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Bill of Rights
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The Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on December 15, 1791, and which enshrine our inalienable rights into law.
What is the Bill of Rights?
On December 15, 1791, after years of , the United States of America adopted the Bill of Rights — the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Authored primarily by James Madison and based on George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Bill of Rights has stood for centuries as the foundation of American liberty and a lodestar for our democratic republic, explicitly guaranteeing our rights as citizens of this country to freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the right to petition the government, among other civil liberties. Additionally, limitations were set on federal powers, such as declaring that all powers not specifically granted to the government would remain in the hands of the respective states and their peoples.
As the primary author of the Bill of Rights, James Madison relied on a deep knowledge of Enlightenment political philosophy. The rights to petition the government and trial by jury, for example, both derived from the English Magna Carta of 1215. The English Bill of Rights, dating to 1689, provided an early precedent for what would become the Second Amendment in America. Madison’s biggest influence in drafting the Bill of Rights, however, came from existing state constitutions, including the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which provided a foundation for his work.
After taxation without representation, warrantless searches, and laws requiring colonists to house and quarter British troops, the idea of liberty had become the foundational distinction of our new nation. As the specified, “Upon one side of each of the said coins there shall be an impression emblematic of liberty, with an inscription of the word Liberty.”
It was under these circumstances that the founders’ vision of a liberal, democratic government whose tasks included protecting civil liberties had evolved. The government still had the responsibility of providing for the common defense and conducting foreign affairs, but among its chief purposes was protecting these “unalienable” rights, in the Declaration of Independence’s memorable verbiage. It is for this reason that the language of the Bill of Rights does not explicitly grant Americans rights, such as freedom of speech or due process of law. Instead, it protects the rights considered to have already been bestowed upon all of us, simply by virtue of being born.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Learn more at ֭'s history of free speech timeline.