Unit 1 Resources: Foundations of American Citizenship - Deerlake ...

Name Date ClassCooperative Learning Activity 4Should the Constitution Be Amended?★ BACKGROUNDIn 1791, amendments were added to the U.S. Constitution to protectthe civil liberties of the American people. This Bill of Rights providedfor freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedomof assembly, and freedom to petition the government. From timeto time, additional amendments have been made to the Constitution.These amendments reflect changes in society. Today, the United Statesfaces challenges that could not have been foreseen by its founders. Forexample, electronic files containing sensitive personal information suchas medical, employment, and financial data are currently being storedon servers that are part of the Internet. Some argue that files such asthese should be encrypted, or coded, to restrict their availability to personswho are not authorized to see them. Do such safeguards violateany part of the Bill of Rights? Should the Constitution be amended toaddress the problem of appropriate use of electronic information? Doesthe Constitution already contain solutions to this new threat? You canbetter understand this issue by having an in-class debate.CHAPTER 4Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.★ GROUP DIRECTIONS1. Use Chapter 4, library resources, and the Internet to learn moreabout the Bill of Rights. Consult magazines and newspapers tolocate instances of unauthorized access to personal medical,employment, and financial data stored on the Internet.2. Use what you learn to bolster a position either for amending theConstitution or against amending the Constitution.3. Think about the following issues as you do your research:freedom of speech cybercrime censorshipSocial Security protection online privacy protection identity theftfreedom of information freedom of the press cybersecurity★ ORGANIZING THE GROUP1. Decision Making Form a group with four or more students. Use thetopics listed above and other sources to identify the kinds of personaldata stored on the Internet. Choose one person as amoderator. Divide the rest of the group equally into those who57