Explain the purpose of the Bill of Rights and summarize several of the first ten amendments in accessible terms.
When the new Constitution was sent to the states for approval, many people worried it focused so much on the structure of government that it did not clearly protect individual people's rights. Several states said they would not approve, or ratify, the Constitution unless a list of protected rights was added. James Madison, who had helped shape the Constitution itself, drafted a set of amendments to satisfy this demand, and ten of them, known together as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791.
In everyday terms, a few of the most important amendments say: the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, religion, the press, and the right to gather peacefully and petition the government; the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms; the Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches of their home or belongings; the Fifth and Sixth Amendments protect the right to a fair, speedy trial with a lawyer, and say a person cannot be forced to testify against himself or herself; and the Eighth Amendment bans cruel and unusual punishment. Together, these ten amendments spell out specific limits on government power that the original Constitution had left unstated.
Mastery looks like: They can explain why the Bill of Rights was added and summarize at least three of the first ten amendments in their own words.
Common stumbles: Thinking the Bill of Rights and the Constitution are two separate, unrelated documents; confusing which amendment covers which right.