The Bill of Rights: A Living Document

The U.S. Constitution has been characterized as a work in progress. This video notes the Constitution and Bill of Rights are simply words on parchment; to make them relevant, each generation must extend or interpret the words to fit the temper of its time. Aimed primarily at high school students, this concise overview explains how the Bill of Rights affects the censorship of rock lyrics, school drug testing, and locker searches (with questions offered for further classroom discussion), and traces forerunners to this great human rights measure, such as the Magna Carta and Penn's "Holy Experiment." Experts show how the Bill of Rights grew out of the colonists' outrage over British violations; the resulting prohibitions against unwarranted searches and seizures and the advancement of the individual's right to bear arms were meant to protect citizens from an oppressive central government. Filled with informative testimony from legal scholars and historians, the video should be a useful refresher. Like Bill Maher's trendy but helpful Bill of Rights, Bill of Responsibilities (VL-11/95), this is strongly recommended for school and public libraries. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)