60-Second Civics: Episode 5182, The 14th Amendment Transforms Citizenship: Citizenship, Part 3 How did the 14th Amendment transform citizenship in America? Professor Henry L. Chambers Jr. of the University of Richmond School of Law explains the impact of the 14th Amendment on citizenship and its particular effect on formerly enslaved Americans who were born in the United States.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5177, The Reconstruction Amendments: Civil Rights, Part 3 How did the Reconstruction Amendments set the stage for the ongoing battle for civil rights? In this episode of 60-Second Civics, Dr. Lester Brooks, emeritus professor of American history at Anne Arundel Community College, explains the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5165, The Equal Rights Amendment: Women's Rights, Part 5 What is the Equal Rights Amendment and how would its ratification change American life? In this episode, Dr. Lisa Tetrault, associate professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University, explains the Equal Rights Amendment. This is the fifth episode in our 60-Second Civics series on women's rights as part of the Center for Civic Education's Civil Discourse: An American Legacy Project.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5139, Probable Cause: How Do Warrants Work? The Right to Privacy, Part 11 The Fourth Amendment protects people and their personal effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. It also requires applications for warrants to be supported by probable cause and requires a judge to decide whether probable cause exists. How do officials obtain warrants? We'll explain in today's episode.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5138, Unreasonable Searches and Seizures: The Right to Privacy, Part 10 The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, but it seeks to strike a balance between the need for order and each individual's rights.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5137, Fourth Amendment and Technology: The Right to Privacy, Part 9 There have been vast technological changes since the ratification of the Fourth Amendment in 1791, and the courts have been asked to interpret the significance of ever-changing technology and surveillance techniques.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5135, The Fourth Amendment: The Right to Privacy, Part 7 The Fourth Amendment grew directly out of the American colonial experience. It protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by government officials.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5134, Protection Against Unreasonable Search and Seizure: The Right to Privacy, Part 6 The protection against unreasonable search and seizure was in part a reaction against the general warrants issued by the British that so enraged American colonists in the prelude to the Revolution. The Fourth Amendment and state constitutions protect against unreasonable searches and seizures.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5059, The 27th Amendment The 27th Amendment was originally introduced with the Bill of Rights, but it was not ratified until 1992. It says that legislation modifying the salary of members of Congress will take effect until after an election of representatives. This gives the American people the chance to vote out of office legislators they think may have excessively raised their salaries.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5058, The 26th Amendment The 26th Amendment recognized the right of citizens 18 year of age and older to vote. The Vietnam War was a strong contributing factor to the adoption of the amendment, which was ratified in only 107 days, the fastest ratification in American history. Thousands of young people served in the Vietnam War, including many who would die in the conflict.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5057, The 25th Amendment The 25th Amendment describes the procedure for when a president or vice president dies or is unable to fulfill their duties. It seems like a mundane part of the Constitution, but it has been used many times since its ratification in 1967
60-Second Civics: Episode 5056, The 24th Amendment The 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes as a requirement for voting. After more than 100 years of discriminatory voting practices, the right of African Americans to vote in all elections was finally protected by this amendment, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and a 1966 Supreme Court decision.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5055, The 23rd Amendment The 23rd Amendment established the right of residents of the District of Columbia to vote for president and vice president. It limits the district to the same number of Electoral College votes that it would have if it were a state, but not more than the least populous state. The District therefore has three Electoral College votes.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5054, The 22nd Amendment The 22nd Amendment limits presidents to just two full terms in office. It was added to the Constitution in reaction to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's unprecedented four terms in office.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5053, The 21st Amendment After more than a decade of Prohibition, Americans were tired of it. So, Congress proposed the 21st Amendment, which outlawed the 18th Amendment and ended nationwide prohibition. The states, municipalities, and counties could still enact their own prohibition laws, however, and many of them did.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5052, The 20h Amendment The 20th Amendment shortened the period between when the president, vice president, and members of Congress are elected and when they take office. It also specified what would happen if a president-elect were to die between the election and the inauguration.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5051, The 19th Amendment The 19th Amendment recognized the right of women to vote. The amendment was the result of years of activism by campaigners for suffrage for women. However, until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, African American women faced serious obstacles to voting.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5050, The 18th Amendment The ratification of the 18th Amendment in 1919 began the era of Prohibition. The amendment banned the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors." This opened up new opportunities for organized crime, which grew substantially during the period.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5049, The 17th Amendment The 17th Amendment to the Constitution mandates the direct popular election of U.S. senators. Before the amendment was ratified in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5048, The 16th Amendment The 16th Amendment to the Constitution established the national government's authority to establish a federal income tax without having to divide the revenues among the states based on their population. The amendment resulted in a change in the way the national government was funded.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5047, The 15th Amendment The 15th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1870, sought to ensure the right of African American men to vote. However, grandfather clauses, literacy tests, poll taxes, as well as violence and intimidation, were serious barriers preventing African American men from realizing this right.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5046, The 14th Amendment The 14th Amendment made a deep and lasting impact on the United States, helping to form a more perfect union. First it recognized the citizenship of African Americans. It also forbade states to deny due process and equal protection of the laws. It did a great many other things, as well.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5045, The 13th Amendment The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States, but controversy remains over the loophole in the amendment that says that prisoners can be forced to work.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5044, The 12th Amendment The 12th Amendment requires electors in the Electoral College to make separate choices for president and vice president. Before this amendment, electors voted for two people for president. The winner would become president and the second-place finisher vice president. The election of 1800 convinced Americans that this system needed to change.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5043, The 11th Amendment The 11th Amendment protects states against being sued by citizens of other states or foreign nations. It supports the idea of sovereign immunity for states, meaning that they are immune to lawsuits that they do not consent to.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5042, Bill of Rights, Part 10: The 10th Amendment The 10th Amendment addressed the fears of some Framers of the Constitution that creating a Bill of Rights might lead people to believe that the national government has more powers than those specifically enumerated in the Constitution. It states that those powers not specifically delegated to the national government are reserved to the states or the people.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5041, Bill of Rights, Part 9: Ninth Amendment The first eight amendments to the U.S. Constitution contain specific guarantees of rights. But the Ninth Amendment simply says that the rights contained in the Constitution do not limit or reduce any other rights the people have. We'll learn about competing theories about what exactly the Ninth Amendment means in today's 60-Second Civics podcast.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5040, Bill of Rights, Part 8: Eighth Amendment The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits excessive bail and fines. It also prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, which the Supreme Court has interpreted since in various ways over the years.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5039, Bill of Rights, Part 7: The Seventh Amendment The Seventh Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial in most federal civil cases. It does not apply to the states, but most state protect this right in their constitutions.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5038, Bill of Rights, Part 6: The Sixth Amendment The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution protects several rights to help ensure a fair trial, including the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5037, Bill of Rights, Part 5: The Fifth Amendment The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution is designed to limit the federal government's power to prosecute people for crimes and to protect the rights of the accused. In this episode of the 60-Second Civics podcast, we explore each of the rights protected under the Fifth Amendment.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5036, Bill of Rights, Part 4: The Fourth Amendment The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution provides a constitutional guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. In this episode of 60-Second Civics, we explain what this means and provide some examples.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5035, Bill of Rights, Part 3: The Third Amendment The Third Amendment to the Constitution prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes. This might sound strange to us now, but it was a reality for American colonists in the pre-Revolutionary era, who were deprived of this right by the British authorities even though it was a right allowed to their British brethren.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5034, Bill of Rights, Part 2: The Second Amendment The Second Amendment deals with both the power of states to organize and maintain a militia, now known as the National Guard, and the right of Americans to keep and bear arms. Learn more on today's 60-Second Civics podcast.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5033, Bill of Rights, Part 1: The First Amendment What rights are part of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Find out on today's podcast. Today's episode is the first in a 10-part series on the Bill of Rights.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4984, The 14th Amendment Transforms Citizenship: Citizenship, Part 3 How did the 14th Amendment transform citizenship in America? Professor Henry L. Chambers Jr. of the University of Richmond School of Law explains the impact of the 14th Amendment on citizenship and its particular effect on formerly enslaved Americans who were born in the United States.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4979, The Reconstruction Amendments: Civil Rights, Part 3 (rebroadcast) How did the Reconstruction Amendments set the stage for the ongoing battle for civil rights? In this episode of 60-Second Civics, Dr. Lester Brooks, emeritus professor of American history at Anne Arundel Community College, explains the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4976, Beyond the Legacy: Women's Rights, Part 6 (rebroadcast) In this extended episode of 60-Second Civics, Dr. Lisa Tetrault, associate professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University, explains in more detail topics of women's rights from the previous five episodes. Dr. Tetrault covers the Seneca Falls Convention, the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, the role of Frederick Douglass, and the Equal Rights Amendment, among other topics. This is the sixth episode in our 60-Second Civics series on women's rights as part of the Center for Civic Education's Civil Discourse: An American Legacy Project.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4975, The Equal Rights Amendment: Women's Rights, Part 5 (rebroadcast) What is the Equal Rights Amendment and how would its ratification change American life? In this episode, Dr. Lisa Tetrault, associate professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University, explains the Equal Rights Amendment. This is the fifth episode in our 60-Second Civics series on women's rights as part of the Center for Civic Education's Civil Discourse: An American Legacy Project.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4945, The Reconstruction Amendments: Civil Rights, Part 3 How did the Reconstruction Amendments set the stage for the ongoing battle for civil rights? In this episode of 60-Second Civics, Dr. Lester Brooks, emeritus professor of American history at Anne Arundel Community College, explains the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4918, Beyond the Legacy: Women's Rights, Part 6 In this extended episode of 60-Second Civics, Dr. Lisa Tetrault, associate professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University, explains in more detail topics of women's rights from the previous five episodes. Dr. Tetrault covers the Seneca Falls Convention, the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, the role of Frederick Douglass, and the Equal Rights Amendment, among other topics. This is the sixth episode in our 60-Second Civics series on women's rights as part of the Center for Civic Education's Civil Discourse: An American Legacy Project.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4917, The Equal Rights Amendment: Women's Rights, Part 5 What is the Equal Rights Amendment and how would its ratification change American life? In this episode, Dr. Lisa Tetrault, associate professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University, explains the Equal Rights Amendment. This is the fifth episode in our 60-Second Civics series on women's rights as part of the Center for Civic Education's Civil Discourse: An American Legacy Project.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4893, The Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments: Introduction to the Bill of Rights, Part 5 These final pieces of the Bill of Rights deal with crime, punishment, and states rights. Listen to learn more!
60-Second Civics: Episode 4892, The Sixth and Seventh Amendments: Introduction to the Bill of Rights, Part 4 Your right to an attorney, a fair trial, and more in these two amendments.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4891, The Fourth and Fifth Amendments: Introduction to the Bill of Rights, Part 3 These Constitutional Amendments help protect the rights of those convicted of a crime
60-Second Civics: Episode 4890, The First Three Amendments: Introduction to the Bill of Rights, Part 2 These three Constitutional amendments protect some of our most fundamental rights as citizens.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4889, What is the Bill of Rights? Introduction to the Bill of Rights, Part 1 Today, December 15th, is Bill of Rights day! In recognition of this day, we start a new series exploring the first ten amendments of the Constitution and what they mean. Listen for more!
60-Second Civics: Episode 4843, Women's Suffrage Expands Worldwide: Women's Suffrage Movement, Part 14 By the time that the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in the United States in 1920, a number of other countries or states within them had secured women's suffrage. Learn more about suffrage worldwide in this episode!
60-Second Civics: Episode 4839, A Fractured Suffrage Movement: Women's Suffrage Movement, Part 10 The constitutional amendments that followed the Civil War fractured the women's movement. Indeed, debate over the Fifteenth Amendment reopened the suffrage and gender issue, splitting the women's movement. Listen for more!
60-Second Civics: Episode 4830, Women's Suffrage Movement, Part 1 The Nineteenth Amendment, which was ratified August 1920, secured women's right to vote in all elections: local, state, and national.
60-Second Civics: Episode 5072, The Thirteenth Amendment While Lincoln justified his Emancipation Proclamation as an act of military necessity, he understood that a constitutional amendment was required to abolish slavery immediately and everywhere in the United States. Learn more about how the Emancipation Proclamation led to the 13th Amendment in this episode of 60-Second Civics.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4792, How the Constitution Protects Rights: Rights, Part 12 In addition to those rights protected in the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, the body of the U.S. Constitution and subsequent amendments also protect many rights.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4791, Rights and the Third Amendment: Rights, Part 11 The Third Amendment was written in response to the Quartering Act of 1765, which was a British law authorizing colonial governors to requisition certain buildings, including parts of people's homes, for housing British troops.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4790, Rights and the Second Amendment: Rights, Part 10 Today we explain how the Second Amendment has been interpreted by the courts. The Second Amendment is a good example of both positive and negative rights in the Bill of Rights. Positive rights require government to act in specified ways, whereas negative rights restrict government action.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4780, The Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments: Introduction to the Bill of Rights, Part 5 These final pieces of the Bill of Rights deal with crime, punishment, and states rights. Listen to learn more!
60-Second Civics: Episode 4779, The Sixth and Seventh Amendments: Introduction to the Bill of Rights, Part 4 Your right to an attorney, a fair trial, and more in these two amendments.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4778, The Fourth and Fifth Amendments: Introduction to the Bill of Rights, Part 3 These Constitutional Amendments help protect the rights of those convicted of a crime
60-Second Civics: Episode 4777, The First Three Amendments: Introduction to the Bill of Rights, Part 2 These three Constitutional amendments protect some of our most fundamental rights as citizens.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4776, What is the Bill of Rights? Introduction to the Bill of Rights, Part 1 Today, December 15th, is Bill of Rights day! In recognition of this day, we start a new series exploring the first ten amendments of the Constitution and what they mean. Listen for more!
60-Second Civics: Episode 4599, The Thirteenth Amendment: Abraham Lincoln and Executive Power, Part 13 While Lincoln justified his Emancipation Proclamation as an act of military necessity, he understood that a constitutional amendment was required to abolish slavery immediately and everywhere in the United States. Learn more in this episode!
60-Second Civics: Episode 4580, The Equal Rights Amendment: Women's History Month, Part 25 The Equal Rights Amendment was first proposed in 1923. Its ratification is still in limbo, with several states having rescinded their original ratification. It says, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
60-Second Civics: Episode 4579, The Nineteenth Amendment: Women's History Month, Part 24 After decades of struggle, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920, recognizing the right of women to vote throughout the country, but not all women would be able to realize this right.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4578, The Woman Suffrage Procession of 1913: Women's History Month, Part 23 One day before the presidential inauguration of Woodrow Wilson, roughly 8,000 women's rights activists marched from the U.S. Capitol to the Treasury Department to demand the right to vote. Although marred by violence and racism, the aims of the marchers would be realized 7 years later with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4540, Three-Fifths Compromise: Black History Month, Part 9 The Three-Fifths Compromise counted enslaved people for purposes of representation, not to protect the interests of the enslaved people, but to advance the interests of the slaveholders. Here is how it happened: the Framers of the Constitution agreed that there should be proportional representation in the House of Representatives, but disagreed on whether to count enslaved people for purposes of representation. Southern states held many enslaved people in bondage, but Northern states held few. The two sides came to a compromise: they would count three out of every five enslaved people, hence the term \"Three-Fifths Compromise.\" Sadly, this would remain in the Constitution until the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4433, Terrorism, Social Media, and the First Amendment: Free Speech and Civil Liberties after 9/11: David Hudson, Part 5 What can and should the government do to control organizing on social media? And, does the government have any powers under the Patriot Act?
60-Second Civics: Episode 4432, The Issue of Profiling: Free Speech and Civil Liberties after 9/11: David Hudson, Part 4 While it's not directly a first amendment issue, our guest, David Hudson, highlights one of the unfortunate aftermaths of 9/11: the rise of profiling. Listen to today's episode for more!
60-Second Civics: Episode 4429, Section 215 of the Patriot Act: Free Speech and Civil Liberties after 9/11: David Hudson, Part 1 Today, we start our five-part series Free Speech & Civil Liberties after 9/11 with David Hudson, a first amendment scholar from Belmont University. In today’s episode, Hudson discusses the controversial section 215 of the Patriot Act. Listen for more!
60-Second Civics: Episode 4363, Probable Cause: How Do Warrants Work? The Right to Privacy, Part 11 The Fourth Amendment protects people and their personal effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. It also requires applications for warrants to be supported by probable cause and requires a judge to decide whether probable cause exists. How do officials obtain warrants? We'll explain in today's episode.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4362, Unreasonable Searches and Seizures: The Right to Privacy, Part 10 The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, but it seeks to strike a balance between the need for order and each individual's rights.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4361, Fourth Amendment and Technology: The Right to Privacy, Part 9 There have been vast technological changes since the ratification of the Fourth Amendment in 1791, and the courts have been asked to interpret the significance of ever-changing technology and surveillance techniques.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4360, Reasonable Expectations of Privacy: The Right to Privacy, Part 8 Protecting privacy against intrusion by government officials is a deeply held value in the United States. Courts have interpreted the Fourth Amendment as protecting reasonable expectations of privacy.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4359, The Fourth Amendment: The Right to Privacy, Part 7 The Fourth Amendment grew directly out of the American colonial experience. It protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by government officials.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4358, Protection Against Unreasonable Search and Seizure: The Right to Privacy, Part 6 The protection against unreasonable search and seizure was in part a reaction against the general warrants issued by the British that so enraged American colonists in the prelude to the Revolution. The Fourth Amendment and state constitutions protect against unreasonable searches and seizures.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4345, Abolitionists and the Gag Rule: Freedom of Expression, Part 23 The right to petition government for a redress of grievances, guaranteed by the First Amendment, was an important tool used by Americans to communicate their opinions to public officials. Nevertheless, public officials have at times sought to limit the right to petition. One infamous example is the gag rule in the House of Representatives, which prohibited debate on certain topics, including slavery.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4342, The Rights to Petition and Associate: Freedom of Expression, Part 20 Freedom of expression is protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments and applies to the states as well as the national government. The right to associate, which is part of freedom of expression, arose out of cases in the 1950s and 1960s challenging the efforts of some states to limit the activities of civil rights groups, such as the NAACP.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4340, Rights to Assemble, Petition, and Associate: Freedom of Expression, Part 18 The First Amendment protects people's right to form their own opinions, including those about politics and religion. It also protects the right to communicate those opinions to others.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4335, Time, Place, and Manner Restrictions: Freedom of Expression, Part 13 Some laws limiting freedom of expression do not violate the First Amendment. These laws are created to protect other important values and interests
60-Second Civics: Episode 4333, Can Freedom of Speech Be Limited?: Freedom of Expression, Part 11 Despite the statement in the First Amendment that "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech," most people argue in favor of limiting freedom of expression in certain situations.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4323, 5 Arguments for Free Expression: Freedom of Expression, Part 1 Today we kick off a miniseries on freedom of expression, part of our continuing examination of the rights protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. On today's podcast, we present five arguments in favor of freedom of expression.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4320, How the Supreme Court Ruled in Two Free Exercise Cases: Freedom of Religion, Part 6 Two Supreme Court cases provide an illustration of how the Court has ruled on tests of the First Amendment's free exercise of religion clause.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4317, Free Exercise of Religion: Freedom of Religion, Part 3 The free exercise clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution protects the right to believe in any religion or none at all. It also protects the right to practice one's religion, but this right does have limits.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4316, Interpretation of the Establishment Clause: Freedom of Religion, Part 2 There are three common methods of interpreting the establishment clause of the First Amendment: (1) broad interpretation, (2) narrow interpretation, and (3) literal interpretation. Most American agree that church and state should be separate, but they are no closer today to defining the proper scope of separation of church and state than they were in 1791.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4315, The Establishment Clause: Freedom of Religion, Part 1 Today we launch a new series on freedom of religion as protected by the First Amendment by examining the very first part of the amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
60-Second Civics: Episode 4313, How the Constitution Protects Rights: Rights, Part 12 In addition to those rights protected in the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, the body of the U.S. Constitution and subsequent amendments also protect many rights.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4312, Rights and the Third Amendment: Rights, Part 11 The Third Amendment was written in response to the Quartering Act of 1765, which was a British law authorizing colonial governors to requisition certain buildings, including parts of people's homes, for housing British troops.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4311, Rights and the Second Amendment: Rights, Part 10 Today we explain how the Second Amendment has been interpreted by the courts. The Second Amendment is a good example of both positive and negative rights in the Bill of Rights. Positive rights require government to act in specified ways, whereas negative rights restrict government action.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4295, The Equal Rights Amendment: Women's History Month, Part 25 The Equal Rights Amendment was first proposed in 1923. Its ratification is still in limbo, with several states having rescinded their original ratification. It says, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
60-Second Civics: Episode 4294, The Nineteenth Amendment: Women's History Month, Part 24 After decades of struggle, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920, recognizing the right of women to vote throughout the country, but not all women would be able to realize this right.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4293, The Woman Suffrage Procession of 1913: Women's History Month, Part 23 One day before the presidential inauguration of Woodrow Wilson, roughly 8,000 women's rights activists marched from the U.S. Capitol to the Treasury Department to demand the right to vote. Although marred by violence and racism, the aims of the marchers would be realized 7 years later with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4263, The Failure of Reconstruction and the Rise of Jim Crow: Black History Month, Part 21 The victory of the Union over the Confederacy and the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments did not mean an end to racism in the United States. Federal troops that were meant to ensure the equal enforcement of the laws were sent back to their barracks in 1877. This ended Reconstruction and began the era known as Jim Crow, where Southern states passed laws to subjugate African Americans. Jim Crow would last until the 1960s.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4262, The Civil War Amendments: Black History Month, Part 20 The Civil War Amendments were passed in response to attempts by former Confederate states to limit the rights of African Americans. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment recognized African Americans as citizens and forbade states from denying due process or equal protection of the laws and from abridging the privileges or immunities of citizens. The Fifteenth Amendment protected the rights of African American men to vote.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4261, The Thirteenth Amendment and the Black Codes: Black History Month, Part 19 The Thirteenth Amendment finally abolished slavery throughout the entire United States. But African Americans' struggle for equality faced daunting obstacles, such as the vicious and discriminatory Black Codes, which were laws passed to ensure the continued subjugation of formerly enslaved people.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4260, Emancipation Proclamation and Service in the Civil War: Black History Month, Part 18 Despite the fact that African Americans had served in the military since the Revolutionary War, they were not allowed to join the military at the start of the Civil War, but laws passed in 1862 changed this discriminatory policy. The Emancipation Proclamation did not free all the enslaved people in the country. This would not be accomplished until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4251, Three-Fifths Compromise: Black History Month, Part 9 The Three-Fifths Compromise counted enslaved people for purposes of representation, not to protect the interests of the enslaved people, but to advance the interests of the slaveholders. Here's how it happened: the Framers of the Constitution agreed that there should be proportional representation in the House of Representatives, but disagreed on whether to count enslaved people for purposes of representation. Southern states held many enslaved people in bondage, but Northern states held few. The two sides came to a compromise: they would count three out of every five enslaved people, hence the term "Three-Fifths Compromise." Sadly, this would remain in the Constitution until the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4242, Time, Place, and Manner Restrictions on Free Assembly The First Amendment protects freedom of assembly, but the Supreme Court has held that time, place, and manner restrictions are permissible under certain circumstances. Learn more on today's 60-Second Civics.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4241, The Right to Peaceably Assemble The right to peaceably assemble is protected by the First Amendment, but it does have limits.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4231, Inauguration Day Technological advances in the early twentieth century allowed for ballots to be counted more quickly and reduced the time it took for legislators to travel from their states to the capital. As a result, the Twentieth Amendment was ratified in 1933, allowing for a newly elected or re-elected president and members of Congress to begin serving their terms shortly after being elected, reducing the amount of time "lame-duck" officials remain in office.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4220, The Committee Vote: How Congress Works, Part 14 Bills proposed in Congress usually go to a committee, which then modifies the bill and makes recommendations for amendments, if needed. The bill might receive a floor vote, then goes to a committee in the other chamber before possible amendment and another vote.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4215, Senate Leadership: How Congress Works, Part 9 Senators were originally considered to be ambassadors of their states rather than representatives of the people in the states. That all changed in 1913 with the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment
60-Second Civics: Episode 4202, 535 Legislators: The Power of the Congress, Part 12 Did you know that the Constitution originally gave each state legislature authority to decide who would serve as that state's senators? This changed in 1913 with the Seventeenth Amendment. Today there are 435 voting members of the House of Representatives and 100 Senators.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4183, Check and Balances on the President: The Power of the Presidency, Part 21 The president's power is limited by a few different methods. For example, an amendment to the Constitution limits the president to two elected terms in office. Another powerful check on the president's power is Congress. Learn about more of the ways the president's powers are limited on today's podcast.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4149, Voting, Elections, and Representation, Part 30: International Context of Twenty-sixth Amendment Most Western democracies lowered the voting age to eighteen in the 1970s. Some have even lowered it to sixteen. But a few still retain a minimum voting age of twenty-one.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4148, Voting, Elections, and Representation, Part 29: Shootings Gave Twenty-sixth Amendment Renewed Urgency Two incidents in 1970 galvanized the movement to lower the voting age to eighteen: the Kent State and Jackson State shootings of anti-war demonstrators.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4146, Voting, Elections, and Representation, Part 27: Cultural Context of the Twenty-sixth Amendment The countercultural movement of the 1960s and the Vietnam War provided the cultural context to the movement to lower the voting age to 18.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4145, Voting, Elections, and Representation, Part 26: Oregon v. Mitchell The Oregon v. Mitchell Supreme Court case in 1970 gave added motivation for supporters of lowering the voting age to push for a constitutional amendment to reduce the national voting age to 18.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4144, Voting, Elections, and Representation, Part 25: Vietnam and the Twenty-sixth Amendment The Vietnam War motivated the states to take up the ratification process for the Twenty-sixth Amendment with a sense of urgency.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4143, Voting, Elections, and Representation, Part 24: The Twenty-sixth Amendment The Twenty-sixth Amendment mandates that federal and state legislatures not interfere with the right to vote of citizens eighteen years of age or older in federal, state, and local elections.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4136, Voting, Elections, and Representation, Part 17: The Nineteenth Amendment As the United States entered World War I, pressure to recognize the right of women to vote increased. After the war, women launched a national campaign that included huge parades, demonstrations, picketing, and civil disobedience in Washington, D.C. The Nineteenth Amendment was finally adopted in 1920.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4130, 60-Second Civics, Episode 4130: October 11, 2020 Poll taxes were meant to keep the poor and minorities from voting. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment ended poll taxes in 1964.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4128, Voting, Elections, and Representation, Part 9: The Fifteenth Amendment In theory, the Fifteenth Amendment granted the right to vote to African American men. But discriminatory laws, physical intimidation, and economic reprisals kept African Americans from exercising that right.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4118, The Prohibition Era Begins The Eighteenth Amendment launched an era known as Prohibition and the birth of a new industry.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4117, The Prohibition Era Begins The Eighteenth Amendment launched an era known as Prohibition and the birth of a new industry.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4115, The Eighteenth Amendment The Eighteenth Amendment, which was ratified in January 1919, inaugurated the era of Prohibition by outlawing the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" in the United States.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4109, The Corwin Amendment The Corwin Amendment was created in order to avoid the Civil War. It would have outlawed future amendments that abolished slavery. However, the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter began the Civil War, and the amendment was never ratified. Instead, in 1864 Abraham Lincoln began lobby for passage an amendment to abolish slavery.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4102, The Civil War Amendments Today we begin a brief series examining the Civil War Amendments. These are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4087, The Thirteenth Amendment Abraham Lincoln was opposed to slavery, but did not live to see the Thirteenth Amendment ratified.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4007, Due Process in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments The Fifth Amendment says, "No Person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." This applies to the federal government. The Fourteenth Amendment includes actions by the states.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4006, Due Process of Law The due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments are intended to guarantee that government will use fair procedures when gathering information and making decisions that affect our rights to life, liberty, and property.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4003, Brown v. Board of Education In the 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court said that placing African American children in schools separate from white children denied them the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.
60-Second Civics: Episode 4001, Unfair Treatment of African Americans "No State shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." But even with the constitutional protections of the Fourteenth Amendment after the Civil War, African Americans were treated unfairly.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3999, Voting Age Lowered to Eighteen During the Vietnam War, thousands of Americans were drafted to fight in souteast Asia, but many of these same troops had no right to vote because they were younger than 21. This all changed with the Twenty-sixth Amendment.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3996, The Long Struggle for Voting Rights for African Americans Even after the Civil War Amendments were passed, the rights of African Americans to full citizenship, including voting rights, was often denied. Learn about the long struggle for voting rights for African Americans on today's podcast.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3994, Civil War Amendments The Civil War Amendments are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. They abolished slavery, granted full citizenship to African Americans, and guaranteed the right to vote to men regardless of their "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Despite these constitutional guarantees, it would be a long time before African Americans were able to fully exercise the rights of citizenship.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3988, Freedom of Religion Freedom of religion is an important part of the First Amendment to the Constitution. On today's podcast we learn about two parts of religious freedom: the establishment clause and the free exercise clause.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3985, How Freedom of Expression Benefits Democracy Freedom of expression, which is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution, has many benefits, including increasing the chances of getting accurate information and having the ability to influence public opinion by persuasion without resorting to violence.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3983, Freedom of Expression The First Amendment to our Constitution protects our freedom of expression. It says, "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
60-Second Civics: Episode 3683, Protecting Rights Before Trial The Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments protect people accused of crimes between arrest and trial.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3666, Fourth Amendment and Technology New advances in technology are constantly changing the way we understand our right to privacy.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3665, Privacy The Fourth Amendment does not make specific claims about privacy, but America has evolved to uphold certain standards.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3646, The Rights to Petition and Associate The right to associate, while not mentioned in the First Amendment, has evolved through Supreme Court cases.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3645, Freedom of Assembly The right of a group to assemble is protected by the First Amendment and helps create governmental change.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3644, The Rights to Assemble, Petition, and Associate These elements of the First Amendment allow citizens to hold the government accountable for their policies.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3638, Exceptions to Free Speech Libel, defamation, and incitement to crime are all forms of speech not protected by the First Amendment.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3633, A Free Press in the Early Republic The First Amendment was created in part to help ease fears that the government would manipulate the press.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3621, The Free Exercise Clause The free exercise clause is another element of the First Amendment that protects religious freedoms.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3612, The Constitution As a Bill of Rights In addition to amendments, the Constitution itself was written to protect certain freedoms.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3600, The Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments These final pieces of the Bill of Rights deal with crime, punishment, and states rights.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3597, The First Three Amendments These three Constitutional amendments protect some of our most fundamental rights as citizens.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3586, State Constitutional Amendments State constitutional amendments often reflect state responses to policy debates occurring throughout the United States.
60-Second Civics: Episode 3271, The Corwin Amendment The Corwin Amendment was created in order to avoid the Civil War. It would have outlawed future amendments that abolished slavery. However, the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter began the Civil War, and the amendment was never ratified. Instead, in 1864 Abraham Lincoln began lobby for passage an amendment to abolish slavery.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2843, Protecting Rights Before Trial The Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments protect people accused of crimes between arrest and trial.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2826, Fourth Amendment and Technology New advances in technology are constantly changing the way we understand our right to privacy.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2825, Privacy The Fourth Amendment does not make specific claims about privacy, but America has evolved to uphold certain standards.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2806, The Rights to Petition and Associate The right to associate, while not mentioned in the First Amendment, has evolved through Supreme Court cases.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2805, Freedom of Assembly The right of a group to assemble is protected by the First Amendment and helps create governmental change.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2804, The Rights to Assemble, Petition, and Associate These elements of the First Amendment allow citizens to hold the government accountable for their policies.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2798, Exceptions to Free Speech Libel, defamation, and incitement to crime are all forms of speech not protected by the First Amendment.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2793, A Free Press in the Early Republic The First Amendment was created in part to help ease fears that the government would manipulate the press.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2781, The Free Exercise Clause The free exercise clause is another element of the First Amendment that protects religious freedoms.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2772, The Constitution As a Bill of Rights In addition to amendments, the Constitution itself was written to protect certain freedoms.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2760, The Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments These final pieces of the Bill of Rights deal with crime, punishment, and states rights.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2757, The First Three Amendments These three Constitutional amendments protect some of our most fundamental rights as citizens.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2746, State Constitutional Amendments State constitutional amendments often reflect state responses to policy debates occurring throughout the United States.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2609, Poll taxes Poll taxes were meant to keep the poor and minorities from voting. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment ended poll taxes in 1964.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2607, Fifteenth Amendment In theory, the Fifteenth Amendment granted the right to vote to African American men. But discriminatory laws kept African Americans from exercising that right.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2588, Arbitrary barriers to rights The equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects you from arbitrary infringement of your rights.
60-Second Civics: Episode 2569, How the country changed after the Civil War The Civil War and the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery. The war resolved many other issues as well.
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This site is brought to you by the Center for Civic Education. The Center's mission is to promote an enlightened and responsible citizenry committed to democratic principles and actively engaged in the practice of democracy. The Center has reached more than 30 million students and their teachers since 1965. Learn more.
