The Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties

This lesson helps students compare their state constitution with the Constitution of the United States. Students will specifically look at the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution in an attempt to find these same rights in the constitution of their state. 

Download the PDF

Corresponding Student Center Pages 

• The Constitution and Rights 

Suggested Time Needed 

1-2 class periods 

• Materials
• Objectives & Standards
• Procedure

• • The United States Constitution 
  • The State Constitution 
  • A: Bill of Rights Fact Sheet 
  • B: Comparing State and Federal Constitutions 

• After completing this activity, students will gain an understanding of the following:  

  • The powers and limits of the national government as outlined in the U.S. Constitution. 
  • The application of the Bill of Rights to both state and national governments. 
  • Constitutions, both state and federal, have safeguards to protect and preserve individual rights.

  Students will also:  

  • Read and use the U.S. Constitution and state constitution as primary source documents. 
  • Read and evaluate the information they find in the documents and use this information to answer questions based on their reading.  

   

  Guiding Questions 

  • Do the states guarantee the same civil rights and liberties in their constitutions as the Constitution of the United States guarantees to all citizens?  
  • What would happen if the U.S. Constitution did not define civil liberties? Would the states make sure that people got their rights?  
  • Does the fact that most states have a Bill of Rights in their own Constitution mean that state governments are more or less likely to usurp peoples’ basic liberties?

  Missouri Grade Level and Course Level Expectations 

  • 6-8.AH.3.GS.F – Describe the origins and purposes of the Bill of Rights and evaluate the enduring significance of these concepts to the preservation of individual rights and liberties. 
  • 9-12.GV.3.CC.D – Analyze the changing relationship between state and federal governmental powers. 
  • 9-12.GV.3.GS.E – Explain how the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments limit the power of government, protect individual liberty, and provide for equality under the law. 
  • 9-12.GV.3.GS.F – Compare the structure and function of local, state and federal governments. 

• Lead an introductory discussion on the Bill of Rights. Students will need to know the following terms (which can be found in the Judicial Learning Center Glossary):  

  • Bill of Rights 
  • Incorporation 
  • Precedent 
  • Civil rights 
  • Civil liberties 
  • Due process 

   

  Remind students that most of our fundamental rights, due process rights, and civil liberties are defined in the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. This includes such things as:  

  • Our basic freedoms of religion, speech, press, petition and assembly.  
  • Our right to a trial by jury. 
  • Our right to have a lawyer present at trial.  
  • Our right to be free from illegal search and seizure.  
  • And more . . . . .  

   

  After reviewing some of these basic ideas, remind your students that the original text of the Constitution states that CONGRESS is limited by the Bill of Rights. It does not appear to also limit the state legislatures.  

  Note: Article VI of the Constitution requires that members of the congress, members of the state legislatures, as well as judicial and executive officers of both the national and state governments take an oath to support the U.S. Constitution, so it may presume that these officials at all levels and branches will uphold the Constitution. If the document did not make it clear that the rights implied by the Bill of Rights had to be applied on all levels, do you think state officials would feel bound to do so?  

   

  Use the concept above as a discussion starter by asking your students if they believe that the states would agree to give people rights if the U.S. Constitution did not make them do so.  You might remind students that the 14th Amendment has been used to apply the Bill of Rights to the states, but would states have to “incorporate” the rights alluded to in the Constitution if the 14th Amendment did not exist?  

   

  The activity that follows will ask students to think about what would happen IF the states did not have to comply with the Constitution.  

   

  Distribute A: Bill of Rights Fact Sheet, and B: Comparing the State and Federal Constitutions. 

   

  Students will also need a copy of the United States Constitution and their state’s constitution to complete the study guide. The links for these are provided below and are also included on the student handout.  

  • The state constitution is generally available at the Secretary of State’s Office in your state.  For Missouri you can access the document at: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/Home.aspx?constit=y 
  • Or, a PDF copy of the Missouri Constitution from the Secretary of State’s Office can be found here:  https://www.sos.mo.gov/pubs/constitution 
  • As a teacher, you can ask for a paper copy of the Missouri Constitution from the Secretary of State’s Office. They will send these to you free of charge, if you want to create a classroom set.  You can find information about how to obtain such copies from the link below: http://www.sos.mo.gov/pubs/constitution.asp 

   

  Allow time to complete the study guide. It could be assigned for homework or could be done in class as either an individual, partner, or group activity.  

   

  Some things to point out as your students begin:  

  • They should note the length of the state constitution in comparison to the Constitution of the U.S. Which is longer?  
  • They should note the organization of each document. Is one easier to navigate than other? What makes this true or not?  
  • They should note the number of amendments to each. Generally, the amendment process is simpler at the state level which means that most state constitutions are amended more. The Constitution has only been changed 27 times in over 200 years. How many amendments does your state constitution have?  
  • This might afford you an opening to talk about initiative/petition and the ability of voters on the state level to force the addition of material into the state constitution and into state law.  
  • The study guide asks students to skim through the state constitution looking for similarities to the U.S. Constitution. Students will generally find that the Missouri Constitution does mirror that of the federal government when it comes to rights and civil liberties. 
  • If you aren’t working with the Missouri Constitution you may still see that most state constitutions contain a Bill of Rights, or include many of the rights granted to Americans at the national level.  

   

  Conclusion

  After students finish the study guides, go over answers with them. Then, use the questions below for a post-study guide discussion.  

  • What do you think it means that the Missouri Constitution includes many of the same rights as the U.S. Constitution?  
  • What would happen if those rights were ONLY found in the state constitution or if they were ONLY in the national Constitution?  Why might it be a problem?  
  • Would we as citizens still get the rights listed in the U.S. Constitution if states were not forced to incorporate them?   
  • Could our respective states pick and choose which rights to grant their residents?  
  • Do you think there are some rights that states might prefer to ignore? Which ones? Why?  

   

   Review the Guiding Questions 

  • Do the states guarantee the same civil rights and liberties in their constitutions as the Constitution of the United States guarantees to all citizens?  
  • What would happen if the U.S. Constitution did not define civil liberties? Would the states make sure that people got their rights?  
  • Does the fact that most states have a Bill of Rights in their own Constitution mean that state governments are more or less likely to usurp peoples’ basic liberties?