The Bill of Rights Essay

The Bill of Rights Essay

Question (a): Important Factors that led to the Bill of Rights

Annenberg’s ‘The Story of the Bill of Rights’ delves into what led to adopting the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights spells out what US citizens are entitled to against the government. Americans felt that the original constitution was deeply flawed. Although the original Constitution outlined what the government could do, it failed to address what the same government could not do. There was a feeling that the Constitution granted the federal government excessive power. As a result, the Bill of Rights was incorporated into the US Constitution in 1791 as a form of compromise to allow the adoption of the Constitution.

Among others, the motivation for adopting the Bill of Rights was to realign the government’s role from exercising power to protecting individual rights. There was a feeling that the government had taken people’s liberty (Annenberg, 2018). With the Bill of Rights implementation, the government would no longer direct the citizens on what to do. Another factor that led to the implementation of the Bill of Rights was preventing the government from interfering with people’s unalienable rights (AnnnenbergClassroom.org, 2018). Some of these natural rights include freedom of speech, the religion of choice, equality before the law, and privacy.

Question (b): The Second Amendment and the Problem of Badly Written Laws

According to Annenberg (2018), the Second Amendment recognizes the importance of organized and regulated militia as a fundamental right of citizens. To that end, citizens can bear arms to protect themselves and their property. However, analysts feel that the Second Amendment is poorly written and ambiguous, making it hard to tell what it means. One may say that the Second Amendment is designed to protect a state with the National Guard or state militia from the federal government (Kates & Cramer, 2008). An alternative interpretation is that every citizen is entitled to have a gun (Kates & Cramer, 2008). The ambiguity has since led to the emergence of two opposing sides: individual gun ownership and collective bearing of arms under a regulated militia. The Second Amendment wording contravenes the current realities as the right to self-defence is a role of state criminal law and not the individual citizens. The Second Amendment’s wording also contravenes current regulations limiting the number of people who own guns.

Question (c): That is Your Right Game Response

The ‘That’s Your Right’ game allowed me to understand some perspectives concerning rights as spelt out in the First Amendment. The game gave me in-depth insights into the US government, history, and the criminal justice system. There were options to play against human players, but I chose against AI since the option presented more straightforward insights. One takeaway from the game is that it allowed me to understand amendments under the Bill of Rights and what they protect. For instance, when police respond to violent riots, they face a dilemma.

On the one hand, they should defend the right to picket and expression as espoused under the First Amendment. At the same time, the police have to ensure that protesters do not destroy the property of other citizens. To that end, I realized that the Bill of Rights does not necessarily override the rest of the Constitution.

Question 4: Shannon LaNier’s Position on Jefferson’s Statues

Shannon LaNier admits that he is conflicted about people’s opinions about his great-grandfather, even though he admits he was a genius. Jefferson’s kin admits that his great-grandfather would have contributed more towards alleviating the slavery menace than he did (Inskeep, 2020). He states that Jefferson is the author of the famous phrase ‘all people are born equal,’ yet he did little to practice those words. Jefferson had a chance to do right and free the people, but he never did that. LaNier avers that his great-grandfather preferred to retain the enslaved people to sustain his luxurious lifestyle. Jefferson’s complex history is marked by keeping about 600 slaves in his mansion, yet he kept preaching that everyone should be treated equally.

Based on Jefferson’s role in slavery, LaNier feels that his great-grandfather’s status should be ejected. For instance, LaNier delves into Jefferson’s statue beneath a dome in Washington, DC. On the one hand, LaNier feels that the statue should be removed while his famous writings are retained (Inskeep, 2020). On the other hand, if the statue has to be maintained, LaNier avers that it should be surrounded by other statues that represent the people he oppressed (Inskeep, 2020). Another key recommendation is to rename the area into a freedom centre to represent opposition against slavery. Although LaNier is Jefferson’s descendant, he feels there is a need to get rid of his kin’s statue as he describes the face of slavery in the US.

Question (e): Means Used to Perpetuate Genocide Against 

Hansi Lo Wang (2021) avers that European colonizers systematically blew away the native tribes of the US. One of the strategies used to eliminate native Indians is the arbitrary assigning of derogatory names. For instance, ‘Comanche’ was assigned to native Indians (Wang, 2021). The name means ‘anyone who wants to fight me every time.’ Wang (2021) avers that naming is a powerful exercise; hence applying such derogatory names pushed the natives to the periphery. Another cause of the elimination of the native people was the ceding of their large tracts of land by colonial administrators. In some places, the land was ceded via treaties. Other large tracks were forcefully taken from natives by the colonial government as most natives mostly lived in the countryside. The forceful eviction of natives from their land took away their identity, leading to the eventual disappearance of native people.

References

AnnnenbergClassroom.org. (2018). The Story of the Bill of Rights. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVtePB8Iu9E

Kates, D. B., & Cramer, C. E. (2008). Second Amendment Limitations and Criminological Considerations. Hastings LJ, 60, 1339.

Inskeep, S. (2020, July 15). Thomas Jefferson’s Descendant Reflects on His Ancestor’s Memorial and Legacy. NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/15/891290821/thomas-jefferson-descendant-reflects-on-his-ancestors-complicated-legacy

Wang, H. L. (2021). NPR Choice page. Npr.org. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/06/24/323665644/the-map-of-native-american-tribes-youve-never-seen-before

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The Bill of Rights Essay

Watch The Story of the Bill of Rights [16:21] video. In a minimum of 150 words, briefly discuss essential factors that led to the Bill of Rights.
On the same page as the “Story of The Bill of Rights” link in (a) above and under the “Chapter” heading, choose a video about one of the Bill of Rights and describe, in a minimum of 150 words, what you learned and how it relates to Poor Laws.
After playing the That’s Your Right Game, what is your response to your score in a minimum of 150 words? It is not necessary to put your score in your response.
Review Thomas Jefferson’s Descendant Reflects on His Ancestor’s Memorial and Legacy. State and Federal governments are deciding whether to remove statues of Thomas Jefferson because he enslaved Africans. Briefly state the position of Shannon LaMier, Jefferson’s sixth great-grandson, in the relationship between Jefferson and Sally Hemmings.
According to the map of Native American tribes on the North American continent (The Map of Native American Tribes You’ve Never Seen Before Transcript), by 1850, only 200,000 remained. Describe the means used to perpetuate this genocide.