The Bill of Rights is comprised of the first ten amendments to our Constitution. While we may think of the Bill of Rights as fundamental, we almost didn’t have it. So why do we have one? And why did it matter so much? On today’s Civics Shorts, we tackle the Bill of Rights.
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Hannah:
Civics 101 is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Hannah:
Hello. Hello. Hannah McCarthy here,
Nick:
Nick Capodice here.
Hannah:
And this is Civics 101. Today, our latest installment of civics Shorts-
Nick:
A teeny tiny refresher on the Bill of Rights.
Hannah:
It's created specifically with middle schoolers in mind, but it's a great refresher for all ages. Enjoy.
Archive:
The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence can live only as long as they are enshrined in our hearts and mind. If they are not so enshrined, they would be no better than money in their glass cases-
Jacqui:
That olden times gentlemen, talking about mummies is President Harry Truman. It's nineteen fifty-two at the unveiling of the Bill of Rights Constitution and Declaration on exhibit at the National Archives for the first time, altogether.
Archive:
But the Constitution is not merely a matter of words. The Constitution is a living clause. It is a growing thing.
Felix:
He has a point. Once the Constitution was written, it could have quickly become out of touch with the Times-
Jacqui:
a dusty old mummy.
Felix:
But the founders had a little trick up their ruffled sleeves to prevent such a cursed fate.
Jacqui:
A way to amend the Constitution written into the very document itself. I'm Jacqui.
Felix:
I'm Felix. And today on Civic Shorts, we're talking about the first ten amendments to the Constitution,
Jacqui:
The Bill of Rights
Felix:
Break that in case of emergencies, protective glass, because here we go.
Jacqui:
Baby America had a proposed law of the land,
Felix:
But the next hurdle would be to ratify it,
Jacqui:
In other words, to get states to agree to go along with it.
Felix:
Each state held a convention to debate and either reject or ratify the Constitution.
Archive:
All those in favor of the ay ay ay ay ay ay.
Felix:
Nine out of 13 states was the magic number needed to agree to the Constitution for it to become the law of the land,
Jacqui:
People in favor of the Constitution, we're called federalists.
Felix:
People who didn't like it were the anti-federalists. For most of the anti-federalists, the deal breaker in the Constitution was that it didn't have a section to preserve fundamental human rights.
Archive:
There is a widespread conviction that there should be a statement of such a right to serve as a basis for court decision.
Jacqui:
They worried that if it wasn't clearly spelled out, that a national government could trample the rights of the people,
Felix:
A president could become like a king, and they'd just gotten rid of one of those in the American Revolution.
Jacqui:
So founder James Madison said to work on finding a middle ground.
Archive:
I have studied upward of 70 proposed amendments to our Constitution.
Felix:
He started with a long list and winnowed it down to 20.
Archive:
We have found 20 which merit prompt attention
Jacqui:
Like the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech.
Felix:
The proposed bill was paying pongs around through the complicated amendment process laid out in the Constitution. First, the House of Representatives, where it was revised, and then the Senate where it was revised again. Then it went to the states to vote on
Archive:
Let's call this meeting to order. There's a whole lot of business on han. And the members of both houses and all those in favor of ay ay ay ay ay.
Jacqui:
Among the rights laid out were freedom of speech and the press and the protections for people accused of a crime.
Felix:
The introduction of the Bill of Rights convinced those opposed to the Constitution to support it. And two years later, the states ratified the Bill of Rights on December 15th, 1791.
Archive:
The first affirms freedom of religion, speech, and press and the right of peaceful assembly and petition. The second the right of states to maintain a militia and the people to keep and bear arms for their security.
Jacqui:
Now, the Bill of Rights didn't magically give everyone fundamental human rights.
Felix:
The folks who wrote the founding documents were white property-owning men, many of them slaveholders. They didn't actually intend for blacks, women, immigrants, or poor people to share the same rights.
Jacqui:
That changed with time
Tom Donnoley:
With the Bill of Rights originally only applied to the national government. And so here with the 14th Amendment, with this generation is looking to say, no, not all of those important rights. They're going to apply to the states as well. Because what we've learned from slavery, what we've learned from the Civil War, is our liberties aren't just threatened by the national government, but they're threatened by the states too.
Jacqui:
Back to President Harry S. Truman.
Archive:
In my opinion, the Bill of Rights is the most important part of the Constitution of the United States
Archive:
At a moment's notice an electrically operated mechanism will safely lower the in-case documents into this massive vault. Both the National Archives has taken every possible precaution for the safekeeping of these historic documents.
Felix:
Resting on the Bill of Rights is more than a piece of paper kept in a high-tech vault. It's important as a symbol and practice to protect our fundamental rights as human beings.
Jacqui:
And this episode was produced by me, Jacqui Fulton and McCarthy Nick Capodice with help from Felix Poon. Erica Janick is the big boss. I'd like to give a shout-out to the best American history teacher of all time, Miss Francis Wall.
Archive:
Hey, girl, what's up?
Tom Donnoley:
My name is Tom Donnelly.
Felix:
For more civic fun, visit us at Civics101podcast.org.
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