The Bill of Rights

Introduction

The Constitution established a strong national

government and the rights of the states, but there was
no mention of the rights of its citizens. Some of the
delegates refused to sign the Constitution until a bill of
rights was written to protect the freedom and rights of
the individual. It was promised that a bill of rights
would be attached to the Constitution.

These would be the first changes, or amendments, to

the document. James Madison proposed twelve
amendments. Only ten were approved by the States.
These first ten amendments to the Constitution are
our Bill of Rights.

Amendment 1
Amendment

1: Freedom of Religion, Speech

and the Press: The Right to Assemble and
Petition
The First Amendment might be one of the best

known. It allows people to establish and practice

their religion freely, and to speak their ideas and
opinions. It protects the rights of its citizens to
hold meetings and to petition the government. It
gives the press (newspapers, magazines) the
right to publish the news and ideas.

Amendment 2
Amendment

2: The Right to Bear

Arms
The Second Amendment gives all

citizens the right to own guns. You have

probably heard news stories about this
recently. There has been much
discussion about whether to limit the
kinds of guns that can be sold. Also,
many people want to require a
background check for anyone

Amendment 3
Amendment

3: Housing of Soldiers

When the colonies were ruled by

England, people were forced to house

soldiers in their homes. They would have
to give them a place to sleep and meals.
This amendment made it unlawful for a
government to make a private citizen
house its soldiers.

Amendment 4
Amendment

4: Searches, Seizure
and Warrants
This amendment protects people from

law enforcement entering their home

without their permission or an order
from the court called a search warrant.

Amendment 5
Amendment

5: Rights in Criminal
Trials and the Rights of Property
Persons cannot be made to testify

against themselves in a criminal trial. A

person cannot be tried more than once
for that same crime. Peoples property
cannot be taken away without their
being paid for it.

Amendment 6
Amendment

6: Rights to a Fair Trial

This amendment requires a person

accused of a crime to receive a speedy

public trial by a jury. This did not happen
in England during this time. People were
held in jail for years before their trial and
often the trial was held in secret.

Amendment 7
Amendment

7: Rights in a Civil Trial

A civil case is brought by a person to get

back property, to have a contract

enforced, or to protect a persons rights.
The Seventh Amendment allows a civil
case to be decided by a jury trial when
the amount of money involved is over
$20.

Amendment 8
Amendment

8: Bail, Fines and

Punishment
The Eighth Amendment does not allow

for unfair bail or fines and the use of

cruel or unusual punishments. The
framers wanted to eliminate the use of
torture on suspected criminals or as a
punishment for a crime.

Amendment 9
Amendment

9: Rights Kept by the

People
Some of the delegates thought that if a

right was not listed in their Bill of Rights,

it might be interpreted to mean that the
people did not have that right. The Ninth
Amendment protects the rights people
have though not listed in the
Constitution.

Amendment 10
Amendment

10: Powers Kept by the

States and the People
The rights not given to the national

government are rights kept by the states

or the people.

Daily Impact

Amendment 1 Examples

Freedom to Petition.This important freedom allows people to tell the

government what they think is needed. They can try to prevent the
government from acting in a certain way. They can complain to the
government without fear of penalty when things aren't going the way
they should. For example, if people dump garbage near your school, you
and your parents can petition the government to clean it up. Freedom to
petition helps the government to clean it up. Freedom to petition can also
let the government know how well it is doing its job.

Freedom of the Press.This freedom makes it possible for Americans to

keep informed about what is going on in government. It helps them to be
responsible citizens. Reporters and editors can criticize the government
without the risk of punishment, provided they do not deliberately tell lies.
Newspapers, magazines, and books, as well as television and movie
scripts, do not have to be submitted for government inspection before
they are published. This censorship would violate the First Amendment.

Amendment 2 Examples

The Second Amendment guarantees individual

states the right to maintain "a well regulated
militia," and citizens the right to "keep and bear
arms." Because criminals often used unlicensed
weapons to hurt others, some people have
urged the national government to control the
sale of guns. Other people have argued that
gun control is a violation of the Second
Amendment.

Amendment 3 Examples

The Third Amendment pledges that in

peacetime, citizens will never have to keep
soldiers in their homes without consenting.
Before the Revolution, the British forced
Americans to provide lodging and food for their
troops. The colonists bitterly resented this
intrusion on their privacy as well as the cost of
feeding hungry soldiers.

Amendment 4 Examples
The

Fourth through Eighth Amendments concern

the rights of people suspected of crime. The
Fourth Amendment protects citizens from
improper searches of their bodies, possessions, or
homes. It requires that a detailed warrant be
issued by a judge listing what can be searched.
There has to be a good reason for the search.
For example, suppose the police knew that
someone in your school was selling drugs. The
Constitution does not let them search the home of
every student. In fact, they could not search the
homes of even one or two without a court order.

Amendment 5 Examples

Rights of the Accused.The Fifth Amendment protects

the rights of anyone accused of a crime. It assumes that
everyone is innocent until proven guilty. In some countries,
exactly the opposite is true. Suspects must prove that they
are innocent. When a person is accused of a crime for
which the punishment could be death, the Fifth
Amendment requires that a "grand jury" look at the
charges before that person can be brought trial. A grand
jury is a group of citizens who decide if there is enough
evidence to try a person. It is intended to prevent people
from being falsely accused of a serious crime. Today, grand
juries consider most serious criminal charges. The Fifth
Amendment also states that the person cannot be tried
twice for the same crime.

Amendment 6 Examples
The

Sixth Amendment provides more requirements for a

fair trial in criminal cases. It guarantees a speedy, public
trial by an impartial jury in the area where the crime was
committed. The defendant must be able to question the
accusers and to force favorable witnesses to testify. The
accused has a right to a lawyer.

How

would you feel if you were falsely accused of cheating

on a test? Suppose you had no idea who was accusing you.
How could you question your accuser? How could you
defend yourself? Your reputation could be hurt if you had to
wait a long time before the matter was cleared up.
Wouldn't you want a chance to prove your innocence? This
is why the Sixth Amendment is so important.

Amendment 7 Examples

The Seventh Amendment guarantees that

Americans will receive a jury trial in civil (as
opposed to criminal) cases involving property
worth more than $20. Today, however, people
do not bring such cases to federal courts unless
a much larger sum of money is involved.

For example, if someone stole all of your

money they could actually be punished this
way your piggy bank is safe!

Amendment 8 Examples

The Eighth Amendment protects people from having

to pay unreasonably high "bail" in order to be
released from prison before they go to trial. Bail is
money given to pledge that a person accused of a
crime will appear for trial. The Eighth Amendment
also protects people from unreasonably high fines. For
example you cant be charged a million dollars for
committing
any
crime,
everything
must
be
reasonable.

Amendment 9 Examples

The Ninth Amendment states that the

Constitution and the Bill of Rights do not define
all of the fundamental rights people have. Such
rights exist whether or not they are defined.

No one can take your rights away, without this

amendment who knows what life might be like!

Amendment 10
examples

The Tenth Amendment makes a similar claim

concerning the rights of the states. It holds that
the states and the people have powers that are
set aside and not listed item by item. These
powers are called "reserved powers." They can
be contrasted with "express powers," which are
specifically defined in the Constitution

Example: Tennessee cannot decide what Florida

schools are like or teach.