Protecting the Rights of the People
Text Version

Narrator: You have been given four sources to read related to the Bill of Rights - two are secondary sources and two are primary sources.

(Visual description: the screen shows the graphic organizer for Comparing and Contrasting Primary and Secondary Sources on The Topic of the Bill of Rights, that includes columns for Criteria for Comparison, Secondary Source #1, Secondary Source #2, Primary Source #1, and Primary Source #2; and rows for Title of document, Date of creation, Author of document, Purpose/Audience of document, Author’s Point of View, Information that is similar to other sources (corroborated information), and Information that is different than other sources. The graphic organizer fades while the screen focuses first on the headings Secondary Source #1 and Secondary Source #2; and then Primary Source #1 and Primary Source #2.)

Narrator: As you read, note the title of each document, the date it was created and the author.

(Visual description: the following criteria for comparison are highlighted in red: “Title of document,” followed by “Date of creation” and finally “Author of document.”)

Narrator: Notice that for Primary Source #2, the Bill of Rights, there is no title.

(Visual description: the screen focuses on the cell for Title of document under Primary Source #2. The empty cell is circled in red.)

Narrator: The date and author can be inferred from the Preamble since this information is not given in this section of the document.

(Visual description: the following information under Primary Source #1 are underlined in red: “Preamble,” “March 4, 1789,” and “”Congress of the United States.” Then, the empty cells under Primary Source #2 that correspond with the information underlined are circled in red.)

Narrator: As you read each document, look out for information on the purpose and audience for the document, and the author's point of view.

(Visual description: the following criteria for comparison are circled in red: “Purpose/Audience of document” and “Author’s Point of View.”)

For example, in Secondary Source #1, the purpose is to provide students with information about the Bill of Rights.

(Visual description: Secondary Source #2 is underlined in red. Then, the screen focuses on the following cells: “Purpose/Audience of document” and “Provide students with information about the Bill of Rights.”)

Narrator: The author's point of view is that the Bill of Rights was added to convince state legislatures to ratify the Constitution.

(Visual description: the screen focuses on the following cells: “Author’s Point of View” and “The Bill of Rights was added to convince the state legislatures to ratify the amendments.”)

Narrator: Let’s compare Secondary Sources #1 and #2. They have information that is the same: the Bill of Rights was written and adopted in 1791, and these rights are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.

(Visual description: the screen focuses on “Information that is similar to other sources (corroborated information)” under Criteria for Comparison. Then, a red arrow links the following information: “The Bill of Rights were adopted in 1791” under Secondary Source #1; and “Bill of Rights were written in 1791” under Secondary Source #2. Then, a second red arrow links the following information: “The Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution” under Secondary Source #1; and “Many people wanted this amendments added to the Constitution” under Secondary Source #2.)

Narrator: These two sources also have information that is different. Secondary Source #2 provides additional information, such as the Bill of Rights was created to protect peoples' rights by listing the rights; Thomas Jefferson supported adding these rights; Alexander Hamilton and other federalists believed it was unnecessary to add these rights because states had their own bills of rights.

(Visual description: the screen focuses on “Information that is different from other sources” under Criteria for Comparison. Then, it highlights the following information under Secondary Source #2: “The Bill of Rights were created to protect peoples’ rights by listing then;” “Thomas Jefferson supported adding a bill of rights;” “Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists did not support adding a bill of rights, believing it was unnecessary because states had their own bill of rights;” “Some states like New York did not have a bill of rights;” and “James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights.”)

Narrator: Now let's see how Primary Source #1, the Preamble to the Bill of Rights, is the same and different than Secondary Sources #1 and #2. The Preamble agrees with both secondary sources by stating that the rights were something that the people wanted added to the Constitution. And, all three documents also say the Bill of Rights was written and adopted in 1791.

(Visual description: the screen focuses on Primary Source #1. Then, it highlights how “Information that is similar to other sources (corroborated information) are similar for Secondary Source #1, Secondary Source #2, and Primary Source #1 by drawing a red square around each of the relevant cell.

Narrator: But information between these sources is different too. Secondary Source #2 states that the Bill of Rights is a listing of peoples' rights. The Preamble states that the 10 amendments are a restraint on the power of the government in order to prevent an abuse of power. Also, the Preamble does not use the term "Bill of Rights."

(Visual description: the screen focuses on “Information that is different from other sources’ under Criteria for Comparison. Then, the following information are highlighted using a red square: “The Bill of Rights was created to protect the peoples’ rights by listing them” under Secondary Source #2; “The 10 amendments created restraints on government power, thereby giving people the confidence that the government would not abuse its power” under Primary Source #1; and “The amendments are not referred to as the Bill of Rights” under Primary Source #1.)
Finally, let’s see how Primary Source #2, the Bill of Rights itself, compares with the other documents.

(Visual description: the screen focuses first on the column for Primary Source #2, before displaying the columns for Secondary Source #1, Secondary Source #2, and Primary Source #1.)

Narrator: The Bill of Rights agrees with both secondary sources that these rights are the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights also agrees with the purpose stated in the Preamble because the majority of the amendments are specific limitations of the power of government.

(Visual description: a red square is drawn around information that is similar regarding the first 10 amendments to the Constitution under Primary Source #2, Primary Source #1, Secondary Source #2, and Secondary Source #1. Then, two cells, one from Primary Source #2 and another from Primary Source #1 are brought to the fore. A red square is drawn around the following information from each cell: “Amendments 1-5 state what the government is not allowed to do” under Primary Source #2; and “The 10 amendments created restraints on government power, thereby giving people the confidence that the government would not abuse its power” under Primary Source #1.)

Narrator: But the Bill of Rights also differs from these other sources. The two secondary sources refer to the ten amendments as the “Bill of Rights,” but the Bill of Rights itself never uses that term.

(Visual description: the screen focuses on Information that is different than other sources under Criteria for Comparison. A red square is drawn around “This document is not referred to as a Bill of Rights” under Primary Source #2.)

Narrator: The Bill of Rights also differs from Secondary Source #2 because it is not a listing of peoples’ rights. Instead the Bill of Rights is a limit on government powers.

(Visual description: a red square is drawn around the following information under Primary Source #2: “Amendment 9 states that the list is not to be construed as a complete list of the rights of citizens,” and “Amendment 10 limits the power of the national government to those listed in the Constitution; all other powers belong to the states.”)

Narrator: As you can see, primary and secondary sources related to the Bill of Rights have things in common, and things that are different.