The Constitution and Bill of Rights
“It’s unconstitutional!”
“I’ll take the Fifth!”
These familiar words refer to the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, legal documents created to found the United States of America.
The Constitution, written in 1787, called for three branches of government: the Executive (the Presidency), the Legislative (Congress), and the Judicial (the Supreme Court).
Our young country needed laws to defend itself, put down rebellion, establish justice, guarantee liberty, and keep the 13 original states united.
Many people feared the Constitution might take away their personal freedom, so the Founding Fathers added ten amendments called the Bill of Rights.
These laws limit the power of the central government. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, and of assembly. The Second Amendment protects our right to bear arms.
The Third protects against having to house soldiers in our homes, one of many causes of the American Revolution against the British. The Fourth Amendment bars unreasonable search and seizure.
The famous Fifth protects us against having to testify against ourselves in criminal cases, and against being tried for the same offense twice. The Fifth Amendment also protects life, liberty, and property rights.
The Sixth and Seventh Amendments guarantee the right to a speedy and public trial by jury in criminal and civil cases. The Eighth prohibits excessive bails and fines, as well as cruel and unusual punishments.
The Ninth and Tenth Amendments reserve all other rights and powers for the States–and the People.
Since the original ten amendments, 17 more have been passed. The latest, the Twenty-seventh, was first proposed in 1789 as the 11th Amendment in the Bill of Rights. It did not become law until 1992. It says if Members of Congress vote to raise their own pay, that pay raise must wait until the next Congress is elected.