Simone Lawson
The Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, is the most significant part of the Constitution that deals with fundamental liberties. Influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights and English documents such as the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights was added in 1791 to limit government power and protect individual liberties. The first eight amendments deal with liberties such as freedom of religion, speech, and the press, the right to peaceably assemble, the right to keep and bear arms, and protection from unreasonable search and seizure. The Ninth Amendment states that citizens also have rights that are not explicitly listed in the Constitution, while the Tenth Amendment limits the powers of the federal government to those explicitly delegated in the Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment, added in 1868, grants citizenship to those who had been enslaved and places limitations on state governments' powers.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Freedom of religion | The right to practice any religion |
| Freedom of speech | The right to speak without government interference |
| Freedom of the press | The right to publish without government interference |
| Freedom of assembly | The right to assemble peacefully |
| Right to keep and bear arms | The right to own and carry weapons |
| No housing of soldiers in private homes | The right to refuse quartering soldiers in private homes |
| Protection from unreasonable search and seizure | The right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion in homes and to be secure in one's personal property |
| Protection from self-incrimination | The right to not bear witness against oneself in a criminal case |
| Protection from double jeopardy | The right to not be tried twice for the same crime |
| Protection from excessive bail or fines | The right to not have overly high bail or fines imposed |
| Right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury | The right to a timely trial by a jury that is not biased |
| Right to private property | The right to own and use property without government interference |
| No cruel or unusual punishment | The right to be free from excessive or inhumane punishment |
| No slavery or involuntary servitude | The right to not be subjected to slavery or forced labor |
| Right to vote | The right to participate in elections and have one's vote counted |
| Due process of law | The right to fair legal procedures and equal protection under the law |
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What You'll Learn
Freedom of religion
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the freedom of religion through the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. These two clauses work together to uphold religious freedom. The Establishment Clause states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion", while the Free Exercise Clause protects the freedom to practice and believe in any religion, or no religion at all, without government interference. This means that the government cannot promote or burden any particular religion, and individuals are free to hold whichever religious beliefs they choose.
The right to freedom of religion was added to the Constitution in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, which outlines several fundamental liberties. The Bill of Rights was created to place limitations on the government's power over individuals and to guarantee certain civil liberties. While the Constitution prohibited the establishment of an official religion at the national level, some states continued to have official state-supported religions. For example, Congregationalism was the official religion of Massachusetts until 1833.
The Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom, establishing permissible restrictions and developing legal standards to determine the constitutionality of these restrictions. The Court has ruled that a government restriction on religious freedom must be consistent with the First Amendment to be upheld. This involves weighing the government's interest in the restriction against the individual's right to religious freedom.
The concept of religious freedom in America is based on the idea that individuals should be free to exercise their religion without interference or control from the government. This includes the freedom to hold religious beliefs that may be considered beyond traditional theism or motivated by non-religious ideologies. The Supreme Court has clarified that constitutional protections extend only to sincerely held religious beliefs and practices.
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Freedom of speech
The US Constitution's First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceful assembly and petition. The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech".
The US Supreme Court has often struggled to determine what constitutes protected speech. The following are examples of speech that the Court has decided are either entitled to First Amendment protections or not. In West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), the Court ruled that students have the right not to salute the flag. In Tinker v. Des Moines (1969), the Court held that students do not "shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate" after students wore black armbands to school to protest a war. In Cohen v. California (1971), the Court ruled that certain offensive words and phrases used to convey political messages were protected under the First Amendment.
In Texas v. Johnson (1989) and United States v. Eichman (1990), the Court ruled that flag burning as a form of protest is protected symbolic speech. In Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the Court held that speech inciting imminent lawless action is not protected. In Roth v. United States (1957), the Court ruled that creating and distributing obscene materials is protected under the First Amendment. In Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988), the Court held that students could print articles in a school newspaper over the school administration's objections.
While the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, it is not absolute. The Ninth Amendment states that the listing of specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights not explicitly mentioned. The Tenth Amendment further clarifies that the Federal Government only has the powers delegated to it by the Constitution.
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Freedom of the press
The US Constitution's First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press, alongside freedom of religion and speech, and the right to peaceful assembly and petition. The First Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, authored by James Madison, to safeguard individual liberties and restrict governmental power.
The text of the First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press". This amendment was established as a check on government power and is deeply rooted in the US's commitment to democracy. The founders of the United States believed that a free press was a prerequisite for a free society, with Madison himself referring to it as "one of the great bulwarks of liberty".
The freedom of the press functions as a limitation on government regulation, protecting the public's right to receive information, particularly about government affairs and other matters of public concern. This right has been upheld in several landmark Supreme Court cases, including New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, where the Court determined that the First Amendment protects the right to publish false or libelous statements about public officials.
While the freedom of the press is a fundamental liberty guaranteed by the US Constitution, it is not absolute and has been the subject of debate and disagreement. For example, during the 1790s, a decade marked by tensions with France, the Sedition Act was passed by Congress to punish journalists who criticised or libelled the government. This act resulted in the imprisonment of over twenty-five people for criminal libel, sparking criticism of the government's use of power to suppress political opposition.
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Freedom of assembly
The Constitution of the United States is interpreted to mean both the freedom to assemble and the freedom to join an association. The First Amendment guarantees the right of peaceful assembly, stating that "Congress shall make no law...abridging...the right of the people peaceably to assemble". This is further supported by the Ninth Amendment, which states that listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights that have not been explicitly stated.
The right to freedom of assembly is recognised as a human right, a political right, and a civil liberty. It is often used in the context of the right to protest, allowing people to come together and collectively express, promote, and defend their shared ideas. This was demonstrated in the 1960s, when young citizens exercised their freedom of assembly to protest segregation. Although the demonstrators were peaceful, they were convicted of breaching the peace, but these convictions were later reversed by the Supreme Court, which found that the government could not criminalise "the peaceful expression of unpopular views".
The Supreme Court has also held that reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on assembly are permissible, as long as they are content-neutral and narrowly tailored to serve a legitimate government interest. For example, in Virginia v. Hicks, the Court allowed curbs on assembly, saying that the city of Richmond could make the streets and sidewalks of a housing project off-limits to unauthorised people to curb drugs and other crime in the area.
The right to freedom of assembly is included in several human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights. It is also guaranteed by the constitutions of several countries, including Russia, Taiwan, and Turkey.
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Right to keep and bear arms
The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right protected by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Second Amendment states:
> 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.
The concept of a right to keep and bear arms was recognised before the creation of a written national constitution, stemming from English common law tradition. The American understanding of this right was influenced by the English Bill of Rights of 1689, which dealt with the personal defence of Protestant English subjects. The English Bill of Rights rescinded acts of the deposed King James II, a Catholic, who had forced the disarming of Protestants while arming Catholics.
The right to keep and bear arms has been a source of constitutional controversy and intense political debate due to the ambiguous wording of the Second Amendment. The right to bear arms has been interpreted differently by various courts, with some arguing that it relates only to military uses, while others, such as the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Cruikshank (1876), have recognised that it protects the right from being infringed by Congress. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Court ruled that the amendment protects an individual's right "to keep and carry arms in case of confrontation," indicating that restrictions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill may be permissible.
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Frequently asked questions
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the US Constitution. It was added in 1791 to limit government power and protect individual liberties.
The Bill of Rights covers a range of fundamental liberties, including freedom of religion, speech, and the press; the right to keep and bear arms; freedom from unreasonable search and seizure; protection from self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and excessive bail; and the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury.
The US Constitution also guarantees the right to private property and prohibits the establishment of an official religion. After the American Civil War, three new amendments were added: the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to those who had been enslaved, and the Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed formerly enslaved men the right to vote.
The rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights are not absolute and there has been debate over the extent to which they limit government authority. The Bill of Rights originally only protected citizens from the national government, and individual citizens had to rely on state constitutions for protection of their rights against state governments. Additionally, the ambiguous wording of some provisions, such as the Second Amendment's right to bear arms, has been a source of constitutional controversy and political debate.
