Creating the Bill of Rights

• Freedom of religion

• Freedom of speech

• Freedom of the press​

• Freedom of assembly

• Freedom of petition​

1st Amendment

Guarantees the right to bear (carry) arms (weapons)

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2nd Amendment

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Stops the government from forcing citizens to keep soldiers in their homes

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3rd Amendment

Limits searches and seizures (police officers cannot enter your home without a signed warrant)

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4th Amendment

• Cannot be tried for the same crime twice

• No self-incrimination

• Government must pay a fair price for your property​

5th Amendment

• Speedy trial after your arrest

• A fair jury of citizens

• Opportunity to defend yourself

• Lawyer represents you paid by the government​

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6th Amendment

Extends your right to a trial by jury in civil cases

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7th Amendment

• The government cannot demand a person to pay bail or fines that are too high and unreasonable

• No cruel or unusual punishments​

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8th Amendment

Entitles you to rights not listed in the Constitution

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9th Amendment

Powers not given to the U.S. government are reserved to the states or to the people

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10th Amendment

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For all his hopes, John Hancock never got to be president. By a narrow vote, Virginia did ratify the Constitution. In the first presidential election, held in 1789, George Washington became the nation's first president. John Adams of Massachusetts became the vice president.

When the first Congress met that year, no one seemed in much of a hurry to amend the Constitution. Representative James Madison, however, did not forget the promises made during the ratification debate. Originally, he had opposed adding a bill of rights to the Constitution because such a listing seemed unnecessary to him. However, Thomas Jefferson helped change his mind. In a letter to Madison, Jefferson argued that “a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on Earth . . . and what no just government should refuse.”

 While Congress debated other issues, Madison sifted through nearly 100 proposed amendments. He chose those that seemed least controversial, or least likely to cause conflict, and presented them to Congress on June 8, 1789.

Critics jumped on Madison's proposals as meaningless “milk-and-water” cures for imaginary problems. The debate that followed was, in Madison's words, “extremely difficult.” As months dragged on with no agreement, he wrote that the task had become a “nauseous project.” Still, he persevered until Congress approved 12 amendments.

 Under the Constitution, three-quarters of the states must ratify an amendment before it can become law. The states rejected the first two amendments, which dealt with the size of congressional districts and congressional pay raises. Both amendments were considered unnecessary. By 1791, the required number of states (nine) had approved the other ten amendments. Together, these ten amendments form the Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights: a formal listing of the basic rights of people in the United States

When Madison first proposed the Bill of Rights, some people saw his amendments as useless “paper barriers” against abuses of government power. For more than 200 years, however, his “paper barriers” have proven far stronger than even Madison might have hoped.

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For all his hopes, John Hancock never got to be president. By a narrow vote, Virginia did ratify the Constitution. In the first presidential election, held in 1789, George Washington became the nation's first president. John Adams of Massachusetts became the vice president.

When the first Congress met that year, no one seemed in much of a hurry to amend the Constitution. Representative James Madison, however, did not forget the promises made during the ratification debate. Originally, he had opposed adding a bill of rights to the Constitution because such a listing seemed unnecessary to him. However, Thomas Jefferson helped change his mind. In a letter to Madison, Jefferson argued that “a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on Earth . . . and what no just government should refuse.”

 While Congress debated other issues, Madison sifted through nearly 100 proposed amendments. He chose those that seemed least controversial, or least likely to cause conflict, and presented them to Congress on June 8, 1789.

Critics jumped on Madison's proposals as meaningless “milk-and-water” cures for imaginary problems. The debate that followed was, in Madison's words, “extremely difficult.” As months dragged on with no agreement, he wrote that the task had become a “nauseous project.” Still, he persevered until Congress approved 12 amendments.

 Under the Constitution, three-quarters of the states must ratify an amendment before it can become law. The states rejected the first two amendments, which dealt with the size of congressional districts and congressional pay raises. Both amendments were considered unnecessary. By 1791, the required number of states (nine) had approved the other ten amendments. Together, these ten amendments form the Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights: a formal listing of the basic rights of people in the United States

When Madison first proposed the Bill of Rights, some people saw his amendments as useless “paper barriers” against abuses of government power. For more than 200 years, however, his “paper barriers” have proven far stronger than even Madison might have hoped.