THE BILL OF RIGHTS

WHAT ARE THEY??

• First ten amendments added to the Constitution • Added because the anti-federalists refused to

ratify the Constitution without them. • Written by James Madison during the first

Congress.

FIRST AMENDMENT

• Insures the following freedoms: • Religion • Speech • Press • Assembly (to meet in a group) • Petition (to formally ask the government to change)

• Also known as the establishment clause because it states that the government cannot establish one religion

SECOND AMENDMENT

• Keep and bear arms • Ability for states to have militias

THIRD AMENDMENT

• Civilians do not have to quarter soldiers without the consent of the owner. • Comes from the Quartering Act King George imposed on

the colonists before the Revolutionary War She can tell them she doesn’t want them in her house

FOURTH AMENDMENT

• The right of the people to secure their persons, houses, papers, and efforts • No unreasonable searches and seizures • Needs warrants and probable cause to search

someone’s belongings

FIFTH AMENDMENT

• The government cannot force someone to self-incriminate • “I plead the fifth” – If you do not want to answer a

question in court

• No double jeopardy

SIXTH AMENDMENT

• Rights to a fair and speedy trial

SEVENTH AMENDMENT

• Right to trial by jury

EIGHTH AMENDMENT

• No excessive bail nor excess fines • No cruel and unusual punishments

NINTH AMENDMENT

• States that this list, the Bill of Rights, are NOT the only rights guaranteed to the people of the United States

TENTH AMENDMENT

• Anything not written in the Constitution is up to the states to regulate