Bill Of Rights Bicentennial | 27:Fifty (1992) - Episode 1

The U.S. Constitution has become a model for developing governments around the world. Four signers of the Constitution were South Carolinians. Dr. Harry Lightsey, president of the College of Charleston, served on the commission for the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution.  The Bill of Rights is as vital today as it was around two hundred years ago, since it provides inalienable rights, and protection against governmental abuse of power.

Standards

• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the process which led to the formation of the U.S. government, including the convening of the Continental Congresses, the passage of the Articles of Confederation, and the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
  • 4.2.P Analyze the sequence of events that led to the establishment of the U.S. as a democratic republic.
• Political and economic developments underscored how the colonists in British North America had become uniquely American, prompting the development of a new nation. Drawing on their experience under British rule, the founding generation created a government with shared powers between the state and federal institutions.
  • This indicator was designed to encourage inquiry into the development of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and representative democracy.
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into how the concept of federalism took hold in the early United States. In addition, this indicator promotes inquiry into the progression from a nation skeptical of a strong central government to a nation accepting of a division of power between the states and federal government.
  • USHC.1.P Summarize the changing relationship between individuals and the government during the period 1607–1800.