The American’s bill of rights
The United States bill of rights spells out the Americans’ rights concerning their government. The bill of rights guarantees civil rights and liberties to the American citizens to individuals such as press, clear proceedings, freedom of speech, and choice of religion (Schwartz, 1992). The bill of rights sets out rules and laws and reserves all powers that are not delegated to the Federal Government to the Americans. The United States of America bill of rights is obtained from the ten amendments to the United States constitution. It adds to the fundamental constitutional guarantee of personal freedoms and rights and spells out the government powers and judicial proceedings. The concepts of the United States bill of rights are enshrined in the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), the English Bill of Rights (1689), and Magna Carta (1215).
The American’s bill of rights has been amended ten times. The first amendment was to deny congress to make laws respecting religion or prohibiting the free exercise or abridging the freedom of speech. The second amendment was to give the people the right to keep and bear arms so that they could protect themselves. Amendment three is not to allow any solder in time of peace to be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner. Amendment four is about the protection from unreasonable searches. People’s right is to be secured, and their seizures shall not be violated. Amendment five entails the protection of rights to life, liberty, and property. It emphasizes that no person shall be held to answer for a capital offense or private property be taken for public use without compensation. The sixth amendment asserts that all criminal prosecutions shall enjoy the rights to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. The seventh amendment is about the rights to civil cases wherein suits of common law, the rights of trial by jury shall exceed twenty dollars. The eighth amendment puts limits on excessive bail, fines, and punishment. Ninth amendment says the people should keep rights enumerated by the constitution. The tenth amendment entails the undelegated powers kept by the states and the people.
Reference
Schwartz, B. (1992). The great rights of mankind: A history of the American Bill of Rights. Rowman & Littlefield.