Constitution Week Celebration

1. Constitution Week Week of September 17

2. The Constitution Source After the American Revolutionary War got the United States started as a new country in 1781 AD, the leaders of the United States got together to try to write up some rules for how the government of this new country would work. Men came from all of the thirteen states (except Rhode Island). Benjamin Franklin came from Pennsylvania.

3. Little by little, the leaders worked out compromises, and this is what they came up with (but shorter and in simpler words):

4. We, the people of the United States, are writing this Constitution in order to have justice, to have peace, to be able to defend ourselves, to be better off, and to be free - not just for ourselves, but for all our children and descendants. There will be a Senate and a House of Representatives, and both will be made up of men elected by the citizens. They will be the only people who can make new laws for the whole United States (but each state can make other laws just for that state).

5. Together, these two groups are called Congress. Congress can make laws to raise taxes, to defend the United States and to make people's lives better. Congress can also borrow money, mint money, set up a post office, allow copyrights and patents, and a few other things. And Congress can declare war on other countries.

6. There will be a President, elected by the citizens. He will be the commander in chief of the army and the navy. He can make treaties with other countries, if two-thirds of the Senators agree. And he can appoint the judges of the Supreme Court. There will be a Supreme Court, whose job it is to decide whether Congress and the President are doing what the Constitution tells them to do. The Supreme Court will also decide any law cases where people disagree about what the law means. All court cases will be decided by juries.

7. Every state has to honor any arrangement made by another state. If someone has committed a crime and runs away to another state, that state should send him or her back to be tried. Every state should have a Republican form of government. The United States government will protect each state against invasion and against riots or revolution. Just after the men wrote this Constitution, some states insisted on having people's rights stated clearly. So they added a Bill of Rights to the Constitution.

8. Bill of Rights Watch Video Bill of Rights Rap Source After the leaders of the new United States wrote the Constitution, they had to get the thirteen states to agree to it. Some of the states didn't want to agree unless they could add some specific rights for individual people. So in 1791 the United States added ten new rights to the Constitution. These are called the Bill of Rights.

9. These are the ten rights that are in the Bill of Rights: 1. Congress can't make any law about your religion, or stop you from practicing your religion, or keep you from saying whatever you want, or publishing whatever you want (like in a newspaper or a book). And Congress can't stop you from meeting peacefully for a demonstration to ask the government to change something. 2. Congress can't stop people from having and carrying weapons, because we need to be able to defend ourselves. 3. You don't have to let soldiers live in your house, except if there is a war, and even then only if Congress has passed a law about it. 4. Nobody can search your body, or your house, or your papers and things, unless they can prove to a judge that they have a good reason to think you have committed a crime. 5. You can't be tried for any serious crime without a Grand Jury meeting first to decide whether there's enough evidence for a trial. And if the jury decides you are innocent, the government can't try again with another jury. You don't have to say anything at your trial. You can't be killed, or put in jail, or fined, unless you were convicted of a crime by a jury. And the government can't take your house or your farm or anything that is yours, unless the government pays for it.

10. 6. If you're arrested, you have a right to have your trial pretty soon, and the government can't keep you in jail without trying you. The trial has to be public, so everyone knows what is happening. The case has to be decided by a jury of ordinary people from your area. You have the right to know what you are accused of, to see and hear the people who are witnesses against you, to have the government help you get witnesses on your side, and you have the right to a lawyer to help you. 7. You also have the right to a jury when it is a civil case (a law case between two people rather than between you and the government). 8. The government can't make you pay more than is reasonable in bail or in fines, and the government can't order you to have cruel or unusual punishments (like torture) even if you are convicted of a crime. 9. Just because these rights are listed in the Constitution doesn't mean that you don't have other rights too. 10. Anything that the Constitution doesn't say that Congress can do should be left up to the states, or to the people.

11. Lets look at how history and politics have influenced some artists

12. Peter Max, Delta Peter Max is one of Americas most famous and collected artists, in the league with Erte and LeRoy Neiman, but with a 60s spin. Famous for his leading role in the psychedelic art of the hippie generation. Source

13. Liberty Images Source Source

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21. Flag Info and Lesson Flag made from 1,250 images portraying events of 9/11. Source Our American Flag

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24. STICKS Artwork - American Flag Code: XPLF American Flag - hand curved and painted on wood; STICKS object of art; Dimensions 36" x 60" Price: $3,700.00

25. above: American Flag by Dave Cole, made up of thousands of plastic Toy Soldiers and acrylic paint.

26. Craziest American Flag Art

27. The Constitution Source: Constitution for Kids Explore the following links to learn about the Constitution: The Constitution is the Supreme Law The First Constitution-The Articles of Confederation Challenges to a New Nation A Few Basic Concepts Articles and Amendments The Preamble to the United States Constitution

28. The Founding Fathers The Top Ten Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson Gouverneur Morris Alexander Hamilton Patrick Henry Thomas Paine Benjamin Franklin John Adams George Washington James Madison Samuel Adams