United States Constitution: Bill of Rights

The first 10 Amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. They were approved by Congress on September 25, 1789 and ratified on December 15, 1791. As a group, they are known as the Bill of Rights. They spell out Americans’ rights in relationship to the Federal government. And not the states as the Supreme Court ruled in Barron v Baltimore (1833). With the 14th Amendment, that changed and the Bill of Rights covered the States as well as the Federal Government. (Monk, pp.29-30)

The Bill of Rights include:

1. Basic Freedoms, including Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly and Petition (1st Amendment).
2. The Right to bear arms (2nd Amendment).
3. The Right to have the home free from military use (3rd Amendment)
4. The Rights that protect those accused of a crime (4th, 5th, 6th and 8th Amendments).
5. Rights dealing with Civil Law (7th Amendment).
6. Powers left to the people and to the States (9th and 10th Amendments).

Harper, T. (2016). The complete idiot's guide to the U.S. Constitution. Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Random House LL
Monk, L. R. & Ginsburg, R. B. (2018). The Bill of Rights: a user's guide. Hachette Books. 
Monk, L. R. (2015). The words we live by: your annotated guide to the Constitution. Hachette Books.