Bill Of Rights

Bill Of Rights. . , On September 25, 1789, the Congress proposed twelve articles of amendments to the Constitution of the United States. Except for the first two, they were ratified by the required number of states by December 15, 1791, and thus were renumbered and became the first ten amendments. They have since been known as the Bill of Rights. The enrolled original of the Congressional resolution is in the National Archives at Washington., Summary , The most important rights protected by the U.S. Bill of Rights are contained in the 1st amendment. It provides that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, or abridging freedom of speech or the right to assemble and petition for redress of grievances. These rights are the core rights protected by the system of ordered liberty established by the Bill of Rights. Under the 1st Amendment, the domain of "liberty," withdrawn from federal encroachment, was enlarged to include liberty of mind and beliefs., The 2d and 3d Amendments reflect the colonists' hostility toward standing armies; they guarantee the people's right to bear arms and limit the quartering of soldiers in private homes, The 4th Amendment is aimed at the abuse the colonists had suffered from writs of assistance and general warrants; it secures the people against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires warrants to be specific and issued only upon probable cause., The 5th Amendment requires grand jury indictments in major criminal prosecutions and prohibits trying a person trying a person twice on the same charge or requiring that person to testify against himself or herself; it forbids taking of private property for public use without just compensation and forbids deprivation of life, liberty, and property without due process of law. The due process concept was a major step forward, since then, due process has served as the principal constitutional tool for the protection of rights not defined in the Bill of Rights., The 6th Amendment protects criminal defendants; it guarantees the accused a speedy public trial by jury and the rights to be informed of the accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses against the accused, to use compulsory process to secure witnesses, and to have the assistance of counsel., The 7th Amendments guarantees jury trials in civil cases;, The 8th prohibits excessive bail or fines or cruel and unusual punishments;, The 9th provides that the enumeration of rights in the Constitution does not deny others retained by the people;, And the 10th states the doctrine of reserved powers-that all powers not delegated to the United States are reserved to the states or the people. From the perspective of two centuries, it can be said that Madison chose well among the pyramid of proposals in the state-recommended amendments. He included all the great rights appropriate for constitutional protection (except equal protection, not even thought of as a basic right at the time).