GED Social Studies
Rights & Amendments
Amendments are the Constitution's edits. The first ten (the Bill of Rights) shield individuals from government; the later famous ones expand who counts and who votes. Questions quote a situation and ask which amendment is in play.
The words first
- First Amendment
- speech, religion, press, assembly, petition
- due process
- government must follow fair procedures before taking life, liberty, or property
- equal protection
- states must treat people equally under the law (14th)
- suffrage amendments
- 15th race, 19th sex, 26th age 18 — each removes a voting barrier
The method
THE SHORT LIST WORTH KNOWING COLD
1st speech · religion · press · assembly · petition
4th no unreasonable searches; warrants needed
5th remain silent · no double jeopardy · due process
6th speedy public trial · a lawyer · a jury
8th no cruel and unusual punishment
13th ends slavery
14th citizenship · due process · EQUAL PROTECTION (states)
15th vote regardless of race
19th vote regardless of sex
26th vote at 18
SORTING A SCENARIO
expressing or worshiping → 1st
police searching → 4th
being questioned or charged → 5th
on trial → 6th
treated unequally by a state → 14th
blocked from voting → 15th / 19th / 26th
Worked all the way through
The problem
Police search a home without a warrant; at trial the accused refuses to testify and demands a jury. Which amendments protect each step?
- Step 1 — The warrantless search.Searches and warrants live in the 4th Amendment.
- Step 2 — Refusing to testify.The right to remain silent — the 5th, protection against self-incrimination.
- Step 3 — Demanding a jury.Trial rights — the 6th.
- Step 4 — Note the sequence.4th at the door, 5th under questioning, 6th in the courtroom — the amendments follow the process in order.
On the board
search at the door
4th
silence when questioned
5th
jury at trial
6th
door → questioning → courtroom
4-5-6, in order
Answer
The 4th (search), 5th (silence), and 6th (jury)
A second one, in a different form
In 1919 an American woman is turned away from the polls; in 1921 she votes. What changed?
barrier removed between those dates
19th Amendment ratified 1920
vote regardless of sex
19th ✓
Answer
The 19th Amendment (1920) secured women's right to vote
The usual mistake
Grouping the 19th with the Reconstruction Amendments. It came 50 years later.
Check yourself
Match the scene to the stage of the story — expressing, searched, questioned, tried, treated unequally, or voting — and the amendment number follows. Learn them as scenes, not as a numbered list.
Practice it
Reading a worked example is not the same as doing one. score145 generates fresh Social Studies questions on this and 19 other topics, scores them on the real 100–200 scale, and keeps every question you miss so it comes back. Try five questions free with no account; a plan opens the full practice tests $6.99 a month, 3 days free.
Try 5 questions free →