Hand raising in the air in front of an American flag at a march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 2000

The Bill of Rights and Expanding Rights in America

Find primary source documents and teaching activities related to protecting and expanding rights in America in commemoration of Bill of Rights Day on December 15.

Selection from Indictment of Jedediah Peck

A Seditious Petition

Less than 10 years after the ratification of the Bill of Rights, Revolutionary War veteran and NY State Legislator Jedediah Peck was arrested for distributing a petition.

Bill of Rights Day

December 15 is Bill of Rights Day, which commemorates the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. These two eBooks, created by us at the National Archives, are useful for teaching about the creation of the Bill of Rights and for how the protections afforded by the first 10 amendments have been … Continue reading Bill of Rights Day

Putting the Bill of Rights to the Test: A New Student Workbook

This primary source-based workbook helps students explore concepts found in the Bill of Rights.

Is the Death Penalty a Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

Document analysis and discussion questions help students examine: What is cruel and unusual punishment? Who decides what is considered cruel and unusual? How can it be measured?

Permission to “Take it to the Streets”

The right of the people to peaceably assemble is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. But what happens when a city requires a group to obtain a permit to do so?