bill of rights assignment high school

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History Resources

Our Constitution: The Bill of Rights (Grades 10–12)

By tim bailey, view the constitution in the gilder lehrman collection by clicking here and here . for a resource on the variations between a draft and the final version of the united states constitution click here . for additional resources click here ..

Unit Objective

These lessons on the Bill of Rights are part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core–based units. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, articulating their understanding of the complete document by answering questions in an argumentative writing style to fulfill the Common Core Standards. Through this step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

Students will understand the rights and restrictions that are defined by the first five amendments of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. They will demonstrate that understanding by restating those ideals in their own words.

Introduction

On September 17, 1787, in the city of Philadelphia, 39 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the newly negotiated United States Constitution. Many of those who did not sign refused to do so because the document did not include a “bill of rights” that would both secure basic civil rights for its citizens and define the limits of the federal government’s power. Much of the later state ratification debates raged over this lack of a bill of rights. In the solution known as the Massachusetts Compromise, four states agreed to ratify the document if their recommendations would be sent to Congress for consideration. Subsequently, Congress approved twelve of those amendments to the Constitution in 1789. Ten of these were ratified by the states and became the Bill of Rights. The responsibility for the interpretation of those amendments is the given to the Supreme Court.

In this unit the students will analyze the original text of these amendments through careful reading. They will study the exact language of the amendments in order to understand not only the intent of the Founding Fathers, but also the way these words have since been interpreted. This will be done as both individual and group work, and will be evaluated by applying their understanding in short essays.

• The Bill of Rights, Amendments 1-10  (PDF)
• The Bill of Rights, Full Text  (PDF)
• Graphic Organizer (Amendments 1-5)  (PDF)

Note: Depending on the makeup of your class, you may choose to have the students do the first two lessons individually, as partners, or in small groups of three or four students.

• Discuss the information in the introduction.
• Hand out the graphic organizer “Analyzing the First Five Amendments.”
• The teacher then “share reads” the first five amendments with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while the teacher begins reading aloud. The teacher models prosody, inflection, and punctuation. The teacher then asks the class to join in with the reading after a few sentences while the teacher continues to read along with the students, still serving as the model for the class. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English Language Learners (ELL).
• The task for the students is to be able to put the first five amendments into their own words. The teacher will model how this is done by putting the graphic organizer on an overhead or Elmo projector so that all students can see the form. Then, as a whole group, go through the process of writing a paraphrasing of the First Amendment. In order to accomplish this the students are going to do a careful reading as they analyze the text and then restate the various parts of the amendment so it makes sense to them. For instance, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” could be restated by the students as “The government can’t start religions or stop people from practicing their own.” The students should follow the teacher through the process and write the new paraphrasing in the box next to the original text.
• The teacher now asks the students to continue with the rest of the amendments on the sheet. As they complete the amendments you can share out some of the best results so the students know if they are on the right track and to acknowledge them for their critical-thinking skills.
• Depending on the class, you may choose to move forward with Lesson 2, or it can be very effective to partner this lesson with short video clips that show the impact of the first five amendments. The following Gilder Lehrman videos may be helpful:
• Madison’s Influence on the US Constitution, Jack Rakove
• Teaching the Constitution, Larry Kramer
• Defining the Constitution, Larry Kramer

Students will understand the rights and restrictions that are defined by the second five amendments of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. They will demonstrate that understanding by restating those ideals in their own words.

In this lesson the students will analyze the original text of amendments 6–10 just as they did amendments 1–5 in the last lesson, through careful reading. They will study the exact language of the amendments in order to understand not only the intent of the Founding Fathers, but also the way that these words have been since been interpreted. At the teacher’s discretion this will be done either individually, as partners, or in small groups of three to four students.

• Graphic Organizer (Amendments 6-10)  (PDF)
• Review both the information in the introduction from the last lesson as well as the procedures from that lesson.
• Pass out the graphic organizer titled “Analyzing Amendments 6–10.”
• The teacher then “share reads” these amendments with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while the teacher begins reading aloud. The teacher models prosody, inflection, and punctuation. The teacher then asks the class to join in with the reading after a few sentences while the teacher continues to read along with the students, still serving as the model for the class. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English Language Learners (ELL).
• The task for the students is to be able to put these next five amendments into their own words. If the teacher thinks the students need to review the process, then model how this is done by putting the graphic organizer on an overhead or Elmo so that all students can see the form. Then, as a whole group, write a paraphrasing of the first part of the Sixth Amendment. In order to accomplish this the students are going to do a careful reading as they analyze the text and then restate the various parts of the amendment so that that it makes sense to them.
• The teacher now asks the students to continue with the rest of the amendments for today’s lesson. As students complete the amendments you can share out some of the best results so that the students know if they are on the right track and to acknowledge them for their critical-thinking skills.
• Depending on the class, you may choose to move forward with Lesson 3, or it can be very effective to partner this lesson with short video clips that show the impact of the next five amendments in the Bill of Rights. The following Gilder Lehrman videos may be helpful:
• Brown v. Board of Education and Its Effect on Civil Rights, Larry Kramer
• Arguing Cases in the Supreme Court, Jeff Fisher
• What are the legacies of the Civil Rights Movement, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall

Students will understand how decisions made by the Supreme Court are based on what is written in the Constitution and in the Bill of Rights. They will become aware of how these decisions, based on the Court’s interpretation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, have a great influence on American society.

In this lesson the students will be working with a partner or in small groups in order to read, analyze, discuss, and write about a Supreme Court case from 1968 called Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District . They will be drawing their own conclusions as to the Constitutional issues based on their study of the Bill of Rights, and then offering support for either the Supreme Court’s majority or minority opinion in the case.

• Graphic Organizer: Supreme Court Case 1: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District  (PDF)
• Supreme Court Case Handout A  (PDF)
• Supreme Court Case Handout B  (PDF)
• Supreme Court Case Handout C  (PDF)
• Give the students a brief overview of the introduction, covering the workings of the Supreme Court.
• Put the students into either partnerships or small groups of three to four students.
• Hand out the graphic organizer “Supreme Court Case #1 Handout A.”
• At the teacher’s discretion the text can be share read with the students as in the previous two lessons or the students can read it individually.
• The teacher then poses the question: “Were the petitioner’s Constitutional rights violated by the school district?”
• Hand out the graphic organizer “Supreme Court Case #1: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District .” The students will write their answer in the top section of the organizer.
• Let the students discuss their various views on the constitutional issues raised by this case.
• Hand out graphic organizers “Supreme Court Case #1 Handouts B and C.”
• The students will read both the majority and minority opinions in this case. The students should discuss these opinions with their partner or group.
• Using the graphic organizer the students will answer the following question: After reading both the majority and minority opinions, which do you agree with? Write a short analytical essay that addresses your own view of these two opinions. In the essay make certain to include at least three pieces of evidence directly from the text that support your choice and at least three examples taken from the text that undermine the other argument.
• You may choose to have students work together on this, or, if you are looking for a more individualized assessment, they can work by themselves.

In this lesson the students will be working with a partner or in small groups in order to read, analyze, discuss, and write about a Supreme Court case from 1987 called Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier . They will be drawing their own conclusions as to the constitutional issues based on their study of the Bill of Rights, and then comparing those issues to the ones raised in the last lesson’s case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District .

• Graphic Organizer: Supreme Court Case 2: Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier  (PDF)
• Supreme Court Case Handout D  (PDF)
• Supreme Court Case Handout E  (PDF)
• Give the students a brief overview of the introduction.
• Put the students into the same partnership or small group as they were in the last lesson.
• Hand out the graphic organizer “Supreme Court Case #2 Handout D.”
• At the teacher’s discretion the text can be share read with the students as in the first two lessons or the students can read it individually.
• The teacher then poses the question: “Did the school’s principal violate the student’s Constitutional rights?”
• Hand out the graphic organizer “Supreme Court Case #2: Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier .” On this organizer they will use the top section to answer that question.
• Let the students discuss their various views on the Constitutional issues raised by this case.
• Hand out graphic organizer “Supreme Court Case #2 Handout E.”
• The students will read the decision in this case. The students should discuss this decision with their partner or group.
• Using the graphic organizer the students will do the following: Write a short analytical essay that compares this case with the Tinker v. Des Moines case. In what ways are they the same and in what ways are they different? How did these similarities and differences affect the Supreme Court’s decision? In the essay make certain to include textual evidence taken directly from the documents that support your argument.
• You may choose to have students work together on this or, if you are looking for a more individualized assessment, they can work by themselves.

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US government and civics

Course: us government and civics   >   unit 3.

• The Bill of Rights: an introduction

The Bill of Rights: lesson overview

• The Bill of Rights

Rights and liberties protected in the Bill of Rights

Key takeaways, review questions, want to join the conversation.

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You've Got Rights!

Lesson plan.

(This lesson was formerly "Bill of Rights: You Mean I've Got Rights?") Students learn about the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and other important constitutional amendments. First they consider what rights they believe are important, then they read and analyze the real text of each amendment. This lesson also helps students analyze the impact that the Bill of Rights has on their daily lives. Completing this lesson prepares students to play the game Do I Have a Right?

iCivics en español! Student and class materials for this lesson are available in Spanish.

Pedagogy Tags

Teacher Resources

Get access to lesson plans, teacher guides, student handouts, and other teaching materials.

• You’ve Got Rights_Student Docs.pdf
• You’ve Got Rights_Teacher Guide.pdf
• Spanish_You’ve Got Rights_Student Docs.pdf
• Spanish_You've Got Rights_Teacher Docs.pdf

I find the materials so engaging, relevant, and easy to understand – I now use iCivics as a central resource, and use the textbook as a supplemental tool. The games are invaluable for applying the concepts we learn in class. My seniors LOVE iCivics.

Lynna Landry , AP US History & Government / Economics Teacher and Department Chair, California

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Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech with a mobile that inspires you to think about your own dreams.

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1.2 introduction activity- why have a civil dialogue, 1.3 activity guide: structural constitution walkthrough, 1.4 activity guide: introduction to the methods of constitutional interpretation, 1.5 activity guide: constitutional interpretation method identification, 1.5 info brief: possible quote for worksheet, 1.5 video reflection: methods of constitutional interpretation, 1.7 printable knowledge check: constitutional conversations and civil dialogue, 1.8 info brief: constitutional conversation roles and norms, 10.1 primary source: first amendment.

This activity is part of Module 10: The First Amendment from the Constitution 101 Curriculum

10.2 Video Reflection: The First Amendment

10.3 activity guide: religion clauses, 10.3 info brief: kennedy v. bremerton school district case, 10.4 activity guide: speech quotation analysis, 10.4 first amendment quotes, 10.4 whitney v. california case quote, 10.5 activity guide: assembly and petition, 10.5 primary source, 10.5 primary source: frederick douglass, plea for freedom of speech in boston (1860), 10.5 primary source: petition from the pennsylvania society for the abolition of slavery to the first congress (1790), 10.5 primary source: proceedings of the state convention of colored people, held at albany, new york (1851), 10.5 primary source: seneca falls declaration (1848), 10.5 primary source: the gag rules debate (1835-1840), 10.7 printable knowledge check: first amendment: speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition, 11.2 video reflection: the fourth amendment, 11.3 activity guide: a reasonable expectation of privacy, 11.4 activity guide: key terms - fourth amendment, 11.5 case brief: fourth amendment supreme court cases, 11.5 primary source: carpenter v. united states (2008), 11.5 primary source: katz v. united states (1967), 11.5 primary source: mapp v. ohio (1961), 11.5 primary source: olmstead v. united states (1928), 11.5 primary source: terry v. ohio (1968), 11.6 printable knowledge check: the fourth amendment, 11.7 activity guide: speech on the writs of assistance, 11.7 primary source: james otis, 12.1 visual info brief: patrick henry and slavery, 12.2 video reflection: slavery in america, 12.3 info brief: anti-slavery movements throughout american history, 12.3 primary source: abraham lincoln, cooper union address (1860), 12.3 primary source: american anti-slavery society, declaration of sentiments (1833), 12.3 primary source: david walker, appeal to the colored citizens of the world (1829), 12.3 primary source: frederick douglass, what to the slave is the fourth of july (1852), 12.3 primary source: phillis wheatley, letter to reverend samuel occum (1774), 12.3 primary source: prince hall, petition to the massachusetts legislature (1777), 12.3 primary source: william yates, the rights of colored men (1838), 12.4 activity guide: lincoln and preserving the union note catcher tool, 12.4 activity guide: reasons for secession and lincoln’s initial response note catcher tool, 12.4 info brief: slavery in america, 12.4 primary source: a declaration of the immediate causes which induce and justify the secession of the state of mississippi from the federal union (1861), 12.4 primary source: abraham lincoln, emancipation proclamation (1863), 12.4 primary source: abraham lincoln, first inaugural address and message to the special session of the 37th congress (1861), 12.4 primary source: abraham lincoln, second inaugural address (1865), 12.4 primary source: abraham lincoln, the gettysburg address (1863), 12.4 primary source: south carolina declaration of secession (1860), 12.4 primary source: the 13th amendment (1865), 12.5 primary source: carl schurz’s report on the condition of the south (1865), 12.5 primary source: charles sumner, one man power vs. congress (1866), 12.5 primary source: equal suffrage address from the colored convention in norfolk, va, 12.5 primary source: jacob howard, speech introducing the fourteenth amendment to the senate (1866), 12.5 primary source: john bingham, one country, one constitution, one people (1866), 12.5 primary source: thaddeus stevens, speech introducing the fourteenth amendment (1866), 12.6 primary source: declaration of independence, 12.7 printable knowledge check: slavery in america, 13.1 info brief: frances ellen watkins harper, 13.1 visual info brief: frances harper quote, 13.2 video reflection: voting rights in america, 13.3 activity guide: exploring elections and voting in the constitution, 13.3 info brief: elections and voting in the constitution, 13.4 case brief: the supreme court and the vote, 13.4 info brief: the supreme court and the vote, 13.4 primary source: naacp, platform adopted by national negro committee (1909), 13.4 primary source: shelby county v. holder (2013), 13.4 primary source: south carolina v. katzenbach (1966), 13.4 primary source: w.e.b. dubois, the souls of black folk (1903), 13.5 info brief: the women’s suffrage movement, 13.6 activity guide: exploring the vote in your community, 13.7 printable knowledge check: voting in america, 13th amendment, congressional copy.

This handwritten congressional copy of the amendment that banned slavery is signed by President Lincoln and others.

14.1 Primary Source: Black Codes from South Carolina and Mississippi

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This activity is part of Module 3: Road to the Convention from the Constitution 101 Curriculum. 

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Learn about a landmark Supreme Court ruling with this word puzzle.

Centuries of Citizenship: A Constitutional Timeline

Centuries of Citizenship: A Constitutional Timeline is an online experience highlighting some of the key dates and events that mark more than 200 years of our constitutional history.

Cipher Wheel

Use this cipher wheel to create your own secret code!

Civil Rights Class Briefing Document

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Learn about how the Constitution protects our rights and the freedom to express ourselves—out loud!

Constitution Hall Pass: Dollars and Sense: Tax Day

Learn how the Constitution was amended to allow the federal government to impose an income tax, and learn where those tax dollars go today.

Constitution Hall Pass: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Legacy of Service

In this episode, we look at Dr. King’s legacy of service—and we’ll even learn about ways that you can serve your community.

Constitution Hall Pass: Everything’s Gone Green: The Story of Earth Day

In this popular episode, we explore the history of the environmental movement in the United States and the origins of the holiday we know as Earth Day.

Constitution Hall Pass: History of Thanksgiving

Discover the real story of the first Thanksgiving and how the day became a national holiday during the Civil War.

Constitution Hall Pass: The Bill of Rights

Explore the compelling story of our Constitution’s first ten amendments.

Constitution Hall Pass: The Presidency (Constitution Day 2012)

Just in time for the 2012 election, this engaging, interactive lesson traces the history of the American presidency.

Constitution Word Puzzle

Learn about basic terms from the Constitution with this word puzzle.

Constitutional Exchanges Introduction Thinking Sheet

As you read, interpret, and cite the documents in the Interactive Constitution, it is important to think about how the Constitution expands or limits the power of government. This is how Constitutional Scholars read, interpret, and cite the Constitution. But how can you do this? Here are some tips to help.

Constitutional Exchanges Module One Full Lesson Plan

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The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson.

Design Your Own Dollar Bill

This activity is perfect for commemorating Tax Day.

Design Your Own Flag

As you learn about the symbolism and importance of our America's flag, you can design your own flag.

Destination White House Guided Experience

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Enacted in 1862, this edition of the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln.

First Amendment – Assembly and Petition Lesson

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Download our First Amendment Exhibit Guide

First Amendment: Speech

This lesson encourages students to examine their own assumptions and to deepen their understanding of current accepted interpretations of speech rights under the First Amendment.

First Amendment: Speech Lesson Plan Activity Sheets

Founding fathers word puzzle.

Learn about the signers of the U.S. Constitution with this word puzzle.

Fourth Amendment – Search and Seizure Lesson

Fourth amendment class briefing document, fourth amendment class slide deck, fourth amendment class worksheets, free to be you guided experience, free to be you show, free to be you workshop, getting to know the founding fathers.

Learn more about the signers of the Constitution with these Founding Fathers biographies.

Learn more about the delegates of the Constitutional Convention with these Founding Fathers biographies.

http://constitutioncenter.org/experience/exhibitions/main-exhibition/the-story-of-we-the-people

Http://constitutioncenter.org/visit/group-visits/themed-museum-packages/, interactive constitution: eighth amendment, interactive constitution: fourth amendment, interactive constitution: second amendment.

This lesson introduces students to different viewpoints and debates surrounding the 2nd Amendment by using the National Constitution Center’s Interactive Constitution. Students will build understanding of the resources and methods used by justices on the Supreme Court and Constitutional scholars when analyzing and forming opinions about articles, sections, and clauses of the Constitution.

Investigating the Departments of the Executive Branch

In this lesson, students learn about the role of bureaucracy in U.S. government.

Judge Chat Lesson Plan

Lady liberty hats.

Celebrate freedom by fashioning your own Lady Liberty hat.

Landmark Court Case: Scott v. Sandford

Using video clips from the Landmark Supreme Court Cases series, a partnership between C-SPAN and the National Constitution Center, students will research and role-play to better understand the legal, social, and economic factors relating to--and implications of--the majority and dissenting opinions in this infamous case.

Landmark Supreme Court Cases:  The Slaughter House Cases

Using video clips from the Landmark Supreme Court Cases series, a partnership between C-SPAN and the National Constitution Center, students will investigate the Supreme Court's interpretation of the 14th Amendment in the years after its ratification.

Lauder Project Module One Activity 1

Lauder project module one choice board, leadership tour of the main exhibition, liberty bell sun catchers.

Make a dazzling sun catcher to commemorate the Liberty Bell and the constitutional ideals it symbolizes.

Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War

In this lesson, students will analyze the political and constitutional issues that faced President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.

Living News Classroom Teaching Materials

These Classroom Teaching Materials are designed to be used in conjunction with the Living News theatrical performance at the National Constitution Center or stand alone.

Living News Classroom Tool Kit

This lesson is designed to be used in conjunction with the Living News theatrical performance at the National Constitution Center.

Magna Carta

The Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” established the rule of law.

Mayflower Compact

This document was an agreement drafted by the settlers of the first New England colony.

Module 1: Constitutional Conversations and Civil Dialogue

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Decorate and customize a wreath for Independence Day, Flag Day, Memorial Day, or Veterans Day.

Perseverance and the First Amendment

In this lesson, students will analyze how people throughout history have exercised their First Amendment rights to express their opinions.

Perspectives on the Constitution: A Republic, If You Can Keep It

A perspective by Richard R. Beeman, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania.

Perspectives on the Constitution: Constitutions Around the World

A perspective by Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of law, political science, and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Perspectives on the Constitution: Understanding Our Constitution

A perspective by Akhil Reed Amar, professor of law at Yale University Law School, and Douglas W. Kmiec, dean of Catholic University Law School.

Pre Show Exhibition Panels

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Have fun getting to know the phrases of the Preamble while you unscramble the puzzle.

Principles of the American Constitution: 1776-1787 Class Briefing Document

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In this lesson, students will consider how respect and freedom of expression intersect and their role in maintaining a free society.

Rule of Law: High School Level

This two-day lesson uses historical quotations to help students develop understandings of conceptions of the Rule of Law, then, through small group work and class-wide collaboration analyzing Supreme Court cases, students will reflect on how their understandings of Rule of Law relate to the Constitution, the judicial system, and their daily lives.

Second Amendment Class Briefing Document

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Learn all about voting rights throughout history in this online game.

Separation of Powers

This lesson shows students firsthand how the three branches of government work together through separation of powers and checks and balances.

Separation of Powers Show

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Honor veterans for supporting and defending the Constitution and protecting our freedom by thanking them with a special postcard.

The Constitution Happened Here

This interactive resource celebrates constitutional and local history in Philadelphia and beyond through student-generated multimedia content.

The Constitution Happened Here Lesson Plans

This innovative, interactive resource is designed to uncover the vast wealth of history in our local communities.

The Constitution of the United States: En Espanol

Full text of the U.S. Constitution translated into Spanish.

The Constitution of the United States: Fast Facts

Ten essential facts about the U.S. Constitution.

The Constitution of the United States: First Public Printing

The first public printing of the Constitution was printed on September 19, 1787.

The Constitution of the United States: Full Text

Read the full text of the U.S. Constitution.

The Constitution of the United States: Original Image

An image of the original handwritten, signed U.S. Constitution.

The Constitution of the United States: PDF

The Constitution of the United States as a printable PDF file.

The Constitution of the United States: PDF Translations

Full text of the U.S. Constitution translated into Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Simplified Chinese.

THE DECLARATION, THE CONSTITUTION, AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS

This lesson builds student understanding of the relationships between the United States’ founding documents by comparing and contrasting the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

The Federalist Papers

A series of newspaper articles drafted by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, urging ratification of the new Constitution.

The Founders’ Library: Thinking as a Founding Father

Students will examine the ideas that the Founding Fathers brought to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and use them to analyze the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

The History of Flag Day

This lesson encourages students to take a closer look at the American flag and its meaning.

The History of Memorial Day

This lesson takes a closer look at the history of Memorial Day by examining World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War and their connections to this civic holiday.

The Reconstruction Amendments

These three constitutional amendments abolished slavery and guaranteed equal protection of the laws and the right to vote.

To Sign or Not to Sign: The Ultimate Constitution Day Lesson Plan

On Constitution Day, students will examine the role of the people in shaping the U.S. Constitution.

Uncle Sam Hats

Celebrate freedom by making your own Uncle Sam hat.

Virginia Declaration of Rights

Drafted by George Mason, this declaration of rights later became a model for other state constitutions and the Bill of Rights.

War Making: Executive and Legislative Powers

In this lesson, students will examine the constitutional, legal, political, and historical sources of the continuing debate over war powers.

We the School

We the School is an innovative new form of student government created at Constitution High School in Philadelphia.

We, The Jury Guided Experience

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Students will investigate the legal language defining their freedom of speech rights

Which Founder Are You?

Take this quiz to discover which Founder you're most like!

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Bill of Rights for Kids (Free Google Slides, Activities, and More)

Teaching guide with everything you need in one place.

Teaching kids about the Bill of Rights is crucial for helping them build background knowledge about the United States government and legal system. Whether you’re gearing up to celebrate Bill of Rights Day on December 15 or planning a social studies unit, we’ve done the work for you and pulled together a fantastic collection of Bill of Rights resources for kids.

Don’t miss our free downloadable. Grab your full set of ready-to-go Bill of Rights for Kids Google Slides with kid-friendly explanations and discussion questions for your classroom.

Bill of Rights Explanation for Kids

• List of the First 10 Amendments
• Bill of Right Discussion Questions
• Bill of Rights Worksheet, Activity Ideas, and Lesson Plans

Kids Books About the Bill of Rights

• Kids Videos and Songs About the Bill of Rights
• More Bill of Rights Classroom Resources

What is the Bill of Rights?

The amendments in the Bill of Rights added important information to the U.S. Constitution about the rights of individual people in the United States.

Why is the Bill of Rights important?

More than 200 years after it was written, the Bill of Rights still protects every person in the United States today.

How does the Bill of Rights affect our lives today?

The Bill of Rights protects our freedoms and has helped make the United States the country it is today as compared to other countries around the world.

What are the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution?

When translating the Bill of Rights for kids, you’ll want to share some of the formal language along with simplified explanations. Download our Google Slides to make a class introduction or note-taking lesson easy! For more background on the language in each amendment, check out the Library of Congress’ Constitution Annotated page .

The First Amendment: Fundamental Freedoms

People in the United States have:

• Freedom of religion
• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of the press
• Freedom to assemble (gather in a group)
• Freedom to petition (ask the government to fix or change something)

The Second Amendment: The Right to Bear Arms

People in the United States have the right to own guns as long as they follow the laws about them.

The Third Amendment: Quartering Soldiers

People do not have to let soldiers live in their homes or give them food. (This happened during the American Revolution and many people wanted to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.)

The Fourth Amendment: Searches and Seizures

Police cannot search or take anything from anyone’s property or body without a warrant.

The Fifth Amendment: Rights of Persons

People have the right to a trial with a jury when accused of a major crime. They cannot be charged for the same crime twice (double jeopardy). People don’t have to say anything that would get themselves in trouble. (You may have heard the expression “I plead the fifth.”) They cannot be sent to prison without due process of law (a fair trial).

The Sixth Amendment: Rights in Criminal Prosecutions

People accused of a crime have the right to a speedy and pubic trial by an impartial jury. People accused of crimes are entitled to an attorney and can have their own witnesses at trials. Witnesses against an accused person must face the accused in court.

The Seventh Amendment: Civil Trial Rights

People accused of civil crimes (crimes that have to do with more than $20 worth of money or property) have the right to a trial in front of a jury.

The Eighth Amendment: Cruel and Unusual Punishment

The government cannot use torture to punish people or make people pay unreasonable high fines or bail. People’s punishments should fit their crimes.

The Ninth Amendment: Unenumerated Rights

People do have other rights even if they aren’t listed in the Bill of Rights. The government can’t take those away. Today the Supreme Court makes decisions about unenumerated rights.

The Tenth Amendment: Rights Reserved to the States and the People

The federal government only has the powers listed in the Constitution. If an issue isn’t listed in the Constitution, states or people can make their own decisions and laws about it.

Discussion Questions for Kids About the Bill of Rights

Help kids understand the Bill of Rights by getting them to think about how it relates to their lives.

Rights for Kids

The Bill of Rights applies to all people in the United States—including kids! Which amendment do you think is most important to your life as a kid? Why?

Rights vs. Privileges

Rights are freedoms guaranteed for everyone. Privileges have to be earned. (A driver’s license is one common privilege. Drivers have to earn it, and it can be taken away.) Think of a freedom you enjoy. Is it a right or a privilege? How do you know?

Amendment, Please!

The Bill of Rights was written because some states didn’t think the Constitution had enough information about limits to the government’s power and rights of individual people. Think about an agreement or list of rules in your life (like for your classroom, playground, team, or school). What is one amendment you would suggest to make it more complete? Why?

Bill of Rights Worksheets, Activities, and Lesson Plans

Check out our free Bill of Rights worksheets plus other favorite teacher-tested activities and lesson plans to make teaching the Bill of Rights easier.

Activity: Bill of Rights Matching Cards

Use these matching cards as a Bill of Rights worksheet task by asking students to cut and glue them in pairs on a blank page or in their notebooks. Hide them around the classroom and have students work together to find and match them in a pocket chart. Or have students read or act out each scenario card and have their peers guess which amendment relates to their scene. Students can also write their own examples of other situations that apply to each amendment.

Try it: Bill of Rights Matching Cards at We Are Teachers

Activity: Bill of Rights Choice Board

C-Span Classroom offers a downloadable Google Slides choice board that features drag-and-drop vocabulary activities for each amendment along with lots of video clips. This is a great one-stop resource for upper middle school and high school students to explore each amendment in detail.

Try it: Bill of Rights Choice Board at C-Span Classroom

Activity: Bill of Rights Bingo

An extension activity from C-Span Classroom, this digital bingo board helps students test their knowledge of each amendment.

Try it: Bill of Rights Bingo at C-Span Classroom

Activity: Bill of Rights Worksheet and Student Handouts

This Bill of Rights worksheet bundle includes printable student handouts with information about the Bill of Rights and the 10 amendments along with a reading comprehension quiz.

Try it: Bill of Rights Student Handouts and Worksheet at We Are Teachers

Lesson Plan: The First Amendment & Free Speech

This elementary school lesson plan from the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy gets classrooms talking about nuances of free speech with discussion prompts based on pictures.

Get it: The First Amendment & Free Speech lesson plan at American Constitution Society for Law and Policy

Lesson Plans: Bill of Rights

These multi-day lesson plans from the National Constitution Center include background information, discussion topics, and games to teach students all about the Bill of Rights. They offer versions for grades 3-5 and grades 6-8.

Get it: Bill of Rights lesson plans at National Constitution Center

Lesson Plan: Congress and the Bill of Rights in History and Today

This in-depth lesson plan from the National Archives gets high school students talking about their rights, studying primary sources, and engaging in debates.

Get it: Congress and the Bill of Rights in History and Today lesson plan at National Archives

A solid book collection is always helpful. These are our favorite Bill of Rights books for kids.

Free for You and Me: What Our First Amendment Means by Christy Mihaly

There’s so much to talk about just in the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. This picture book is perfect for helping elementary kids break it down. For upper elementary and middle school kids, extend the book’s concepts with Curious City’s free educator guide.

Buy it: Free for You and Me: What Our First Amendment Means at Amazon

The Bill of Rights in Translation: What It Really Means by Amie Jane Leavitt

This is our favorite read-aloud to introduce all things Bill of Rights to elementary kids.

Buy it: The Bill of Rights in Translation: What It Really Means at Amazon

A Kids’ Guide to America’s Bill of Rights by Kathleen Krull

This chapter book reads like a kid-friendly guidebook. Use portions of it as a read-aloud or an engaging textbook substitute for your middle schoolers.

Buy it: A Kids’ Guide to America’s Bill of Rights at Amazon

The Constitution Decoded: A Guide to the Document That Shapes Our Nation by Katie Kennedy

This book is super-useful for teaching middle school kids all about the U.S. Constitution. It has a lengthy section on the Bill of Rights and later amendments.

Buy it: The Constitution Decoded: A Guide to the Document That Shapes Our Nation at Amazon

E-Book: Congress Creates the Bill of Rights

The National Archives also offers an e-book, Congress Creates the Bill of Rights , that’s great for high school students and available for free download.

Get it: Congress Creates the Bill of Rights e-book at National Archives

Videos and Songs About the Bill of Rights for Kids

Pop on these handy videos to introduce or review important concepts about the Bill of Rights for kids.

Bill of Rights for Kids from Learn Bright

This overview will help upper elementary kids get familiar with or review the basics of the Bill of Rights.

A 3-minute guide to the Bill of Rights from TED-Ed

This is our favorite quick and to-the-point recap of the first 10 amendments for students in middle school and above. The animation is extra clever!

We the People: The Bill of Rights featuring Adam Lambert

This edgy song is awesome for summing up the Bill of Rights in a memorable way. The We the People Netflix series features popular musicians and hip animation to explain civics concepts.

The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights by Ryan Hill

This whiteboard sketch video is useful for helping students understand how the Bill of Rights fits into the context of the history of the U.S. government, and how it relates to our lives today.

More Bill of Rights Links and Resources for Teachers

Feel like you need to brush up on your own understanding of the Bill of Rights to better teach your class? We get it! Check out these reliable links to build your own background knowledge. (We even used them to help us create this page!)

National Archives: The Bill of Rights

Read a full transcript of the document, click through explanations of its history and what it means, and even download a high-res image of the Bill of Rights to show students.

Constitution Annotated: Analysis and Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution

If you need clarification on a certain amendment to better talk about it with kids, click straight through to get your questions answered!

The National Constitution Center Amendments resource page

This resource lets you dive deep into each constitutional amendment. They have interpretations of each clause and discussion questions, lesson plans, and videos specific to each individual amendment. Wow!

Get Your Free Bill of Rights for Kids Google Slides

Just click the button below to fill out the form and get instant access to a free downloadable Bill of Rights teaching Google Slides with kid-friendly explanations and discussion questions.

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Free Bill of Rights Worksheet Bundle

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U.S. Constitution: The Bill of Rights

Lesson plan  , grade level: , lesson summary: , estimated duration of lesson: , ohio content standards: , primary source: , materials needed by teachers:, materials needed by students:, instructional steps:, assessment:.

Bill of Rights Institute

The Bill of Rights Institute provides a trove of online educational resources for teachers, students and parents. Teachers will find lesson plans, founding documents, resources for teaching with current events, and professional development opportunities. For students, resources include essay contests, AP prep webinars, and Think the Vote, in which students participate in online discussions on current events. The Constitutional Academy is a summer program for high school students.

Level: Elementary through high school

Legislative Branch

Congress and the Bill of Rights in History and Today

Students will explore the protections and limitations on authority contained in the Bill of Rights and the process by which the First Congress created it. They will do this by compiling a list of their rights as students, analyzing the Bill of Rights, and studying primary source documents to trace the origin and development of the first ten amendments. Students will then consider how the Bill of Rights might be updated to reflect 21st century circumstances.

By taking stock of their rights as students and studying the development of the Bill of Rights through antecedent documents, students will be better able to understand the protections it provides and how James Madison and the First Congress crafted amendments to win support for the Constitution. This will help students understand the importance of the Bill of Rights today.

Guiding Questions:

• What rights do students have in class?
• What rights are protected by the Bill of Rights, and what powers are limited?
• How and why did the First Congress create the Bill of Rights?
• How might the Bill of Rights be updated for today?

2 document facsimiles 4 worksheets 3 handouts

Recommended Grade Levels:

Grades 7 – 12

American History; U.S. Government; Civics

Topics included in this lesson:

The Bill of Rights, James Madison, constitutional amendments, Federalists, Anti-Federalists

Time Required:

The time needed to complete each learning activity is presented in parentheses at each step. The activities can be done in sequence or each can be done separately.

Vocabulary:

• Federalists
• Anti-Federalists
• Ratification
• Due process of law

Historic Overview:

The struggle over the states' ratification of the Constitution in 1787 and 1788 made a deep impression on James Madison, who witnessed firsthand the contentious battles in Virginia and New York. Madison understood that in order for the new government to be successful it needed the overwhelming allegiance of the people rather than the narrow majority support won in many of the state ratification conventions. Madison began to see how the addition of a bill of rights might calm some of the fears about the powers invested in the new national government.

James Madison worked to gain support for the Constitution by creating a list of proposed amendments drawn from various Anti-Federalist and Federalists sources. Elected as a representative to the First Congress in 1789, he took the lead in writing and speaking on behalf of legislation to amend the Constitution. By August of 1789, the House of Representatives passed a list of proposed amendments derived from Madison's list. Due in large measure to his leadership, Congress passed the Bill of Rights in 1789, and the states ratified it by 1791.

Learning Activities:

1. Rights in the classroom: (45 Minutes)

Begin a class discussion about rights in which students consider two dimensions of rights: specific protections for individuals and general limits on authority.

Discussion questions should include:

• What specific protections for individuals apply to students?
• What specific protections for individuals apply to teachers?
• Are these sets of protections distinct from one another or shared to some degree?
• What limits are placed on the authority of teachers?
• What limits are placed on the authority of students?
• What limits on authority do they share? (For instance, school rules and class policies limit student's authority to decide certain issues, while contracts and school policies limit certain actions by teachers.)

Ask students to summarize the discussion by completing Worksheet 1 .

Direct the class to draw from information they listed on Worksheet 1 to create a bill of rights for the classroom.

Important topics to consider include:

• What specific protections for individuals should be guaranteed?
• What limitations on authority should be included?
• How will the class determine what to include in this Bill of Rights? Simple majority? Super-majority? Unanimous vote? What vote does the teacher or administration have?

2. Analyzing the Bill of Rights (30 minutes)

Ask students to draw upon their work in Activity 1 as they analyze the list of amendments ratified by the states in 1791. Divide the students into small groups and assign each group to carefully read the text of the Handout 3 . Have each group complete Worksheet 2 to delineate the individual protections and limits on authority contained in the Bill of Rights. Begin a discussion in which the class compares or contrasts their class Bill of Rights with the amendments ratified by the states.

3. Exploring the History of the Bill of Rights from Conventions to Ratification: (90 minutes)

Divide the class into small groups and distribute copies of the Senate Revisions to the House-Passed Amendments to the U.S. Constitution (Senate Mark-up) . This facsimile shows the Bill of Rights in the middle of its creation during the legislative process. The printed text shows the amendments as they were passed by the House and the handwritten markings show changes made by the Senate.

Drawing from the Senate Mark-up, assign each small group to study one or two of the 17 amendments passed by the House and marked up by the Senate. Provide one copy of Worksheet 3 to each group for each amendment the group is assigned. Using the Worksheet, the students will analyze their assigned amendment(s) and translate each into an 8-12 word "tweet." Amendments should be studied as they were passed by the House.

Direct each small group to study the historical context of their proposed amendment. The students will analyze several other versions of the Bill of Rights which came before and after the Senate Mark-up to determine when the main idea of their assigned amendment was introduced. For this step, distribute Handout 1 , Handout 2 , Handout 3 , and the Proposed Amendments to the U.S. Constitution as passed by the Senate .

Each group will scan these four documents to determine if the main idea identified in their tweet was also present in the other versions of the Bill of Rights. Students mark their finding on Worksheet 3 by putting an X in the appropriate box in the chart. Students will also mark the final box in the chart with an R or L to indicate whether that amendment deals mostly with rights or limitations of government. The groups should answer the questions on Worksheet 3 to prepare for class discussion. Worksheet 4 should be posted or projected on an overhead so that all groups can report their findings and share with the class.

The groups will present to the class their answers to questions on Worksheet 3 and their findings marked on Worksheet 4. When all groups have presented, hold a class discussion using the following questions:

• Which proposed amendments were present from the Anti-Federalist report to the Bill of Rights as ratified by the states?
• Which Anti-Federalist ideas were also proposed by Madison but not present in the final Bill of Rights?
• Which proposed amendments originated with James Madison? Which of those were not present in the final Bill of Rights?
• Which proposed amendments were merged at various points in the process?

4. Applying the Bill of Rights to today's world (45 minutes)

The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times, including the Bill of Rights. The ability to amend the Constitution is critical to adapt to a changing society. However, the Founders understood that revisions to the founding charter should not be undertaken lightly, and they designed the amendment process to require a very high level of agreement for amendments to be ratified (2/3 of both Houses of Congress and 3/4 of state legislatures).

Divide students into groups to propose new amendments to the Constitution to better serve the nation in the 21st Century and "form a more perfect union." In groups, students will identify rights deserving protection but not currently contained in the Bill of Rights and additional powers of government that should be limited.

Each group may compose one amendment (or several amendments) to the Constitution and share with the class why they think each amendment is needed.

Post all amendments on the wall and allow students to speak for or against the amendments as if they were members of Congress. Hold a vote on each amendment to see which ones, if any, can get 2/3 of the votes of all class members.

5. Lesson Extension (45 minutes for preparation and 45 minutes to implement)

Debating changes to the Bill of Rights:

The Bill of Rights was created by process of debate in the First Congress and ratified by debate in the legislatures of the states. This history reminds us of the importance of civic discourse in the life of the nation. Learning to advocate for ideas persuasively and respectfully was as vital a lesson for America's first legislators as it is for students today. This debate challenges students to assess the call to update the Bill of Rights by speaking for and against the idea. Organize the class into two teams and have each team spend 45 minutes organizing their arguments and evidence prior to debating.

Debate Topic: The Bill of Rights should be updated to match 21st Century American life.

Pro position: The Bill of Rights should be updated.

Con position: The Bill of Rights should be preserved as it is.

The debate format:

• Each debate features five participants on each side of the issue.
• Each speaks for no more than two minutes.
• Teams alternate speakers.
• One speaker on each team delivers the opening giving an overview of the team's position.
• Three speakers on each team gives supporting arguments—one argument per speaker.
• One speaker on each team delivers the closing argument.

Additional Resources

Congress Creates the Bill of Rights is an eBook, a mobile app for tablets, and online resources for teachers and students to exploring how the First Congress proposed amendments to the Constitution in 1789.

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Bell Ringer: The Bill of Rights

The bill of rights.

Author Richard Brookhiser explains the Bill of Rights.

Description

Richard Brookhiser explains the Bill of Rights.

Bell Ringer Assignment

• Explain the origin of the first amendments that were proposed?
• What was the first proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution? What was the result?
• What was the second proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Describe the circumstances surrounding it.
• Explain amendments 3-12, as discussed by Richard Brookhiser.

Additional Resources

• Lesson Plan: Predecessors to the Bill of Rights
• Video Clip: Judge Gorsuch on the Purpose and Function of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Participants

• Eminent Domain
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Lesson Plan on the Bill of Rights: Teaching Ideas & Student Assignments

• Trent Lorcher
• Categories : Teaching middle school history
• Tags : Teaching middle school grades 6 8

Report card day had arrived.

“You can’t give me an ‘F’,” cried Dewey Nowork. “It’s against my Constitutional rights.” Realizing that Dewey had no idea what his Constitutional rights were, I arrested him on the spot, searched his backpack, made him switch religions, forbade him to ever express his opinion in class, gave the ROTC students permission to stay in his house, and flogged him with a flag pole.

Unfortunately, my principal did know Dewey’s Constitutional rights and accused me of violating them. As punishment, he made me create a lesson plan on the Bill of Rights and distribute them to every teacher in the district.

Here, I share it with you.

• Read the Bill of Rights as a class and summarize them together and/or
• Take Cornell Notes on the Bill of Rights (2-3 pages should be enough).
• Assign groups of 3-4.
• Assign each group one of the first ten amendments.
• Write a summary of the amendment in modern language defining necessary terms.
• Explain an example in U.S. History or an example in the life of the presenters that involves one of the first ten amendments.
• Create a visual aide for teaching the amendment. It can be a picture or a diagram.
• Create a skit depicting the amendment being violated.
• Create a handout for the class. Crossword puzzles, word searches, and graphic organizers work best.
• Present the above items to the class.

Students will ask you for ideas. Here are some examples students have done and some examples from current events.

The first amendment: an example of a newspaper being shut down or someone being arrested for practicing a specific religion; more advanced students may wish to examine the “fairness doctrine” or a political leader endorsing or attacking a specific network or magazine.

The second amendment: gun control laws make good skits; passing a law prohibiting private ownership of guns works.

The third amendment: a skit depicting soldiers forcing their way into a house during peace time is the obvious one.

The fourth amendment: forced entry by police officers into a private home without a warrant; students may want to tackle the issue of locker and backpack searches.

The fifth amendment: depict someone getting arrested, being put on trial immediately, and sentenced without a trial.

The sixth amendment: depict someone being arrested unfairly and being forced to rot in jail for years before a trial.

The seventh amendment: show some inept or crooked judge giving an unfair ruling in a hefty lawsuit without a trial by jury.

The eighth amendment: guards beating prisoners is always a class favorite.

The 9th and 10th amendments: show a government official taking rights away from a state or individual. For example, limiting health care choices or forcing states to accept federal funds that create government dependence.

This post is part of the series: U.S. Constitution Lesson Plans

Teach your students about our nation’s most important document. While you’re at it, teach your elected officials. They seem to have forgotten it.

• Teaching the Bill of Rights: My Favorite Lesson Plan
• Teaching Ideas for Presidents Day
• Lesson Plans on Branches of Government
• Fight the Good Fight: Effectively Teach the Chocolate War with This Cross-Discipline Lesson Plan

Bill of Rights

Primary tabs.

• First Amendment [Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition (1791)] (see explanation )
• Second Amendment [Right to Bear Arms (1791)] (see explanation )
• Third Amendment [Quartering of Troops (1791)] (see explanation )
• Fourth Amendment [Search and Seizure (1791)] (see explanation )
• Fifth Amendment [Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process (1791)] (see explanation )
• Sixth Amendment [Criminal Prosecutions - Jury Trial, Right to Confront and to Counsel (1791)] (see explanation )
• Seventh Amendment [Common Law Suits - Jury Trial (1791)] (see explanation )
• Eighth Amendment [Excess Bail or Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment (1791)] (see explanation )
• Ninth Amendment [Non-Enumerated Rights (1791)] (see explanation )
• Tenth Amendment [Rights Reserved to States or People (1791)] (see explanation )

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BRIA 8 1 c On the Road to Revolution With Boris Yeltsin

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION Bill of Rights in Action Fall/Winter 1991 (8:1)

Trends and Issues of the Bill of Rights

BRIA 8:1 Home |   The New Supreme Court: Decision to Come | Who Voted in Early America On the Road To Revolution With Boris Yeltsin |  The Tax Farmer of Mari    

On the Road to Revolution With Boris Yeltsin

We have changed. We have said farewell to an epoch which one would like to believe will never return. — from Against the Grain, An Autobiography by Boris Yeltsin

As the Berlin Wall fell and the Cold War ended, important changes were also taking place within the Soviet Union . When Mikhail Gorbachev became the Soviet leader in 1985, he introduced a new program called perestroika .Gorbachev defined this as the "restructuring" of the rapidly declining Soviet-socialist economy. Although Gorbachev was vague on the details, he seemed to want his country to move away from centralized economic controls and toward a free-market economy.

Along with perestroika , Gorbachev also promoted a new spirit of openness, or glasnost , which meant more freedom of expression, including the right of Soviet citizens to criticize the Communist Party . Many Soviets interpreted these changes as a welcome shift toward freedom and democracy. But no one in the Soviet Union could have foreseen the far-reaching challenge to Communist Party rule brought on by a civil engineer from the Ural Mountains named Boris Yeltsin .

"A Little Bit of a Hooligan"

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was born on February 1, 1931, at the beginning of a period of famine and brutal dictatorship under Joseph Stalin . Facing starvation, Yeltsin's peasant family moved from a collective farm to a construction site where his father worked as a laborer.

Yeltsin grew up in a tough neighborhood near Sverdlovsk, a major city about 1,000 miles east of Moscow. He was always getting into fights and trouble. In his own words, he was "a bit of a hooligan." At age 11, he stole a hand grenade from an army storehouse. When he tried to take the grenade apart, it exploded, and he lost the forefinger and thumb of his left hand.

Despite his reputation as a roughneck, Yeltsin earned high marks in school and excelled in several sports, especially volleyball. At his elementary-school graduation ceremony, he spoke out against a particularly cruel teacher. The school board then denied his promotion to secondary school. But he personally appealed his case to the local Communist Party committee and won the right to continue his education.

A Party Boss

After attending secondary school, Yeltsin studied civil engineering at the Urals Polytechnic Institute in Sverdlovsk. He did well in his studies and also played on the city's volleyball team. After graduating in 1955, he supervised many construction projects and became well-known as an efficient and hard-working manager. He found himself in frequent disagreement, however, with Communist Party bureaucrats known in the Soviet Union as "apparatchiks."

Yeltsin married Naya (Anastasia) Girina, a civil engineer whom he first met at the Polytechnic Institute. The Yeltsins became the parents of two daughters, Lena and Tanya.

Membership in the Communist Party was required for any significant advancement in Soviet society. Yelsin joined the Communist Party in 1961. By 1968, he was a full-time party official, and in 1976 he was appointed first secretary of the Sverdlovsk district. "In those days," he wrote in his autobiography, "a provincial first secretary of the party was a god, a czar—master of his province—and on virtually any issue the first secretary's opinion was final."

In this position, Yeltsin first met Gorbachev. Gorbachev was the Communist Party's first secretary at Stavropol in the Caucasus region, about 700 miles south of Moscow. When Gorbachev became the general secretary of the Communist Party (and leader of the Soviet Union) in 1985, he brought Yeltsin to Moscow to become head of state construction. Within a few months, again with Gorbachev's backing, Yeltsin was appointed chairman of the Moscow Committee of the Communist Party, a position akin to being mayor of the city. Gorbachev wanted him to clean up the corruption in Moscow's local government.

Yeltsin took his new assignment very seriously. He made unannounced visits to government-operated stores where he learned about skimming practices, bribery, and kickbacks. He discovered secret deliveries of top-quality meat and other goods to Communist Party officials. He observed long lines of ordinary customers who often ended up being overcharged for the few available items.

Yeltsin proceeded to fire hundreds of apparatchiks, Communist Party bureaucrats, who were participating in the widespread corruption. Yeltsin wanted to go further, but he said in his autobiography that Gorbachev disapproved. "Most of all," Yeltsin wrote, "[Gorbachev] was afraid of laying hands on the party's bureaucratic machine, that holy of holiest of our system."

In 1986, Yeltsin was appointed a non-voting member of the Communist Party Politburo , the real center of power in the Soviet Union. As a member of the Politburo, Yeltsin soon clashed with those trying to slow down Gorbachev's perestroika program. Yeltsin criticized the special privileges enjoyed by Communist Party officials. These privileges included special stores, exclusive medical facilities, and even dachas , country villas that were available only to the party elite.

To make his point, Yeltsin began riding city subways and buses rather than his chauffeured limousine. He went to neighborhood clinics for his medical needs and turned down a palatial dacha (once used by Gorbachev). Yeltsin's outspoken criticism of Communist Party corruption made him very popular with the people of Moscow.

The Break With Gorbachev

By the fall of 1987, Yeltsin had concluded that the leadership of the Communist Party was unwilling to make the radical changes necessary to make the country work. This included a much faster shift to a free-market economy unhindered by Communist Party apparatchiks . Yeltsin placed much of the blame for what he perceived as the shortcomings of perestroika on Gorbachev himself. According to Yeltsin, Gorbachev never worked out a systematic blueprint for his reform program. But the Soviet leader's main weakness, in Yeltsin's view, was a "fear of taking the decisive but difficult steps that are needed."

At a meeting of the Communist Party's Central Committee on October 21, 1987, Yeltsin announced his resignation from the Moscow Committee and the Politburo but not before once again blasting the party and its leadership. He was then forced to endure months of scathing attacks from Gorbachev and other party leaders. But Gorbachev finally reassigned Yeltsin as first deputy chairman of state construction (a demotion, but in Stalin's day he would have been shot).

Political Comeback

Although Yeltsin was a "non-person" in the eyes of Communist Party leaders, the people of Moscow had not forgotten him. Early in 1989, Muscovites insisted that local party officials place Yeltsin's name on a list of candidates for election to the Congress of People's Deputies. The Congress was to be made up of representatives chosen by Soviet voters. It would be the first competitive elections since the Russian Revolution of 1917 , when the Communist Party took control of the country. From the 2,250 deputies elected to the Congress, nearly 600 would be selected as members of the Supreme Soviet , the national legislature of the Soviet Union.

On March 26, 1989, Yeltsin won 89 percent of the vote in his Moscow district, defeating the handpicked candidate of the Communist Party (and of Gorbachev). When the Congress of Deputies met in May, party leaders blocked Yeltsin from becoming a member of the Supreme Soviet. But a reformist deputy gave up his seat in favor of Yeltsin. Later, the deputies, still largely controlled by the Communist Party, chose Gorbachev as president of the Supreme Soviet (in effect, president of the Soviet Union).

Yeltsin helped form a group of reformist deputies who demanded eliminating a provision in the Soviet constitution making the Communist Party the only legal political party in the country. Under this provision, Communist Party bosses would nominate all candidates for elected offices. The provision was removed in 1990 with Gorbachev's consent.

The First Elected Leader

In June 1990, Yeltsin was nominated for president of the legislature of the Russian republic, the largest and most important of the Soviet Union's 15 republics (comparable to states of the United States). Yeltsin won, but only barely, after a bitter fight between his supporters and Communist Party deputies backed by Gorbachev. A month later, Yeltsin resigned from the Communist Party.

As the new leader of the Russian republic, Yeltsin soon began to assert his independence from the national government and Gorbachev. Yeltsin claimed that Russian laws outranked those of the Soviet Union. He pressed for the legalization of privately owned property such as farmland. He argued for a 500-day transition to a free-market economy. Moreover, he charged that Gorbachev's central government was "incapable of managing the country's affairs."

During a TV interview in February 1991, Yeltsin shocked everyone by calling for Gorbachev's immediate resignation. Yeltsin accused Gorbachev of deceiving the people by failing to enact economic reforms and by taking on dictatorial powers. Gorbachev angrily responded that radicals like Yeltsin were leading the country "right up to civil war."

In March, Communist Party leaders demanded Yeltsin's dismissal as president of the Russian legislature. His supporters immediately appealed to the people of Moscow to protest this move in a mass demonstration. Gorbachev countered by asking the Moscow city council to ban the demonstration for the sake of public order. When the council refused, he ordered the Soviet Interior Ministry to take over the city's police power. More than 50,000 troops were ordered into Moscow to enforce the demonstration ban. In spite of the troops, over 100,000 Muscovites peacefully marched to support Yeltsin and to denounce Gorbachev.

Yeltsin beat back the attempt by the Communist Party to remove him from office. He then quickly asked the legislature to schedule an unprecedented special election allowing the people to vote directly for the president of the Russian republic.

Yeltsin faced five opponents for the presidency of Russia. Wherever he went in the sprawling republic, he met large, enthusiastic crowds of supporters. "I believe in the rebirth of Russia," he told them. In his speeches he used a new Russian political term: departizatsiya , which means "departification." This "departification" referred specifically to the Communist Party, which had enjoyed exclusive control in all matters of Soviet politics for so long.

By a 60-percent majority, the voters on election day made Yeltsin the first democratically elected leader in the 1,000-year history of Russia. On July 10, 1991, he was sworn in as the president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Gorbachev congratulated Yeltsin at a ceremony held in Moscow's Palace of Congresses. Yeltsin would now begin his push for greater Russian independence from the Soviet Union.

The Second Russian Revolution

After intense negotiations, Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and other republic leaders agreed to sign a Treaty of Union granting greater independence to the republics. On August 18, 1991, two days before the treaty was to be signed, apparatchiks opposing the decentralization proposed in the Treaty attempted a coup . Gorbachev, vacationing on the Black Sea, was placed under house arrest.

The apparatchiks had struck at the right moment. The command structure was still centralized: The Treaty of Union had not been signed yet. Gorbachev's popularity had dipped to an all-time low. And he was away from Moscow. A coup in 1964 had toppled Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev while he was vacationing.

The coup should have worked. The apparatchiks, led by senior officials of the Communist Party, KGB (secret police), and army officers, had the force of the traditional power structure behind them. To give the coup a pretence of legality, they enlisted Vice President Gennady Yanayev. Yanayev broadcasted that due to Gorbachev's poor health, Yanayev was taking over as interim president and declaring a state of emergency. Tanks rumbled through the streets of Moscow.

But the apparatchiks had failed to arrest Yeltsin. Yeltsin, standing atop a tank outside the Russian parliament (the White House), gave a speech condemning the coup. He called for a general strike and for civil disobedience. Thousands of people answered his call. They gathered around the White House to protect it from attack. When the order to attack came, the unbelievable happened. The officers refused to obey the order.

The 1991 coup unraveled quickly after that. In total, the coup attempt lasted only 72 hours. But when Gorbachev returned to Moscow, he faced a vastly changed power structure. The republics were no longer seeking greater independence from the Soviet Union; they were now declaring their independence. Gorbachev could not appoint new apparatchiks to fill the positions of those involved in the coup: He had to appoint Yeltsin supporters. And he could no longer claim he could reform the Communist Party. Gorbachev announced his resignation from the party and ordered the Central Committee of the Communist Party to disband. Seventy-four years of Communist Party rule were over. The country had experienced a second Russian Revolution.

Russia: Approaching the Millenium

Yeltsin's 11 years of presidency were filled with staggering changes, some positive and others negative. In 1992, Yeltsin enacted dramatic and largely inflationary economic reforms. Yeltsin envisioned a program of military spending cuts, privitization, and free trade. In November 1992, however, Yeltsin appointed pro-inflationist Viktor Gerashchenko as Head of the Central Bank of Russia . Inflation devalued savings and wages of most Russians. Furthermore, low import and high domestic manufacturing taxes led to a nosedive in Russian production. Thus, Yeltsin's economic reforms became widely known as "shock without therapy."

In 1993, the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia tried to impeach Yeltsin and fell short by over 70 votes. Yeltsin soon disbanded the congress in violation of the constitution. Not long afterward, parliamentary opposition began supporting Vice President Alexander Rutskoi for president, and another military coup erupted. Before Yeltsin's supporters suppressed the coup, the White House was bombed and set on fire and several hundred Russians were killed. In December 1993, a new Russian constitution granting greater authority to the president was adopted.

In 1994, Russia's desperate economic situation worsened when the ruble lost one-fifth of its total value against the dollar on day that has come to be known as "Black Tuesday." After this day, one American dollar was equivalent to 3,926 rubles.

Russia's dire economic situation led to an increase in organized crime and unemployment. The GDP and standard of living fell drastically, leaving one-third of all Russians living below the official poverty line of $60 a month. Education, the police force, the military industry, and health care suffered the most, further perpetuating Russia's social problems.

In 1995, Yeltsin refused to put Russian troops in Bosnia under NATO command. Yeltsin and others feared the eastward expansion of NATO , because of its Cold War role of encirclement and military intimidation.

With the 1996 election approaching, Yeltsin suffered two major heart attacks. He looked weak and tired, and Russian voters became concerned that he was not sufficiently robust to meet the demands of his job. During his campaign, however, he tried to address some of Russia's economic anxieties. He increased student grants and signed a decree restoring the value of personal savings. In addition, numerous American political consultants used U.S.-style political polls and marketing techniques to influence the Russian voting public. Yeltsin narrowly won re-election before undergoing serious coronary bipass surgery.

Many Russians believed that Yeltsin would die soon after his surgery. But he survived and continued in his capacity as Russia's leader. In 1997, he completed an extensive overhaul of his cabinet. He also experienced a humiliating defeat in the Chechen war for independence, a war that had been raging since 1994.

On December 28, 1999, Yeltsin resigned, explaining that Russia needed a new political leader to lead it into a new century. For Yeltsin, this leader was his popular protegée Vladimir Putin . Yeltsin named Putin acting president. Soon thereafter, Putin was elected to his own term in a landslide election.

People disagree about Yeltsin's place in history. But all would agree that Boris Yeltsin led his country into a new epoch of Russian history.

For Discussion and Writing

• What is the difference between Russia and the Soviet Union?
• In what ways did Boris Yeltsin and Mikhail Gorbachev agree? How did they disagree?
• Mao Tse-tung (1893-1976), the Chinese Communist leader, wrote: "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." What does this mean? Do you agree? Would Boris Yeltsin agree?

For Further Information

Biographies of Boris Yeltsin:

Boris Yeltsin CNN: Newsmaker Profile CNN: Cold War Profile His Life in Pictures BBC: Boris Yelsin: Master of Surpise Encarta: Boris Yeltsin Timeline of Yeltsin's Career and Life Facts on File: Boris Yeltsin Encyclopedia.com: Boris Yeltsin PBS web pages on Yeltsin Guardian Unlimited: Special Report: Boris Yeltsin Boris Yeltsin Enters the History Books From American Diplomacy.

Book reviews of Yeltsin's autobiography Midnight Diaries :

Yeltsin's Farewell Boston Globe . The People's Czar New York Times .

Russian Presidential Election—1996 Information about the candidates and election.

CNN on the Election of 1996

BBC: Russia at the Polls: 1999

Russian News Sources

Moscow Times St. Petersburg Times TASS Russia Today RussianIssues.com

Selected Resources on Yeltsin Books and other resources. From Questia.

Open Directory Project: Yeltsin Many links.

A C T I V I T Y

What Makes A Free Election?

Russian citizens are beginning to experience democracy. Unquestionably, free elections are at the heart of any democratic political system. But what makes a free election? Assume that a Russian TV news reporter is visiting your class and has asked you this question. Form small groups. Each group should first discuss how one of the elements listed below contributes to a free election in a democracy. It should then report its conclusions to the Russian reporter who might be role-played by a student or your teacher (perhaps using a video camera).

Elements of a Free Election

• more than one political party
• a choice of candidates
• freedom of speech
• freedom of the press
• freedom of assembly
• television and radio
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Watch CBS News

Wisconsin Gov. Evers vetoes transgender high school athletics ban, decries "radical policies targeting LGBTQ"

By WCCO Staff

Updated on: April 3, 2024 / 2:18 AM CDT / CBS/AP

Wisconsin's governor Tony Evers vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have banned high school transgender athletes from competing on teams that align with their gender identity , promising he would veto "any bill that makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive, and less welcoming place for LGBTQ people and kids."

The bill had passed the Republican-controlled Legislature despite Evers vowing he would veto it from the moment it was introduced. While Democrats did not have the votes to stop its passage in the Legislature, now Republicans don't have the votes needed to override the veto.

Evers said in his veto message that this type of legislation "harms LGBTQ Wisconsinites' and kids' mental health, emboldens anti-LGBTQ harassment, bullying, and violence, and threatens the safety and dignity of LGBTQ Wisconsinites, especially our LGBTQ kids."

Evers vetoed it in the Capitol surrounded by Democratic lawmakers, transgender advocates, the mayor of Madison and others.

Republican Rep. Barb Dittrich, who sponsored the bill , called Evers' veto "disgusting" and accused him of "misogynistic and hateful position towards actual females."

"His veto today clearly demonstrates his disrespect for women and girls as well as for protecting their hard-fought achievements," Dittrich said in a statement.

The bill proposed to limit high school athletes to playing on teams that match the gender they were assigned at birth.

Republicans who backed the bill argued it was a matter of fairness for non-transgender athletes. But bill opponents argued there was no real issue with transgender high school athletes in Wisconsin and said the proposed ban was a form of discrimination and harmful to transgender youth.

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association requires transgender athletes to undergo hormone therapy before they can play on the teams of their choice. The association's policy is modeled after NCAA requirements for transgender athletes.

At least 20 states have approved a version of a blanket ban on transgender athletes playing on K-12 and collegiate sports teams statewide, but a Biden administration proposal to forbid such outright bans is set to be finalized this year after multiple delays and much pushback. As proposed, the rule would establish that blanket bans would violate Title IX, the landmark gender-equity legislation enacted in 1972.

Neighboring Minnesota has recently passed a number of bills that proponents say make it a refuge state for LGBTQ+ youth, including a bill banning conversion therapy . Additionally, Minnesota lawmakers recently passed legislation that  aimed to make Minnesota a "refuge" for transgender persons in general . Those pushing the legislation forward said it would protect trans patients and providers of gender-affirming care from legal action in other states where such care is banned or restricted, creating a safe haven in Minnesota.

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