and opinions. It protects the rights of its citizens to hold meetings and to petition the government. It gives the press (newspapers,
magazines) the right to publish the news and ideas.

The 2nd Amendment: Amendment 2: The Second Amendment gives all citizens the right to bear arms. There has been much discussion about whether to limit the kinds of arms people can possess and what the rules of ownership can be. 

The 3rd Amendment: This amendment made it unlawful for a government to make a private citizen house its soldiers.

Day 2
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The 4th Amendment: This amendment protects people from law enforcement entering their home without their permission or an order from the court called a search warrant. We'll examine cases involving how this amendment has been applied to kids and social media.

The 5th Amendment: Protects against making people testify against themselves in a criminal trial. A person cannot be
tried more than once for that same crime and prevents property from being taken cannot be taken away without being paid for it. Most importantly it requires that federal law be applied fairly. Some discussion of the Fourteenth Amendment and how it relates to the Fifth will be discussed. 

The 6th Amendment: This amendment requires a person accused of a crime to receive a speedy public trial by a jury. This did not happen in England during this time. People were held in jail for years before their trial and often the trial was held in secret.


Day 3
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The 7th Amendment: Provides the rights in a civil trial. A civil case is brought by a person to get back property, to have a contract enforced, or to protect a person’s rights. The Seventh Amendment allows a civil case to be decided by a jury trial when the amount of money involved is over $20.

The 8th Amendment: Allows for fair bail or fines and prevents cruel or unusual punishments. 

The 9th Amendment: Some of the delegates thought that if a right was not listed in their Bill of Rights, it might be interpreted to mean that the people did not have that right. The Ninth Amendment protects the rights people have though not listed in the Constitution.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments: Known collectively as the Civil War Amendments, they were designed to ensure equality for recently emancipated slaves and prohibited governments from denying U.S. citizens the right to vote based on race, color, or past servitude. 

Day 4
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Continue discussion of the 14th Amendment: Discuss how the 14th Amendment has been used to strike down state laws that fail to provide equal protection. 

The 19th Amendment: Granting the right to vote to women.

The 24th Amendment: Prohibits poll taxes. 

The 26th Amendment: Provides the right to vote to anyone age 18 and above.