U.S. Constitution & Amendments Playlist
18 items
The Constitution | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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5 Min
Why did the Articles of Confederation fail? In our eighth episode, we tackle the Articles of Confederation and the need for a Constitution at the Constitutional Convention. Learn how the US Constitution made provisions for a stronger federal government, state rights and powers, and personal rights formally known as the Bill of Rights.
Have you ever looked at your teacher with a puzzled face when they explain history? I know we have. In our new Homework Help Series we break down history into easy to understand 5 minute videos to support a better understanding of American History.
5 Min
Natural Rights | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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What are natural rights? The natural rights definition is the belief that certain rights such as life, liberty, and property belong to humans by nature and can only be justly abridged through due process.
How did the idea of natural rights shape the understanding of self-government? Our latest Homework Help video explores this question and provides students with a succinct overview of the essential information regarding life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Origins and Purposes of the Bill of Rights | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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6 Min
Why did the Founders see the need to create a Bill of Rights in addition to the US Constitution? What historical documents and events influenced them as they drafted it? The Virginia Declaration of Rights written by James Madison, the Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, the English Bill of Rights, and the Massachusetts Body of Liberties.
The Founders included both concepts of democracy and republic in the blueprint for American government. Democracy protected majority rule whereas the idea of a republic protected individual citizens. The Bill of Rights was an important addition to the Constitution because it helped to guarantee individual rights. As a fluid document, inclusions to the Bill of Rights like the 14th Amendment brought the idea of incorporation, the process of states being held liable to uphold the Bill of Rights on the state level.
This latest installment in our Homework Help series explores these important constitutional questions.
6 Min
Freedom of the Press | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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6 Min
What do you think of when you hear the words "free press"? The Founders believed the freedom of the press was an important bulwark in a free society. Learn more about the history of the First Amendment as well as some landmark Supreme Court cases involving press freedom with this Homework Help video.
6 Min
Free Speech | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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7 Min
Why is the freedom of speech a bedrock principle in American society? In this Homework Help video, we explore the history of freedom of speech in the United States.
7 Min
Freedom of Assembly | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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6 Min
Why is the freedom of assembly an essential right in a free society? Our Homework Help video explores why the Founders included it in the 1st Amendment as well as the landmark Supreme Court cases involving it. Supreme Court cases arguing freedom of assembly debate the protections of the 14th Amendment. Although the Bill of Rights was initially limited to the federal government, incorporation also allows states to be culpable of the protections in the Bill of Rights.
6 Min
The Establishment Clause | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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9 Min
What is the proper relationship between church and state? In this Homework Help video, we analyze this question by reviewing the history behind the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment as well as how the Supreme Court has interpreted its meaning.
9 Min
The Free Exercise Clause | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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6 Min
Why did the Founders believe that religious liberty was an inalienable right? In this Homework Help video, we explore the history behind the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and how the Supreme Court has interpreted it.
6 Min
The Second Amendment | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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5 Min
What are the origins of the Second Amendment, and how has it been interpreted throughout U.S. history? This Homework Help video explores the history of the Second Amendment as well as the Supreme Court interpretations of it that shape current discussions on the topic of gun control.
5 Min
The Third Amendment | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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7 Min
Why did the Founders believe so strongly that troops should not be quartered in the homes of citizens that they enshrined this protection in the Bill of Rights? The Third Amendment is rarely talked about, but studying its origins and purposes is important in order to understand our system of the relationship between civilians and the military. Learn more about the story of the Third Amendment with this Homework Help video.
7 Min
The Fourth Amendment | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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5 Min
What prevents the police from randomly searching our homes and possessions whenever they want? The Founders created the Fourth Amendment to protect the individual right to private property. Learn more about its origins and some landmark Supreme Court cases in our latest Homework Help video.
5 Min
The Fifth Amendment | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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6 Min
What protections does the Fifth Amendment provide, and why did the Founders believe them important enough to enshrine in the Bill of Rights? Our latest Homework Help video explores these questions and provides students with a succinct overview of the essential information regarding this amendment.
6 Min
Sixth Amendment | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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What protections exist for Americans accused of a crime? The 6th Amendment. What is the 6th Amendment?
The 6th Amendment provides defendants with rights to a speedy and fair trial, an impartial jury, and more. Our latest Homework Help video explores the 6th Amendment and provides students with a succinct overview of the essential information regarding this amendment.
Seventh Amendment | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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What is the 7th Amendment? What protections does the 7th Amendment provide if you are involved in a lawsuit? Explore the 7th Amendment simplified in our latest Homework Help video discussing this question and providing students with a succinct overview of the essential information regarding this amendment.
Eighth Amendment | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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How do we determine the punishment for those accused or convicted of a crime? What is the 8th amendment? Our latest Homework Help video explores this question and provides students with a succinct overview of the essential information regarding the 8th amendment.
Federalism | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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5 Min
This Homework Help narrative explores the history of the Founding of the U.S. and the reasons why federalism was created as an important part of our constitutional system. The video challenges viewers to consider this question: why we have a system with local, state, and federal laws?
5 Min
The 14th Amendment & Religious Liberty | Mark Rienzi | BRI’s Constitutional Conversations
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2 Min
Learn more about the relationship between the fourteenth amendment and religious liberty with Mark Rienzi, President of Becket Law.
2 Min
Incorporation | BRI’s Homework Help Series
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4 Min
In this Homework Help narrative, learn about the constitutional principle of incorporation and its historic context. After the passage of the 14th Amendment, the Due Process Clause caused many national and state debates, leading to the idea of incorporation and the fundamental question of whether the Bill of Rights applies to states as well as the federal government.
Has incorporating the Bill of Rights to apply to the states created greater liberty for Americans?
4 Min