The Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution What does the term amend mean?
The Bill of Rights First ten amendments to the United States Constitution Introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 Came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been ratified by three fourths of the States Thomas Jefferson was the main proponent of the Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights foundations The Bill was influenced by George Mason's 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, the 1689 English Bill of Rights, works of the Age of Enlightenment pertaining to natural rights, and earlier English political documents such as Magna Carta (1215).
James Madison Thomas Jefferson
Necessary for the new government? Madison proposed the Bill of Rights while ideological conflict between Federalists and anti Federalists threatened the overall ratification of the new national Constitution It largely responded to the Constitution's influential opponents, including prominent Founding Fathers, who argued that the Constitution should not be ratified because it failed to protect the basic principles of human liberty
Federalists Men and women who supported the ratification of the US Constitution Favored a strong and central government Believed that a federal government would provide stability and protection to the fledgling nation Were opposed by the Anti Federalists
Anti Federalists Feared a large strong central government Believed in self determination State and individual rights should be first, not the rights of a large government Ultimately compromised on the Constitution because of the Bill of Rights
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress from making laws: Prohibit the free exercise of religion Laws that infringe the freedom of speech Infringe the freedom of the press Limit the right to peaceably assemble Limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that declares: 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. This is the most hotly contested of the Amendments
The Third Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits: In peacetime, the quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner's consent It makes quartering legally permissible in wartime only And then only in accordance with law
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution which: Guards against unreasonable searches and seizures It was ratified as a response to the abuse of the writ of assistance
The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects: Against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure Its guarantees stem from English common law which trace back to the Magna Carta in 1215
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution sets forth rights: Related to criminal prosecutions in federal courts The Supreme Court has applied the protections of this amendment to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause
The Seventh Amendment of the United States Constitution codifies the right to: A jury trial in certain civil trials
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution which prohibits: The federal government from imposing excessive bail Excessive fines Cruel and unusual punishments The phrases employed are taken from the English Bill of Rights of 1689
The Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution Addresses rights of the people that are not specifically spelled out in the Constitution
The Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution The Tenth Amendment restates the Constitution's principle of Federalism by providing that powers not granted to the National government nor prohibited to the states are reserved to the states and to the people