Special Bill of Rights Day Resources
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Read the Bill of Rights and learn more about each of its clauses
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NEW Founders Online - Visit our NEW section dedicated to the words and ideas of twelve Founders
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Read about Life Without the Bill of Rights, from The Bill of Rights and You: Rights and Responsibilities
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Visit our Student Website - doyouhavetheright.org featuring Bill of Rights Day as our December theme
Some links require adobe acrobat.
Did You Know?
The Bill of Rights was ratified December 15, 1791.
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Congress adopted twelve amendments, of which only ten were ratified by the states by 1791.
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Over 200 years later, one more of the original twelve, concerning compensation for Congress was ratified on May 7, 1992, becoming the Twenty-Seventh Amendment.
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James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights and was inspired, in part, by the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason.
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The Bill of Rights initially applied only to the federal government; however, the Supreme Court, through the Fourteenth Amendment, has incorporated some portions to apply to the states.
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Only 17 amendments have been ratified since the adoption of the Bill of Rights.
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Bill of Rights Day Lesson Plans and Activities
NEW The Expansion of Expression - From our Landmark Supreme Court Cases DBQs: Exploring the Cases that Changed History curriculum, read this scholarly essay about the expansion of expression written by noted scholar Dr. Ken I. Kersch of Princeton University. (325 kb, pdf format)
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NEW Is the Bill of Rights really a bill of rights? - Visit our Student Website at www.doyouhavetheright.org and read about the Bill of Rights.
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Middle School Lesson on the Bill of Rights - A lesson from the Being an American: Exploring the Ideals that Unite Us curriculum, designed to teach middle school students about the Bill of Rights. (363 kb, pdf format)
get the answer key here
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High School Lesson on the Bill of Rights - A lesson designed to teach high school students about the Bill of Rights. (363 kb, pdf format)
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Additional Bill of Rights Day Resources
The Bill of Rights Institute's Founding Documents Teacher Resources
15 hand-selected resources about all the Founding documents, including the Bill of Rights
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Gunston Hall Plantation
Learn more about the home of George Mason, the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights
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James Madison's Montpelier
Learn more about the home of James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution" and author of the Bill of Rights
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For more free resources, click on a link below:
eLessons | Constitution Day | Founding Documents
Founders Online | Landmark Supreme Court Cases | Links