U.S. Constitution: Preamble and Amendments (Video)

HISTORY: First Amendment of the US Constitution

All Amendments to the US Constitution

Since the Constitution was ratified in 1789, hundreds of thousands of bills have been introduced attempting to amend the nation’s founding document. But only 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution have been ratified.

Citizens United vs. FEC

BCRA Challenged In 2002, Congress passed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), widely known as the McCain-Feingold Act, after its original sponsors, Senators John McCain of Arizona and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. In one of its key provisions, Section 203, the BCRA prevented corporations or labor unions from using their general treasuries to fund “electioneering […]

25th Amendment

Presidential Line of Succession Prior to the 25th Amendment, presidential succession procedures existed, but they were vague and didn’t cover every contingency. Assumedly, the vice president would become president if the president died or resigned. However, it wasn’t clear what should happen if the president was temporarily incapacitated or if the vice president was incapacitated. […]

2:40 minTV-PG

Freedom of Religion in the U.S.

What is the history of the freedom of religion as outlined in the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution? How is this freedom enforced? How does religious policy manifest in the real world?

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3:09 minTV-PG

Freedom of Speech

What is free speech? How does the freedom of speech factor in to the U.S. Constitution? What are limitations and protections of free speech in the U.S.?

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The first uncensored newspaper after the revolutio AUSTRIA - JANUARY 01: The first uncensored newspaper is sold in the streets of vienna after the revoltion of 1848. Watercolour by Johann Nepomuk Hoefel. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images) [Die erste unzensierte Zeitung wird in den Strassen Wiens nach der Revolution von 1848 verkauft. Aquarell von Johann Nepomuk Hoefel.]

Freedom of the Press

Origins Of Free Press Before the thirteen colonies declared independence from Great Britain, the British government attempted to censor the American media by prohibiting newspapers from publishing unfavorable information and opinions. One of the first court cases involving freedom of the press in America took place in 1734. British governor William Cosby brought a libel […]

Color Print Depicting Public Worship at Plymouth by the Pilgrims( Original Caption) Public worship at Plymouth by the Pilgrims. Colored engraving. Undated.

Freedom of Religion

Religion In Colonial America America wasn’t always a stronghold of religious freedom. More than half a century before the Pilgrims set sail in the Mayflower, French Protestants (called Huguenots) established a colony at Fort Caroline near modern-day Jacksonville, Florida. The Spanish, who were largely Catholic and occupied much of Florida at the time, slaughtered the […]

A demonstration against restrictions on the sale of alcohol in the united states of America.Illustration showing a demonstration against restrictions on the sale of alcohol in the united states of America 1875. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Freedom of Speech

First Amendment In the United States, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech. The First Amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights—the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights provides constitutional protection for certain individual liberties, including freedoms of speech, assembly and worship. […]

First Amendment

Bill of Rights During the summer of 1787, a group of politicians, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, gathered in Philadelphia to draft a new U.S. Constitution. Antifederalists, led by the first governor of Virginia, Patrick Henry, opposed the ratification of the Constitution. They felt the new constitution gave the federal government too much power […]

Inside A Gun And Ammunition Store As Debate About Gun Ownership Continues During U.S. Elections A customer holds a AR-15 riffle for sale at a gun store in Orem, Utah, U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. The constitutional right of Americans to bear arms has become a flash point in the presidential contest between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Second Amendment

Right to Bear Arms The text of the Second Amendment reads in full: “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.” The framers of the Bill of Rights adapted the wording of the amendment from nearly identical […]

3:23 minTV-PG

Marbury v. Madison

What happened in the 1803 United States court case between William Marbury and James Madison? What affect did it have on the young nation?

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The 26th Amendment

The 26th Amendment: “Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote” During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt lowered the minimum age for the military draft age to 18, at a time when the minimum voting age (as determined by the individual states) had historically been 21. “Old enough to fight, old enough to […]