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Exploring Our Nation: Federal Supremacy & Selective Incorporation

12 minutes 22 seconds

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The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution states that the Constitution and the laws passed by congress are the supreme law of the land. Another clause found in the Constitution is the Full Faith and Credit Clause which ensures judicial proceedings in one state are respected by other states. The Privileges and Immunities Clause and the Commerce Clause explain how Supreme Court rulings in various cases throughout the years have shaped relationships between the federal and state governments. Additionally, in the beginning, the Bill of Rights only applied to actions by the federal government, and the state governments were not obligated to uphold those rights. However, the Supreme Court interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment stating that it only concerned privileges and immunities that came with being a citizen of the United States, not the citizen of a state. Over the years, the court changed its way of thinking and adopted a policy known as the Incorporation Doctrine. The Court decides over time and on a case by case, which provisions of the Bill of Rights will extend to the states. Part of the Exploring Our Nation Series.

Media Details

Runtime: 12 minutes 22 seconds

Image collage, including a painting of the Roman Senate and a closeup photo of the mask of KIng Tutankhamun. Caption. Would help to improve human life and reduce society's problems
Exploring Our Nation
Episode 1
12 minutes 27 seconds
Grade Level: 7 - 12
2 men dressed in shirts that read F, B, I Evidence Response Team look through the open trunk of a white sedan. Text overlay reads, "Search and seizure must be reasonable." Caption. And that there can be no action without probable cause.
Exploring Our Nation
Episode 2
16 minutes 39 seconds
Grade Level: 7 - 12
Closeup of a white protest sign that reads, "Stop Racism Now" in red bold block letters. Caption. Does not mean that the government.
Exploring Our Nation
Episode 3
16 minutes 31 seconds
Grade Level: 7 - 12
Nineteenth century black and white photo of a group of Black adults and children standing against a house. Caption. It was ratified in 1868.
Exploring Our Nation
Episode 4
12 minutes 22 seconds
Grade Level: 7 - 12
Low shot of several men in American revolutionary-era clothing walking in a group with rifles at their side. Caption. This led to protests.
Exploring Our Nation
Episode 5
10 minutes 30 seconds
Grade Level: 7 - 12
Black and white frame shows a group of men dressed in colonial-era clothing, carrying rifles at their side. Caption. In April of 1775, a small band of colonists called militiamen.
Exploring Our Nation
Episode 6
17 minutes 24 seconds
Grade Level: 3 - 6