Bill of Rights
1789
Scholar Analysis
Listen to Professor Whitman Ridgway discuss the Bill of Rights. A Professor in the History Department at the University of Maryland, College Park, Ridgway’s work focuses American legal history, including his current research on the Alien and Sedition Act crisis in the 1790s.
Classroom Practice & Teacher Analysis
Listen to U.S. history teacher Christine Valenti discuss her lesson on the Bill of Rights and watch how her students learn about the Bill of Rights in its own time and today.
Lesson Plan
“Getting to Know the Bill of Rights”
The purpose of this extended lesson is to familiarize students with the Bill of Rights as a primary resource, in addition to several pivotal US Supreme Court cases.
Read the Bill of Rights
Download an image and transcript of the Bill of Rights.
Transcripts
Access transcripts of the scholar analysis and teacher analysis videos.
Credits
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following institutions and individuals for the use of images from their collections:
- Edward C. Papenfuse
- Fort Worth Star Telegram
- Library of Congress
- National Archives and Records Administration
- National Park Service
- Right Wing News
- University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law
- University of Texas at Austin Law School
