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8.5: The Constitution, Amendments, and Supreme Court Decisions

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    The United States Constitution sets forth a government, in Abraham Lincoln's famous phrase, "of the people, by the people, for the people." It is a living, evolving document, its meaning changing over time through Congressional use of the “necessary and proper clause,” the passing of amendments, and decisions by the Supreme Court under its practice of judicial review.

    The Civil War challenged the very existence of the Constitution in its dispute over the continuing slavery of Black Americans. Indeed, all of U.S. history has included struggles by individuals and groups to achieve constitutionally guaranteed civil rights and equal protection for race, gender, and disability.

    A 32-cent Women's Suffrage commemorative US postal stamp issued in 1995, on the 75th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment. Stamp bears photographs of women's suffrage marches and the words "equality," "freedom," and "progress."

    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): 19th Amendment Commemorative Postage Stamp by MadeInSpace.la

    The media literacy activities in this section explore the Prohibition era in U.S. history, efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment and the Equality Act, how the Civil War is presented in historical publications, how race and gender are represented on U.S. currency, the importance of reading aloud Supreme Court dissents, and the potential impacts of cameras in federal and state courtrooms.

    8.5: The Constitution, Amendments, and Supreme Court Decisions is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.