How to use this Workbook

The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the United States Constitution. It spells out Americans’ rights in relation to their Government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to individuals — like freedom of speech, press, and religion. It sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States. And it specifies that just because the Constitution doesn’t list every right people have, it doesn’t mean those rights not mentioned can be violated.

In this workbook you’ll find primary sources to help you explore some of the core concepts, or protections, found in the Bill of Rights, and how they’ve been tested throughout American history.

Each chapter will lead you to consider the implications of one core concept and includes:

Background Information

A key question or questions to frame your thinking

Questions to help you analyze the document

A primary source document or documents

Discussion questions to help you consider the impact or importance of the concept

The concepts covered, in the order they appear in this workbook, include:

No Law Respecting an Establishment of Religion, or Prohibiting the Free Exercise Thereof (First Amendment)

Freedom of Speech (First Amendment)

Freedom of the Press (First Amendment)

Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble (First Amendment)

Right to Petition the Government for a Redress of Grievances (First Amendment)

Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms (Second Amendment)

Unreasonable Searches and Seizures (Fourth Amendment)

Deprived of Life, Liberty, or Property, Without Due Process (Fifth Amendment)

The Right to Counsel (Sixth Amendment)

Cruel and Unusual Punishments (Eighth Amendment)

All of the primary source documents included in these chapters come from the holdings of the National Archives. Yet this workbook covers only a small sampling of the protections afforded by the Bill of Rights, and only a few of the billions of primary sources in the holdings of the National Archives.

To explore the Bill of Rights further, visit www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights.

“Freedom of” or “Freedom From” Religion?

For hundreds of years before even the passage of the Bill of Rights, individuals came to our shores seeking the opportunity to worship freely and without persecution. These ideals were solidified in the passage of the First Amendment. It defends an individual’s right to worship, but also protects individuals from the government supporting a particular religion: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

But what if these two issues come into conflict? How does the First Amendment find balance between the establishment clause and free exercise clause?

Background

In a nationally televised event on Christmas Eve 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman read the first 10 verses from the book of Genesis in the Bible.

Feeling her First Amendment rights had been violated, American Atheists founder Madalyn Murray O’Hair filed suit against Thomas O. Paine, the administrator of NASA, and the space agency. O’Hair is best known for her role in Murray v. Curlett, that was consolidated with Abington School District v. Schempp, and led to the Supreme Court’s 1963 ruling that school-sponsored Bible reading in public schools was unconstitutional.

She believed that because the Apollo 8 crew read from the scripture, her rights were infringed upon as an atheist. O’Hair claimed that NASA, a federal agency, instructed the astronauts to read from the Bible and this was a direct violation of separation of church and state. She further alleged that NASA was trying to establish Christianity as the official religion of the United States. As a tax payer, O’Hair argued that federal funds which supported the space program should not be used to accommodate a Bible on board the space capsule. She also claimed that the date of the Apollo 8 flight was chosen because of religious reasons.

U.S. District Judge Jack Roberts dismissed the suit, writing that the complaint failed to state a cause of action for which relief could be granted. He argued that the plaintiffs were not coerced to watch the televised event, and if the astronauts had been forced to read from the Bible then the personal rights of the astronauts would have been violated, not those of the plaintiffs. Roberts stated carrying the Bible aboard the space capsule neither advanced nor inhibited religion, and therefore did not violate the establishment clause. Roberts concluded that the scheduling of the Apollo 8 flight to coincide with the Christmas season was “approaching the absurd,” and “The First Amendment does not require the State to be hostile to religion, but only neutral.”

Think About

What does freedom of religion mean?

What is the establishment clause? What does it do?

Does the First Amendment protect someone who is an atheist from being exposed to religion?

Analyze the Document

Consider the following questions as you look at the court opinion on the next pages:

What claims does O’Hair base her suit on?

What reasons does Judge Roberts give to dismiss the suit?

Document

The following is the opinion that U.S. District Judge Jack Roberts wrote in the Madalyn Murray O’Hair et al. v. Thomas O. Paine, et al. case:

Discuss

Do you believe O’Hair’s rights were violated? Why or why not?

Do you agree with the judge’s opinion? Why or why not?

Freedom of Speech for the Masses

Though freedom of speech is one of our most cherished liberties as protected by the First Amendment, fully enjoying it has not always been possible. This is especially true during times of stress for the nation and government.

Background

During World War I, the Federal Government passed the Espionage Act. Over 2,000 arrests and 1,000 convictions resulted from the passage of the act and its later amendment, commonly called the Sedition Act.

The socialist magazine The Masses was dedicated to “radical art and freedom of expression” and “spirited expressions of every kind—in fiction, satire, poetry and essay.” For the August 1917 issue, the editors, artists, and writers crafted pieces that showed disapproval for the war.

Draft resisters were praised in an editorial for their “self-reliance and sacrifice.” In an introduction to a series of letters from jailed British conscientious objectors, a writer asserted that people could be conscientious objectors without a religious cause. In addition, an article and a poem called anarchists Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman, recently jailed for speaking out against the draft, “friends of American freedom.”

These words were dangerous because of the recent passing of the Espionage Act in June 1917. This law made it illegal to make any statements that would interfere with the military operations, promote the success of the enemy, cause insubordination by soldiers, or obstruct the draft. The maximum sentence was 20 years in jail. The act also gave the Post Office the power to seize any controversial periodical that went through the mail as “non-mailable.”

When The Masses sent out its August issue, it was seized by New York City’s Postmaster T. G. Patten because the “whole tone and tenor” violated the Espionage Act. In the only court case that supported freedom of the press during World War I, Judge Learned Hand agreed with The Masses and said that the journal could be mailed. He supported their right to publish by saying nothing within the journal directly advocated resistance to the law.

The Government appealed and eventually indicted seven staff members of The Masses for espionage. After two hung juries and with the war already over, the government decided to stop prosecution in the case. Others were not as lucky, and you can see in the cases of Eugene Debs, William Haywood, Mojick Fieron and Anthony Stopa, among others.

Think About

How did the Espionage Act of 1917 limit freedom of speech and freedom of the press?

Analyze the Document

Consider the following questions as you look at selections and cartoons from The Masses on the next pages:

How would you summarize the magazine selections?

Why does it seem they were written?

What is depicted in the cartoons? What messages do the cartoons send?

Document

The following is Judge Learned Hand’s opinion in the court case The Masses v. T. G. Patten. Look at the last pages (numbered 46-49) to read selections from the journal The Masses:

Document

Follow the link below to explore the political cartoons from The Masses that were cited in the opinion. Navigate to pages 4, 7, 26-27, and 33:

Go to the Tamiment Library and Robert Wagner Labor Archives at New York University.

Discuss

Look at page 3 of the Espionage Act and read sections 3 and 4 to help you think about the following:

Did the The Masses violate the Espionage Act? If yes, which selections were in violation?

Does the government have the right to restrict freedom of the press during wartime? Why or why not?

Do you think the Espionage Act of 1917 was constitutional? Why or why not?

Freedom to Cover the World Series

Baseball and social change have been linked since Jackie Robinson broke the color line in 1947. Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke broke another line 30 years later when she sued Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn to gain access to the locker room. This “gender line” in the reporting of sports calls out First Amendment-guaranteed freedom of the press (and the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause).

Background

After rising through the ranks as a junior reporter, Melissa Ludtke was assigned to cover the 1977 baseball playoffs and World Series. During the first two American League playoff games in New York, the Yankees refused to provide her the same access to the locker room as her male colleagues.

Before the World Series started, Los Angeles Dodger players voted to let Ludtke into the clubhouse after games. But Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn stepped in and reversed this decision. Ludtke missed capturing the ballplayers’ locker-room stories and interviews.

Game 6 had included perhaps one of the best individual performances in baseball history. During that game, Yankees star Reggie Jackson earned the nickname “Mr. October” by hitting three straight home runs on three straight pitches (from three different pitchers, no less). The Yankees would win their first World Series in over a decade; but Ludtke would not be allowed to interview Reggie or others about it in the locker room.

When the 1978 baseball season approached, Ludtke and Time, Inc. (the parent company of Sports Illustrated) filed suit against Bowie Kuhn, the New York Yankees, Mayor of New York City Abraham Beame, and other officials. In the complaint, they alleged discrimination on 14th Amendment grounds since she was being deprived of the “opportunity to cover baseball in the same manner and to the same extent as her male colleagues and competitors.” Her First Amendment rights were infringed, they alleged, when she was denied “fair access to a source of news.”

In the judgment, the court ordered the New York Yankees to allow Melissa Ludtke and all female accredited sports reporters access to the clubhouse locker rooms. Ludtke’s case opened baseball locker-room doors to female reporters, growing at that time to about 50% of journalists.

Think About

Should there ever be limits on freedom of the press, as guaranteed by the First Amendment? If yes, what might those limits be?

Analyze the Document

Consider the following questions as you look at the court case complaint on the next pages:

Who and what are involved?

What specific arguments and reasoning did Ludtke and her lawyers use?

What did Ludtke and her lawyers ask for?

Document

The following are pages 13-16 of a complaint from a court case where Sports Illustrated journalist Melissa Ludtke alleged that Major League Baseball's policy of excluding female reporters from locker rooms put her at a professional disadvantage because of her gender:

Discuss

Imagine the response provided by Major League Baseball. What arguments would they make to deny entry to the locker room? Are any of those arguments valid?

Look online to see the Order and Judgment. How big of an impact do you think this decision had on sports media?

How do you think sports reporting would be different today without this decision?

Freedom of the Press Under Stress

Though freedom of the press was protected in the First Amendment, its application would be tested just a few years later when political parties developed in the mid-1790s. As politicians split into Federalists (such as Alexander Hamilton and John Adams) and Democratic-Republicans (like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison), newspapers sprouted up supporting the opinions of one side or the other.

Background

Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser, published by Ann Greenleaf, was one of the divisive papers that emerged when the early American political camps of the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans formed. It frequently opposed the decisions of the party in power: the Federalists. Ann Greenleaf was one of 25 people (all expressing anti-Federalist opinions) who was arrested for violating the Sedition Act. This bill made it a crime, punishable by two years in jail and a $2,000 fine, to “print, utter, or publish...any false, scandalous, and malicious writing” against any part of the Government.

In the February 9, 1799 issue, Greenleaf published an article that questioned the constitutionality of the Alien and Sedition Acts. The article described citizens of Flat Bush (in what is now Brooklyn, N.Y.) erecting liberty poles as they had done prior to the American Revolution to show displeasure toward the British. The cause of their current displeasure was the recent passing of what the paper called the “Tyrannical and Unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Bills.” With the Sedition Act in place, Greenleaf was indicted for exciting the “Hatred of the good People of the United States” against Congress.

She was also indicted for publishing an article the following August that asserted that Pro-Federalist newspapers were both employed in the service of the U.S. Government and secret agents of the British government “sent here to assist in demoralizing the Political mind.” The article based its assertion on the fact that these papers (like Noah Webster’s American Minerva) were excessively pro-British and bitterly anti-French.

In the end, Ann Greenleaf’s case would never go to trial. Since she had sold her paper and was no longer in publishing, the U.S. Attorney for the NY District recommended to President John Adams that the Government drop its case; Adams agreed.

Think About

How did the Sedition Act passed by Congress in the summer of 1798 limit freedom of the press?

Analyze the Document

Consider the following questions as you look at the court case indictment on the next pages:

How does the indictment describe Ann Greenleaf and the crimes she committed?

Why do you think phrases such as “wicked, malicious and seditious person” and “wickedly and maliciously intending and contriving to defame the Government...excite the Hatred of the good People of the United States” were used?

Focus your attention on the selections quoted from the February and August issues of Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser. The quote from the February issue begins near the bottom of the first page with “It appears that the Honest Yeomanry...” The selection from the August issue begins one-third of the way through the third page with “To say those principles have crept into our public counsels...”:

What arguments do the selections from Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser make about the Federal government?

In the text before these Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser selections, how does the indictment describe the result of publishing these articles?

Document

The following is the indictment of Ann Greenleaf from the court case United States v Ann Greenleaf. A transcription follows each page:

Transcription (italics indicate selections quoted from Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser):

​
New York [illegible]: The jurors of the United States of America for the New York District in the Eastern Circuit upon their oaths present that Ann Greenleaf of the City of New York in the New York District widow, being a wicked, malicious and seditious person and wickedly and maliciously intending and contriving to defame the government of the United States, and to excite the Hatred of the good people of the United States against the Congress of the United States and to stir up sedition within the said United States and to insinuate and cause it to be believed that the said Congress had passed, tyrannical and unconstitutional Laws and were inimical to the Liberties of the said People on the ninth day of February in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety nine with Force and Arms at the City of New York in the New York district wickedly maliciously and unlawfully printed uttered and published, and caused and procured to be printed, uttered and published in a certain newspaper called “Greenleafs New Daily Advertiser” a certain False Scandalous and malicious writing against the Government of the United States and against the Congress of the United States in which said writing are contained among other things divers false, scandalous and malicious matters according to the effect following that is to say. It appears that the Honest Yeomanry of that Town (a certain Town called Flat Bush meaning) some days before erected a Liberty Pole, what was common to be done at the commencement of the American Revolution ​

Transcription (italics indicate selections quoted from Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser):​
​
in every Republican Town in America, evincing their Marked disapprobation of British attempts to bind them in all cases whatsoever and at present is oppressive of the high displeasure of that Town (the said Town of Flat Bush meaning) at similar attempts in their Opinion in the last session of Congress (the then last session of Congress meaning) manifested by actually passing the Tyrannical and unconstitutional alien and sedition Bills, (meaning two certain acts of Congress commonly called by those Names the first being the act entitled “an act concerning aliens,” and the other the Act entitled “an act in addition to the act entitled act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States”) in open violation of the laws of the United States, to the evil and pernicious example of all others in the like case offending, against the form of the Statute in such case thereof made and provided and against the peace of the United States and their Dignity. And the jurors aforesaid upon their Oaths aforesaid do further Present that the said Ann Greenleaf being such Person as aforesaid, and again unlawfully, wickedly maliciously and seditious by devising, continuing and intending to defame the Government of the United States and to stir up sedition within the said States, and to bring the said Government into Hatred and contempt and to insinuate and cause it to be believed that the said Government was corrupt and inimical to the preservation of civil Liberty and to the spirit and principle of the Constitution of the said States, afterwards, to wit, on the thirty first day of August in​

Transcription (italics indicate selections quoted from Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser):​
​
the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety nine with Force and Arms at the City of New York in the New York District wickedly, malicously and unlawfully printed uttered and published and caused and procured to the be printed uttered and published in a certain News Paper called “Greeleafs New Daily Advertiser” a certain other false scandalous and malicious writing against the Government of the said States in which said last mentioned writing are contained among other things divers false, scandalous and malicious matters according to the effect following that is to say "To say those principles have crept into our public councils, to say that public servants advocate and forward this gradual subversion of the National Character, this insiduous revolution of sentiment, would perhaps be construed into sedition. But thank God in this Country truth is not yet a libel, and I may still assert facts, that are too prominent to be done away by legal sophistry, or federal assertion. ​
​
1. A News Paper in Boston- Noah Websters in New York—the Famous Weekly Muwseum in New Hampshire—Fonnor's in Philadelphia- and Yundtand Brown’s paper in Baltimore, are pensioned and held in the pay of Government.​
​
2. All those Presses continually nauseate us with Eulogiums on the British; publish nothing but the most severe Philippricks against the French, and sedulously suppress every transaction, that tends to give the publick an idea of the infamous conduct of the British towards our Commerce and our Citizens

Transcription (italics indicate selections quoted from Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser):​
​
3. These papers are celebrated for venting the basest personal scurrility against every individual particularly, Editors, that wish to keep alive that jealousy and watchfulness so essential to the preservation of civil Liberty—and endeavor to preserve the spirit and principles of our Constitution in its pristine purity. ​
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4. Is it not probable that these pensioned Printers have their directions from their Masters, or that they anticipate and exercise their pleasure? ​
​
5. Is it not probable that writers are hired for the Assistance of such Editors as are incapable of writing themselves, such as little Brown for instance, and others of the same stamp; and that these venal scriblers may be British secret agents sent here to assist in demoralizing the Political mind. Last year the British secret service money exceeded the amount of a whole years expences of our Government. But who can tell thro what channel it was expended – the British notwithstanding then Great humanity and their mighty Generosity, are seldom known to give something for nothing. And who that witnesses the Conduct of federal prints, who that observes their Partiality for that Nation, but must entertain their own suspicions. These Observations are not the ebullition of party favor they have the most certain Truths for their basis, and deserve the utmost attention from every friend to the Independence, Respectability and happiness of his Country” in open violation of the Laws of the United States, to the Evil and pernicious Example of all others in the like case offending, against the​

Transcription:​
​
Form of the Statute in such case thereof made and provided and against the peace of the said United States and their Dignity.

Discuss

Reading Section 2 of the Sedition Act, how did the provided selections from Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser violate the law?

Do you think the Sedition Act was constitutional?

How does the criticism leveled at Congress and the Government compare to criticisms that the media makes today?

Permission to “Take it to the Streets”

The right of the people to peaceably assemble is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, in the First Amendment to the Constitution. But what happens when a city requires a group to obtain a permit to do so?

Background

The 1968 Democratic National Convention is associated in the minds of many with scenes of violent clashes between anti-war protestors and Chicago police officers. Yet the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam’s (MOBE) application for a permit highlights the protestors’ desire to abide by municipal (local government) regulations while exercising their First Amendment rights.

The application was an exhibit in criminal case 69CR180, United States v. Dellinger, et al. The defendants, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Lee Weiner, John Froines, and Bobby Seale, were accused of inciting riots during the Convention. On March 20, 1969, the grand jury returned indictments on these eight people on charges of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce with the intent to incite a riot, in violation of the Anti-Riot Act. Six of the defendants were indicted on individual charges. After a 13-month trial, Judge Hoffman sentenced Bobby Seale to four years in prison for contempt of court and declared a mistrial in the prosecution of Seale.

Think About

Should a local government be able to regulate the American right to peaceably assemble, as guaranteed by the First Amendment. If so, how?

Analyze the Document

Consider the following questions as you look at the permit application on the next pages:

Who submitted the application?

When was it submitted?

How many participants were expected?

How many different departments needed to approve a permit application?

Document

The following is a permit application that the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE) submitted to the City of Chicago for approval to march on public streets during the 1968 Democratic National Convention:

Discuss

Why would the City of Chicago be opposed to granting a permit to MOBE for Wednesday, August 28, 1968?

If the City of Chicago denied MOBE a permit to assemble, what should MOBE Project Director Rennie Davis have done?

Do you think obtaining a permit hinders one’s right to peaceably assemble?

A Seditious Petition

The right to petition the government is protected by the First Amendment. Less than 10 years after its ratification, however, a New York State legislator was arrested for distributing a petition. His petition, addressed to the House and Senate, questioned recent government actions stating that Congress had just deliberately passed a “series of Evils” that would lead to a “foreign war, a violated Constitution and a divided People.”

Background

Revolutionary War veteran Jedediah Peck served as judge for a New York State court and was elected to the N.Y. state legislature as a Federalist. He, however, disagreed with the Federalist’s passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts that increased the requirements for citizenship and limited freedom of expression respectively.

So, in April 1799 he asserted his First Amendment right to “petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” For distributing this petition, and the specific language that it used, Jedediah Peck (an elected representative) was one of 25 people arrested for violating the Sedition Act.

Affidavits from witnesses described him carrying a six-inch stack of handbills with him and telling others that Congress was threatening the liberties of the United States. The indictment also describes the language of the petition to the House and Senate as containing “false, scandalous and malicious writings.” Among other claims, Peck was arrested for attacking the Alien and Sedition Acts and saying they were “obnoxious to a generous and free people” and so wicked that they’d “convert Freemen into Slaves.”

Jedediah Peck was arrested, and subject to two years in jail and a $2,000 fine. He never went to trial, however, since the U.S. Attorney (after reaching out to the Secretary of State and President John Adams himself) decided not to pursue the case. For Jedediah Peck, his controversial statements helped gain him support — he was re-elected to the N.Y. state legislature. Today he is credited by some as the father of the N.Y. public school system.

Think About

How did the Sedition Act passed by Congress on July 14, 1798 aim to limit freedom to petition?

Analyze the Document

Consider the following questions as you look at the court case indictment on the next pages:

How does the indictment describe Jedediah Peck and his crime?

In the quoted selections from his petition, how does Peck describe the French government and the Adams administration’s interactions?

In the quoted selections, how does Peck describe the Alien and Sedition Act?

Document

The following is the indictment of Jedediah Peck in the court case United States v. Jedediah Peck. A transcription follows each page:

Transcription (italics indicate selections quoted from Jedediah Peck’s petition):

New York [illegible]: The jurors for the United States of America for the NewYork District in the Eastern Circuit upon their Oath present that Jedediah Peck of the Town of Burlington in the County of Otsego in the New York district Esquire being a wicked seditious and ill disposed Person, and wickedly and maliciously in tending and contriving to defame the Government of the said United States , and the Congress thereof, and to stir up sedition within the said United States, and to excite the Hatred of the good People of the said States against the said Government and Congress, on the Fifteenth Day of April in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety nine with, Force and Arms at the Town of Otsego in the County of Otsego in the New York District wickedly maliciously and unlawfully uttered and published, and caused and procured to be uttered and published and aided and assisted in uttering & publishing a certain false scandalous and malicious Writing against the Government of the United States, & against the Congress and President of the said States, addressed to the Senate and Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled, in which said

Transcription (italics indicate selections quoted from Jedediah Peck’s petition):

said Writing are contained among other Things divers false, scandalous & malicious matters according to the Effect following, to wit, “To our minds, under the purest and most deliberate Exercise, they (the measures of Congress meaning) present instead of Objects of Exultation or Complacency, Applause or Approbation a Series of Evils equally diffusive and calamitous, equally general and destructive – a foreign war, a violated Constitution and a divided People” and also divers other false scandalous and malicious matters according to the Effect following, that is to say, “But when we find Declarations thus open & explicit (meaning certain Declarations of the Minister of the French Republic for foreign affairs stated in the said writing) accompanied by Acts of substantial Justice, we should betray a miserable jealousy or criminal scepticism were we to join the Administration (meaning the President and principal officers concerned in administering the Government of the said United States) in concluding that we can discover in the French Government only empty Professions of a Desire to conciliate. So far from this we perceive in their Acts (The Acts of the French government meaning) an approach to accommodation, which if met on our Part with similar Dispositions might soon revive the cordiality and intercourse which ever [illegible]

Transcription (italics indicate selections quoted from Jedediah Peck’s petition):

to exist between two people mutually professing an attachment to Peace & mutually acknowledging its freedom and virtue. It is therefore with the deepest concern that we find measures originating in [illegible] and prosecuted in [illegible], become the foundation of a system of alarm, of suspicion of Tyranny, and of Expence (meaning to insinuate that the measures of the said Government of the United States were a system of alarm, of suspicion, of Tyranny, and of unjustifiable Expense) which no state of things could justify, and scarcely any extenuate” - and in which said writing [illegible] also contained divers other false, scandalous & malicious Matters to the Effect following that is to say “The parts of this System (the said measures of the Government of the United States meaning) which most immediately engage our attention, and to which we are most desirous of directing yours, are the two Laws, passed at your last session (the then last session of the said Congress meaning) usually denominated the Alien and Sedition Laws and Act providing for the Augmentation of the Army - The first of these Laws (a certain Act of the said Congress entitled “An act concerning Aliens” meaning how all the characters which can make it obnoxious to a generous and free People. It is cruel, unjust, unnecessary, impolitic and unconstitutional” – And in which said writing are also contained divers other false scandalous and malicious matters to the Effect following that is to say, “To the Sedition Law (a certain Act of the said Congress

Transcription (italics indicate selections quoted from Jedediah Peck’s petition):

Congress entitled “An act in Addition to the Act entitled An Act for the Punishment of certain crimes against the United States meaning) our Objections are still stronger than to the Alien Laws, because the abuses to which it is liable, are equally vicious in their Character, and more general in their Operation. The former assails the few, the latter attacks the many. The former is directed as Foreigners; the latter is leveled as ourselves. The former tyrannizes over men, who in general have been born and bred under oppression. But it is the superlative Wickedness of the latter to convert Freeman into Slave.” – And in which said Writing are also contained divers other false scandalous and malicious matters according to the Effect following “But it is not or this ground alone that we think the late augmentation of the Army (the Army of the said United States meaning) unnecessary. The Law executing it is predicated upon a Declaration of War against the United States, an actual Invasion of their Territory, or an imminent danger of each Invasion discovered in the Opinion of the President to exist. That any Declaration of War against the United States, or any actual invasion of their Territory does exist will not be pretended. It follows then that this Law is put into operation from some imminent Danger of Invasion discovered in the opinion of the President to exist. But from what quarter is such invasion to be expected? It is from a nation wh[illegible - cut off] Ruler.

Transcription (italics indicate selections quoted from Jedediah Peck’s petition):

Rulers declare themselves anxious for Reconciliation? A Nation already exhausted by defeat? A Nation, whose ports are all a state of Blockade? A Nation, which the most confidential Servant of the Cabinet informs us, will not, in the short period of two additional years, have a single ship afloat upon the Ocean? A Nation wasting itself in barren conquests on the opposite side of the Globe? A Nation on the Eve of a new Rupture with the great continental Powers of Europe? A Nation in short which can no longer attack her own subjects, nor control her own Dependencies? Is it from a People this impotent and embarrassed that we have to dread an Invasion? It is impossible; they are the Fears of Dotage, or Circumspection of Cowardice, and merit only Pity or Contempt” - all which false scandalous & malicious matters & the said writing containing the same were so as aforesaid uttered and published, & caused and procured to be uttered and published & the said Jedediah Peck did so as aforesaid aid and assist in uttering & publishing the same in open Violation of the Laws of the United States, to the evil & pernicious example of all others in the like Case offending, against the Form of the Statute in such Case thereof made & provided, and against the Peace of the said United States & their Dignity.

Discuss

Reading Section 2 of the Sedition Act, did Jedediah Peck violate the law? Why or why not?

Do you think the Sedition Act was constitutional?

How would our nation be different if the Sedition act was still in effect? What would the consequences be?

Examining the Second Amendment

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is controversial and polarizes American public opinion. It says:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Background

The Second Amendment can be considered in two parts: “a well regulated militia” and “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.”

The Founders were distrustful of a professional “standing army” and were adamant that the United States military be a volunteer organization (called a militia) that was ultimately controlled by civilian authority. This is why the President of the United States is the Commander in Chief and Congress must approve declarations of war. This concern can be seen in many letters, articles and other documents.

John Adams’s 1763 “Essay on Man’s Lust for Power” says:

Power is a Thing of infinite Danger and Delicacy, and was never yet confided to any Man or any Body of Men without turning their Heads.—Was there ever, in any Nation or Country, since the fall, a standing Army that was not carefully watched and contrould by the State so as to keep them impotent, that did not, ravish, plunder, Massacre and ruin, and at last inextricably inslave the People…

A 1770 letter to Benjamin Franklin from the Massachusetts House of Representatives states:

… So wretched is the State of this Province, not only to be subjected to absolute Instructions given to the Governor to be the Rule of his Administration, whereby some of the most essential Clauses of our Charter vesting in him Powers to be exercised for the Good of the People are totally rescinded, which is in reality a State of Despotism; but also to a Standing Army, which being uncontrouled by any Authority in the Province, must soon tear up the very Foundation of civil Government.

The Declaration of Independence reads:

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.​
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

A 1787 letter from Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, Secretary of State, during the Constitutional Convention reads:

…I will now add what I do not like. First the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly and without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction against monopolies, the eternal and unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury in all matters of fact triable by the laws of the land and not by the law of Nations…

New York’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution (with proposed amendments) from 1788 says:

That the People have the right to keep and bear arms; that a well-regulated Militia, including the body of the People capable of bearing arms, is the proper, natural and safe defense of a Free State; that the Militia should not be subject to martial law, except in times of War, Rebellion, and Insurrection.

That standing Armies in time of peace are dangerous to Liberty, and ought not to be kept up, except in Cases of necessity; and that at all times the Military should be under strict subordination to the civil Power.

And the 1859 Kansas Territory Wyandotte Constitution, what later became the Kansas State Constitution, says:

The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security, but standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be tolerated, and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power.

The Founders considered the right to keep and bear arms primarily for the purpose of “defense and security.” After all, before and during the Revolutionary War the people of the United States had been attacked by standing, professional armies without “due process of law” at the discretion of officers without civilian oversight. Also, weapons were a necessity for protection against predators and unknown dangers on the ever-expanding frontier.

Over time, however, laws have been passed to protect the public from dangers associated with expanding technology and weapons falling into the wrong hands:

The National Firearms Act of 1934 imposed a substantial tax on automatic-fire weapons and what were seen as gangster-related weapons, like sawed-off shotguns and guns hidden in canes.

The Federal Firearms Act of 1938 required licenses and record-keeping for all gun sales and prohibited sales to known criminals.

The Gun Control Act of 1968 increased restrictions on known criminals and outlawed mail-order sales of rifles and shotguns.

The Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act of 1986 banned armor-piercing ammunition.

The Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 eased restrictions on the sale of some guns, but raised penalties for certain crimes involving guns.

The Crime Control Act of 1990 raised criminal penalties for possessing and discharging firearms in a school zone.

The Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act of 1994 led to the creation of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 included the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.

Think About

Why do Americans interpret the wording in the Second Amendment differently?

How long has the controversy surrounding its interpretation been going on?

Analyze the Documents

Consider the following questions as you look at the two letters about the right to bear arms on the next pages:

When were these letters sent?

Who were they sent to?

What does each of the authors want?

What arguments do they present to back up their opinions?

Document

The following is a letter from J. M. Blough to the National Law Enforcement Commission. Blough requests legislation to restrict the purchase of firearms and includes the cover from "Short Stories" magazine containing articles which romanticize guns, according to Mr. Blough:

Document

The following is a letter sent by Charles Koch to Congress in 1975 opposing all laws limiting individual gun ownership, but expressing support for mandatory sentencing for criminals who use guns:

Discuss

Do you think guns are romanticized like J. M. Blough suggested in his letter? How do you think how guns are portrayed in media and entertainment has changed since Blough wrote?

How do some Americans use the wording of the Second Amendment to oppose gun control legislation?

Do you think Americans interpret the Second Amendment differently today than it was when it was written? Do you think it should be?

Search Warrants and the Fourth Amendment

Weeks v. The United States was argued before the Supreme Court in 1913. The question at hand was whether the evidence seized without a search warrant was a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment says:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Background

On December 21, 1911, Fremont Weeks, an employee of the Adams Express Company, was arrested while on the job at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. Police suspected that Weeks was selling and “transmitting chances” in a lottery, which at the time was considered gambling, an illegal action in Missouri.

He was promptly taken to Police Station No. 4 and searched. Police officers found paper, a lead pencil, and lottery tickets. While Weeks was being held at the police station, police officers drove to his residence at a boarding house, and entered his room with help from a neighbor. They found a leather suitcase that contained mining stocks, a memo book, receipts, a wallet, and a tin box. They seized these items, without a search warrant, and turned over the evidence to the U.S. Marshal.

Officers later returned, were admitted by a boarder, and found incriminating letters written by customers placing orders for lottery tickets. Those items were seized because the law enforcement officials believed they proved that Weeks had violated federal law by using the U.S. mail to distribute lottery tickets.

Weeks was indicted on charges of gambling and using the U.S. Postal Service to distribute chances in a lottery based on this evidence. During his trial, his attorney filed a motion requesting that all evidence seized by law enforcement be returned to Weeks. He argued that the police officers and the U.S. Marshal had unlawfully, and without a search warrant, entered Weeks’s home and seized property. He said the property should not be admissible during the trial.

The judge disagreed, ordering that all incriminating evidence should stay in the District Attorney’s custody. Weeks was found guilty by the jury of illegal gambling, ordered to pay a $100 fine, and sentenced to six months in jail.

Immediately following sentencing, his attorney appealed the decision to the United States Supreme Court. He argued that the search was a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Court overturned Weeks’s conviction by a unanimous vote — not because he was innocent of the charges, but because the evidence that had been used to convict him had been obtained without a search warrant; it was a violation of the Fourth Amendment protecting him against unreasonable searches and seizures.

In the Court’s opinion, delivered on February 24, 1914, Justice William Day further explained:

If letters and private documents can thus be seized and held and used in evidence against a citizen accused of an offense, the protection of the Fourth Amendment, declaring his right to be secure against such searches and seizures, is of no value, and so far as those thus placed are concerned, might as well be stricken from the Constitution.

Think About

What is the value in the protection of the Fourth Amendment and being secure from illegal searches and seizures?

Analyze the Document

Consider the following questions as you look at the court case bill of exceptions on the next pages:

How does Weeks’s attorney, Martin J. O’Donnell, describe the way that police officers entered Weeks’s home and seized his property? Why do you think he described it that way?

What items did the officers take? Why do you think the attorney lists their value?

What arguments does O’Donnell make about the evidence?

What does he say this type of search and seizure violates?

Document

The following is the defendant's bill of exceptions from the court case The United States v. Fremont Weeks:

Discuss

In Weeks v. The United States, the attorney for the Government argued that the law enforcement officers behaved logically during the investigation, based on the amount of incriminating evidence against Weeks. Do you think evidence seized without a warrant should be admissible in court if it’s obvious that the accused is guilty?

Prior to the Weeks decision, courts operated on the premise that the need for justice was of greater importance than the defendant’s protection under the Fourth Amendment; and thus evidence obtained without a warrant was commonplace. The Court created the “exclusionary rule” in the Weeks decision. It forbids the use of illegally obtained evidence in federal court. Do you think this rule makes criminal prosecutions more difficult? Could it allow the guilty to go unpunished?

Do you think the need for a search warrant to obtain evidence ever puts law enforcement at a disadvantage? If so, is it worth it?

Suspending the Right of Due Process: Japanese-American Relocation during WWII

Following the Pearl Harbor bombing, in reaction to growing hysteria along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Southern California and in Hawaii, families of Japanese ancestry were sent to hastily built “relocation” camps further inland. These individuals were denied the constitutional right to due process through the courts because of perceived public danger.

The Fifth Amendment states:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger...nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...

Background

These persons of Japanese ancestry had committed no crimes. Almost two-thirds of them were American citizens. This included thousands of small children.

Because of the perception of “public danger,” all Japanese within varied distances from the Pacific coast were targeted. Unless they were able to dispose of or make arrangements for care of their property within a few days, their homes, farms, businesses and most of their private belongings were lost forever.

First, they were sent to “assembly centers” – often racetracks or fairgrounds – where they waited and were tagged to indicate the location of a long-term “relocation center” that would be their home for the rest of the war.

Then they were sent by train or bus to their assigned Centers, which were often far from their homes, perhaps in different climates with harsh conditions. They were housed in army-style barracks, usually shared with several other families. Most lived in these conditions for nearly three years, sometimes more. Gradually some insulation was added to the barracks, and lightweight partitions were added to make them a little more comfortable and somewhat private.

During this period, three Japanese-American citizens were involved in legal actions in protest of this policy: Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu, and Mitsuye Endo. Hirabayashi and Korematsu received negative judgments; but Mitsuye Endo, after a lengthy battle through lesser courts, was allowed to leave the Topaz, Utah, facility.

Justice Murphy of the Supreme Court expressed the following opinion:

I join in the opinion of the Court, but I am of the view that detention in Relocation Centers of persons of Japanese ancestry regardless of loyalty is not only unauthorized by Congress or the Executive but is another example of the unconstitutional resort to racism inherent in the entire evacuation program. As stated more fully in my dissenting opinion in Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu v. United States...racial discrimination of this nature bears no reasonable relation to military necessity and is utterly foreign to the ideals and traditions of the American people.

As World War II drew to a close, the relocation centers were slowly evacuated. Some persons of Japanese ancestry returned to their home towns and others moved elsewhere.

In 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, awarding compensation and issuing a formal apology for the U.S. military action affecting over 100,000 Japanese-American civilians during World War II.

Think About

Do American citizens take their “inalienable rights” for granted?

Analyze the Document

Consider the following questions as you look at the sign on the next pages:

What is the message in these instructions?

Who is it directed to?

Who are these instructions from?

What is expected? When?

Document

The following photograph shows one of the Exclusion Orders directing removal of persons of Japanese ancestry to be effected by the evacuation:

Discuss

How do you think those who were sent to “relocation centers” settled back into their lives after they were allowed to leave?

Could we ever be deprived of the rights guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution and its amendments without good reason? What might cause such a severe response?

What far-reaching consequences might occur if we had even a temporary suspension of own rights?

Petitioning the Supreme Court for the Right to an Attorney

The Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of the right to a lawyer has expanded significantly in recent history. The most important change occurred as a result of the Gideon v. Wainwright case in 1963.

The Sixth Amendment states:

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed...and have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

Background

In June, 1961, Clarence Earl Gideon was arrested for breaking and entering in Florida. At the beginning of his trial in August, Gideon requested that the judge appoint a lawyer to defend him because he could not afford one. But the judge refused because Florida only provided free lawyers in capital cases.

At that time, 37 of 50 States provided lawyers for poor defendants in all felony cases, and eight others usually provided lawyers in felony cases. Only five provided lawyers only in capital cases, and Florida was one of them. During his trial, Gideon unsuccessfully defended himself, and was convicted and sent to prison.

Although Gideon had only an eighth grade education, he filed a petition asking for a review of his case, based on the argument that he was being illegally held because he’d been denied a lawyer. The petition was rejected by the Florida courts. His subsequent petition to the Supreme Court was returned, along with a Supreme Court style manual. Writing on prison stationery and following the samples in the manual, Gideon resubmitted his request on January 5, 1962. Gideon also filed a request that the Supreme Court appoint a lawyer to present his case because he was “a pauper.”

The Court appointed the respected Washington attorney Abe Fortas to represent Gideon. (Fortas was soon to become a Supreme Court Justice.) Fortas argued that a defendant could not get a fair trial in the United States without a lawyer and that conviction without a fair trial violated due process of law. In other words, those who could not afford a lawyer were being denied equal protection under the law.

Fortas's arguments convinced the Court. The unanimous Gideon decision required states to provide counsel for poor felony defendants. Gideon was retried in Florida, and his case was presented by a lawyer. He was found innocent, as he’d claimed he was all along.

Think About

Why would the right to a lawyer during trial be included in the Bill of Rights?

Analyze the Document

Consider the following questions as you look at the petition that Gideon submitted to the Supreme Court on the next pages:

What does Gideon ask the Supreme Court to do?

How does he describe the relationship between the Supreme Court and the Florida courts? Why does this matter?

What parts of the Constitution does he mention? Why?

A writ of certiorari is when the Supreme Court orders a lower court to send a case up to it for review. What reasons does Gideon give for the Supreme Court to hear his case?

What does he say he was deprived of?

Document

The following is the petition that Gideon submitted to the Supreme Court in January, 1962, to overturn his conviction:

Discuss

Justice Hugo Black wrote the opinion for the Supreme Court requiring Florida to provide counsel for Clarence Earl Gideon. In the following paragraph from Justice Black’s decision, why does he claim having an attorney is “fundamental”?

Reason and reflection require us to recognize that in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person hailed into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him. This seems to be an obvious truth....That government hires lawyers to prosecute and defendants who have the money hire lawyers to defend are the strongest indications of the widespread belief that lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries. The right of one charged with crime to counsel may not be deemed fundamental and essential to fair trials in some countries, but it is in ours.

Do you think that defendants whose attorney’s are hired by the state to defend them receive the same quality of representation as defendants who have the money to hire an attorney themselves? Do you think they should?

The Supreme Court doesn’t grant a writ of certiorari often, and “usually only if the case could have national significance, might harmonize conflicting decisions in the federal Circuit courts, and/or could have precedential value. In fact, the Court accepts 100-150 of the more than 7,000 cases that it is asked to review each year.” (http://www.uscourts.gov) What about Gideon’s case do you think the Supreme Court thought was worth hearing?

Is the Death Penalty a Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

America’s Founders witnessed a time when branding, ear cropping, drawing and quartering, and other methods of torture were commonplace. In order to safeguard citizens from excessive punishment the Eighth Amendment ensures individuals protection from cruel and unusual punishment:

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Background

In 1900, eighteen people in Van Buren County, Arkansas, felt compelled to petition the government and express their disagreement with capital punishment. Both the group’s freedom of expression and right to petition the government are protected by the First Amendment, but the issue they raised directly relates to the Eighth Amendment.

For the petitioners, capital punishment or the death penalty, was simply murder. They felt individuals should not be put to death, but could be rehabilitated after much introspection and reflection. The petitioners’ goal was to have Congress abolish the death penalty and for America to take its place as a moral leader of the world.

Think About

What is cruel and unusual punishment and who decides what is considered cruel and unusual?

How can it be measured?

Analyze the Document

Consider the following questions as you look at the petition on the next pages:

What do the petitioners define capital punishment to be?

What do they hope will happen to capital punishment? What do they believe is an alternative?

What do they believe to be “pure Justice” and how can it be obtained?

What do they mean by “Humanitarianism”?

What do you think their main influence is for writing this petition?

Document

The following is a petition sent to Congress in 1900 to abolish the death penalty:

Discuss

What feelings are the petitioners hoping to evoke from the members of Congress by titling the petition “The Light of Truth”?

What does cruel and unusual mean? How is the cruelty of a punishment measured? Who decides if a punishment is cruel and unusual?

Read the following phrase from the Fifth Amendment: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,…nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. How should the Fifth and Eight Amendments be balanced? Based on this, do you believe the Founders felt that capital punishment was an appropriate punishment as long as a person had received proper due process?

Document Citations

Cover

Photograph P80268_33; Participants and Flag at a Civil Rights Event at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama; 3/5/2000; Photographs Relating to the Clinton Administration, 1/20/1993 - 1/20/2001; Collection WJC-WHPO: Photographs of the White House Photograph Office (Clinton Administration); William J. Clinton Library, Little Rock, AR. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/civil-rights-event-selma]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

“Freedom of” or “Freedom From” Religion?

Photograph 306-PSD-68-4049c; Rising Earth Greets Apollo 8 Astronauts; 12/29/1968; Master File Photographs of U.S. and Foreign Personalities, World Events, and American Economic, Social, and Cultural Life, ca. 1953 - ca. 1994; Records of the U.S. Information Agency, Record Group 306; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/rising-earth-greets-apollo-8-astronauts]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Memorandum Opinion; 12/1/1969; Madalyn Murray O’Hair, et. al. v. Thomas O. Paine, et. al. (A-69-CA-109); Civil Case Files, 1938 - 1996; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/ohair-opinion]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Freedom of Speech for the Masses

Opinion in Masses Publishing Company v. T. G. Patten; 7/24/1917 - 9/7/1917; E14-225; Masses Publishing Company v. T. G. Patten, Postmaster of the City of New York; Equity Case Files, 1868 - 1975; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at New York, New York, NY. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/masses-v-patten-opinion]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Freedom to Cover the World Series

View of the Players' Locker Room and Cubicles; 1978; 77C6301; Melissa Ludtke and Time, Incorporated v. Bowie Kuhn, Commissioner of Baseball, et al.; (Civil Case Files, 1962 - 1979); Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at New York, New York, NY. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/players-locker-room]

Rights: No Known Copyright

Complaint; 12/29/1977; 77C6301; Melissa Ludtke and Time, Incorporated v. Bowie Kuhn, Commissioner of Baseball, et al.; Civil Case Files , 1962 - 1979; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at New York, New York, NY. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/ludtke-complaint]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Freedom of the Press Under Stress

The United States v. Ann Greenleaf; 2/9/1799; Criminal Case Files, 1790 - 1912; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at New York, New York, NY. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/greenleaf-indictment]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Permission to “Take it to the Streets”

Protestors on Michigan Avenue in Chicago; 8/28/1968; 69CR180; United States v. Dellinger, et al.; Criminal Case Files, 1873 - 1991; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at Chicago, Chicago, IL. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/protestors-on-michigan-avenue]

Rights: No Known Copyright

City of Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation Application; 7/25/1968; 69CR180; United States v. Dellinger, et al.; Criminal Case Files, 1873 - 1991; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at Chicago, Chicago, IL. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/city-of-chicago-department-of-streets-and-sanitation-application]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

A Seditious Petition

Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798; 6/25/1798 - 7/14/1798; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789 - 2011; General Records of the United States Government, Record Group 11; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/alien-and-sedition-acts]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

The United States v. Jedediah Peck; 6/27/1799; Criminal Case Files, 1790 - 1912; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at New York, New York, NY. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/indictment-jedediah-peck]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Examining the Second Amendment

Letter from J. M. Blough to the National Law Enforcement Commission Requesting Legislation to Restrict the Purchase of Firearms; 9/10/1929; B 1929 [3/5]; General Correspondence, 1930 - 1931; Records of the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, Record Group 10; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/request-legislation-restrict-firearms]

Rights: Copyright Not Evaluated

Letter from Charles Koch Opposed to Gun Control Laws; 12/3/1975; Administrative Files of the Subcommittee on Crime of the Committee on the Judiciary during the 94th Congress; Committee Papers, 1813 - 2011; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/letter-opposing-gun-control]

Rights: No Known Copyright

Suspending the Right of Due Process: Japanese-American Relocation During WWII

Photograph 210-G-D79; Eden, Idaho. Gerald, 5, David, 6 and Chester Sakura, Jr., 1-1/2, brothers. These little evacuees...; 8/17/1942; Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority, 1942 - 1945; Records of the War Relocation Authority, Record Group 210; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/little-evacuees-minidoka]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Photograph 210-G-A39; San Francisco, California. Exclusion Order posted at First and Front Streets; 4/11/1942; Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority, 1942 - 1945; Records of the War Relocation Authority, Record Group 210; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/exclusion-order]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Search Warrants and the Fourth Amendment

Defendant's Bill of Exceptions; 11/6/1912; The United States v. Fremont Weeks; Criminal Case Files, 1879 - 1987; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at Kansas City, Kansas City, MO. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/defendants-bill-of-exceptions]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Petitioning the Supreme Court for the Right to an Attorney

Petition for a Writ of Certiorari from Clarence Gideon to the Supreme Court of the United States; 1962; Appellate Jurisdiction Case File Gideon v. Wainright; Appellate Jurisdiction Case Files, 1792 - 2010; Records of the Supreme Court of the United States, Record Group 267; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/gideon-petition-writ-certiorari]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Is the Death Penalty Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

Bill of Rights; 9/25/1789; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789 - 2011; General Records of the United States Government, Record Group 11; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/bill-of-rights]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Petition to Abolish the Death Penalty; 1900; Petitions and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary during the 56th Congress; Petitions and Memorials, 1813 - 1968; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/petition-to-abolish-the-death-penalty]

Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions

Rights Status

To the extent possible under law, the National Archives has dedicated Putting the Bill of Rights to the Test to the public domain by waiving all rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

You can copy, modify, distribute, and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

If you use documents or images from this book, we ask that you include the citation provided or credit the National Archives as the source.