It explains the rights of Americans in relation to their government. It guarantees the civil rights and liberties of the individual, such as freedom of expression, press and religion. The first ten amendments to the Constitution constitute the Bill of Rights. James Madison wrote the amendments as a solution to limit government power and protect individual liberties through the Constitution. For example, the Founders viewed the ability to speak and worship freely as a natural right protected by the First Amendment.
Congress is prohibited from enacting laws that establish religion or restrict freedom of expression. The Fourth Amendment protects the right of citizens not to be subject to unreasonable government intrusion into their homes by requiring a court order. It is possible that the Constitution would never have been ratified if the drafters had not promised to add a Declaration of Rights. The first ten amendments to the Constitution gave citizens more confidence in the new government and contain many of the most valued freedoms of Americans today.
Gradually, the Bill of Rights went from being a parchment barrier to becoming a protective wall that increasingly protected the inalienable rights of every individual within the reach of the government. Freedom, on the other hand, means that, even in a democracy, people have rights that no majority should be able to take away from them. It was still expected to protect the community against domestic and foreign threats, to ensure economic growth and to direct foreign relations. Tenth Amendment 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. Stewart describes the omission of a Bill of Rights in the original Constitution as a political error of the first magnitude, while historian Jack N.
said that the people have an indubitable, inalienable and inalienable right to reform or change their government, whenever it is considered adverse or inadequate for the purposes of their institution. Amendments to the Bill of Rights add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal liberties, such as freedom of expression, the right to publish, practice religion, own firearms, assemble, and other natural and legal rights. For 130 years after ratification, the most notable thing about the Bill of Rights was its almost total lack of implementation by the courts. The drafting of the Bill of Rights was a crucial event in the long history of freedom, but it is a story that is still unfolding. This government was instituted and must be exercised for the benefit of the people, which consists of the enjoyment of life and freedom, with the right to acquire and use property and, in general, to seek and obtain happiness and security.
The Fifth Amendment protects against double incrimination and self-incrimination and guarantees the right to due process, to grand jury investigation of criminal charges, and to compensation for the seizure of property private individuals that are in eminent domain. The absence of a bill of rights proved to be an obstacle to the ratification of the Constitution by states. Let me add that people have the right to a declaration of rights before any government in the world, general or private, and that no just government should reject or rely on inference. The Ninth Amendment states that there are additional fundamental rights that exist outside the Constitution.
They formed the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and were dedicated to making the government fulfill the promises of the Bill of Rights. The first United States Congress, which met in Federal Hall in New York City, was a triumph for the Federalists.