7.14 What is Special about the United States Constitution?
President Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States. He was president for 2 terms from 1981 to 1989. Prior to that he was governor of California and prior to that he was a Hollywood actor. One of the great things about America is that anyone, whether they be a Hollywood actor or a lawyer or a businessman, can become president of the United States. Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter, a Democrat president whose liberal policies created economic hardship and a weakened and threatened America. Reagan originally was a Democrat who switched parties. He often said "I didn't leave the Democratic party, the Democratic party left me". He meant that the Democratic party became radicalized. Since Reagans time the Democratic party has become even more radicalized. Reagan cut taxes and regulation, restored America's economy and strengthened America. In this video he speaks about what is special about the United States constitution.
On September 16, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Constitution Heritage Act of 1988 which established the National Constitution Center. The act called for a national center “within or in close proximity to the Independence National Historical Park” that “shall disseminate information about the U.S. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis in order to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.” Here is a video I chose of one of many videos that the Constitution Center has created about the constitution. In the beginning of the video Justice Sandra Day Oconner talks about a case in which teenage students filed a lawsuit against their school because their school was violating the constitution.
Mary Beth Tinker was a 13-year-old junior high school student in December 1965 when she and a group of students decided to wear black armbands to school to protest the war in Vietnam. The school board got wind of the protest and passed a preemptive ban. When Mary Beth arrived at school on Dec. 16, she was asked to remove the armband and was then suspended. Four other students were suspended as well, including her brother John Tinker and Chris Eckhardt. The students were told they could not return to school until they agreed to remove their armbands. The students returned after the Christmas break without armbands, but in protest, they wore black clothing for the remainder of the school year — and filed a First Amendment lawsuit.
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Three people refused to sign the constitution. A lot of their objections were taken care of in the Bill of Rights. What is the Bill of Rights?
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