...The Bill of Rights Rebecca D. Joy Pima Community College Business 220 Professor Browning March 11, 2014 The Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights creation began over two hundred years ago in 1789 and were ratified and put into effect December 15, 1791. “The Bill of Rights may be old but they are still America’s most debated and discussed section of the United States Constitution”, (Stutzman). The Bill of Rights were created to put limits on government’s power over the people and extend the powers to the citizens of the United States of America. James Madison wrote the bill of rights (Who wrote the bill of rights, 1), but he was not a true supporter of the bill of rights and did not think that the constitution needed to be changed. Thomas Jefferson convinced Madison of the need to protect the people from the government no matter the size of the current government and together they wrote The Bill of Rights. George Mason's example of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and other states Declaration of rights, also helped Jefferson and Madison in forming The Bill of Rights. First amendment: The freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition. This amendment protects American’s rights to speak or write personal opinions, religiously worship any religion and in any manner a person wants to, assemble groups large or small in a peaceful manner, and petition the government if necessary. Second amendment: The right to bear arms. The amendment began as a way...
Words: 892 - Pages: 4
...The Bill of Rights is a document stating the protections of individual rights and gives the government limited power. The Bill of Rights became the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights purpose was to tell the liberties of the people that the government could not infringe upon. Each amendment are very important to the way we live society today. The Bill of Rights helped settle many issues, but also took many hours and debates to what it consisted of. All of the 27 amendments define citizens rights or the second Bill of Rights (11-27) mostly deal with government issues. The beginning of our rights started with “All men are created equal” since then many documents like the Constitution have been made. From that point up to the creation of our Bill of Rights, the struggle for freedoms would possess the nation to inherit many different reforms and ideas to create the ideal society that the nation desired during the tyranny of England. The Second Continental Congress was formed during the times of revolution as a form of government represented by all thirteen American colonies. The Congress noted delegates from each state to represent that state, a total of fifty-five in all from all states except for Rhode Island, although a total of seventy-four delegates were chosen to represent. They created the Constitution and the debates began the last struggle between the Antifederalist that were opposed the Constitution and the Federalist that voted for the Constitution...
Words: 358 - Pages: 2
...The United States Bill of Right is known to be the first ten amendment of the United States Constitution. It serves to provide protection to the rights of liberty and property basically it provides freedom to individuals personally. The amendment was produced by James Madison to the first United States Congress as a legislative article. This Bill of Right plays an important role in American Law and is a vital symbol of the freedom and culture of our nation. The Fourth amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Right which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures alongside with obtaining any warrant supported by probable cause. The Fifth Amendment protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. The 5th Amendment to the US Constitution was passed by ratified on December 15, 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights. In the Fifth Amendment no person shall be held to capital to answer unless on a presentment of a Grand Jury. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is what sets forth rights in the prosecution of criminals. In a criminal prosecution the accuser have the right to a speedy and public trial. The accused has the right to know what they are been charged for and why they are been held in jail. They also have the right to know who is saying that they've committed the crime, and the right to ask them questions. The Eight Amendment to the United States Constitution protects against excessive bail and cruel...
Words: 738 - Pages: 3
...Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Date The Bill of Rights According to Lewis (35), the US Bill of Rights constitutes the first ten amendments of the US constitution that prohibit the powers of the federal government. Written by James Madison, the Bill of Rights seeks to offer constitutional protection for the personal freedom and liberty of the US citizens. In addition to these personal freedoms, the Bill of Rights limits governmental powers in controlling judicial proceedings, with a reserve of specific powers to the public and individual states. Therefore, the Bill of Rights presents the US citizens with freedoms that were demystified in the principal Constitution, and transfers to the states or the citizens, any power that the main constitution does not grant to the federal government (Lewis 38). In the Bill of Rights, provisions bestowed upon states or individuals limit the power of the federal government (Levi 215). To start with, most of the amendments address the provisions about the people, and this paper looks at just a few of them. The first amendment of the Bill of Rights warrants freedoms of individuals in terms of religion, assembly, the right to expression, and petition. It limits the Congress from taking sides on religion, or controlling an individual’s religious beliefs. The amendment requires the Congress to allow people to speak freely, to promote a free press, and to permit peaceful assemblies of the citizens. The second amendment allows people...
Words: 1076 - Pages: 5
...States Bill of Rights ______________________________________________________________________________ Fundamentals of Criminal Law CJSA 1327 Week 1 Essay #3 Not too long ago our nation was young, new, and in need of structure and in need of a government. To solve this issue, the United States Constitution was drafted and implemented across the territories. After the constitution was created, there was immediate pressure from anti-federalists who opposed constitutional ratification. This then gave birth to the Bill of Rights, which was to set limits on the government’s actions in regard to personal liberties. The Bill of rights is a collective name for the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. It was introduced by James Madison before the 1st United States Congress and then proposed to congress in September 25, 1789. The amendments were ratified on December 15, 1791 by congress. There originally were twelve amendments proposed, but only ten amendments made the final cut. Over time, amendments had been added totaling twenty-seven. The 10 amendments guaranteed a list of personal freedoms, reserving some powers to the states and public. They also put a limit to the government’s power in judicial and any other proceedings. The 10 original amendments are (1st) Freedom of speech, religion, and right to petition, (2nd) Right to bear arms, (3rd) Protection against quartering troops, (4th) Protection against unreasonable search and seizure, (5th) Rights in criminal...
Words: 485 - Pages: 2
...Abstract An examination of the Bill of Rights and how it extends the protection of the civil liberties to the population, with emphasis on the First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments, and a description of a public policy implemented to protect the constitutional rights of suspects, when interrogated by the police. The Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties The Bill of Rights is the first initial inclusion of laws to the Constitution, collected as the first ten amendments out of a total of 27 other amendments. This paper discusses three amendments in the Bill of Rights which includes the First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendments, with explanation of each amendment, and how it extends the protection of civil liberties to the population. The First Amendment This Amendment enacts the protection of free speech, religion, press, assembly, and freedom to petition the government (Dautrich & Yolof, 2011). The purpose of this Amendment is to prevent any directive establishing an adherence to a specific religion or any law prohibiting free practice of speech, assembly, and freedom of the press (Volkomer, 2011) The Amendment exclusively affects all individuals living in the U.S. including citizens within the U.S. government. It protects the right for an individual to express themselves freely, without fear of retaliation. The First Amendment is so important, because it protects the rights of the citizens to engage in open discussions and debate on public issues, which are important in any...
Words: 1506 - Pages: 7
...Bill Of Rights In 1791, the Bill of Rights, consisting of 10 amendments, was ratified into the constitution. The document’s purpose was to spell out the liberties of the people that the government could not infringe upon. Considered necessary by many at the time of its development, the Bill of Rights became the cause for a huge debate between two different factions: The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists were those who thought that there should be a new Union created with a strong centralized government and individual regional governments. They felt that it was not necessary for there to be a bill of rights because it was implied that those rights the Constitution did not specifically state would be handed down to the states. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists were opposed to such a form of government on the grounds that the Constitution, in which it was outlined, lacked clarity in the protections of the individuals. The Anti-Federalists—whose memory of British oppression was still fresh in their minds—wanted certain rights and guarantees that were to be apart of the constitution (Glasser 1991). A clear demonstration of the Anti-Federalist attitude was performed by Samuel Bryan, who published a series of essays named the ‘Cenitnal Essays,’ which “assailed the sweeping power of the central government, the usurpation of state sovereignty, and the absence of a bill of rights guaranteeing individual liberties such as freedom of speech and freedom of...
Words: 1660 - Pages: 7
...Bill of Rights Ronald Lee Similarity Index 0% Similarity by Source Internet Sources: 0% Publications: 0% In this paper of the Bill of Rights and several amendments will be discuss, which is the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth. Also will discuss how the Bill of Rights evaluates different areas in security and the administration of justice. Such as challenges of law enforcement, roles of the courts, roles of the security, and recommendation. The main purpose of the Bill of Rights is to protect the freedoms and the rights of the American citizens. Also, so that every individual can worship wherever he or she feel comfortable without restrictions. If an individual born inside the country or outside the country his or her citizenship as an America and recognized as an America. American citizens protected from seizures and searches by law enforcement agencies unless there is a warrant presented. The warrant must be present before the seizure and search take place. The warrant will specify what and who will be search so that an individual privacy not invaded. The United States Constitution of the first amendment states Congress cannot make laws condensing the right for people the peacefully assemble, speech, the press, and religion (Bill of Rights). Chris Neefus wrote article that challenge the First Amendment. The title of that article was “Justice Breyer suggests that burning a Quran could be like shouting fire in a crowded theatre...
Words: 1932 - Pages: 8
...The Founding Fathers demanded a “bill of rights” that would protect the people from the government. Therefore the bill of rights was added to the Constitution to make sure we had certain liberties that other countries do not give their citizens. This bill of right would make sure that the new government would not treat citizens like the old Government. So the bill of rights was the name given to the first ten amendments of the United States Constitution. These amendments guarantee a number of personal freedom, limit the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the state and the public. At the beginning these amendments applied only to the federal government, later on they were incorporated to the government of each state. James Madison believed that all the citizens needed to be protected from the state and national government. Madison gathered ideas and came up with 42 rights that needed to be protected for each individual. His 42 rights were cut down to 27 by the House of Representatives. Then they were cut to 12 by the time Senate approved them. Finally only 10 were approved by the states. These became the first 10 amendments to the Constitution on December 15, 1791 and became known as The Bill of Rights. To me the most important amendment is the First Amendment. I think this amendment should never change. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting...
Words: 1676 - Pages: 7
...Bill of Rights A brief history on how the Bill of Rights came forth. Back in the late 1700’s, several states were called for a constitution to protect individual’s rights from the government. Through these calls, James Madison came forth and put together the Amendments, which was later signed in 1791(1). What started off as 17 Amendments was trimmed down to 10 main one’s which is where we stand now with the Bill of Rights. There are several key Amendments that tie into criminal law. Those amendments are 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th. The 1st amendment allows individuals the freedom of speech. This does not allow the government to arrest anyone who lets say wants sit on a racial protest, or disallow anyone from following different religions. We as individuals have the right to follow whatever religions we choose. Now there are some twists that come into play with this Amendment. It does allow the “Freedom of Speech” but there are five rules you cannot break before being arrested and charged. Those five rules are, obscenity, profanity, liberal slander and or fighting words (1). If you express any of these conducts, you are subject to being arrested. There was a case in New Hampshire, where a gentleman called a marshal, “God-damned racketeer.” He was later convicted, because he used profanity in his speech (1). This is a prime example of how there are limits to the First Amendment. Moving our focus to the Second Amendment, it states “the right of people to keep and bear Arms...
Words: 1113 - Pages: 5
...Bill of Rights & Amendments Paper Intro The United States is a country that was founded on the principle of freedom; it took the Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution to guarantee citizens freedom. The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments in the constitution; a document that outlines how the new American government would be created and operated. The Constitution was ratified in 1788 which was the start of protecting the interests of each citizen, two years later the Bill of Rights was proposed by congress and went into effect in 1791. It was designed to prevent the government from taking total power over citizens and to provide them with legal defenses. This essay will discuss the understanding of how amendments become apart of the constitution and how it adopted the Bill of Rights. As well as the changes in society that led to amendments XIII-XV that became part of the constitution. The effects of the Bill of Rights to this country have been beneficial; they lay down the blueprint for freedom by allowing citizens a voice. The failure of the Articles of Confederation was what led to the Constitution; The Articles had a weak national government with no president, or judicial branch. Hence, this led to the Constitution, which showed the three branches of government legislative, executive and judicial; it describes the power of each branch. It was set up by our forefathers in order to change it if necessary. It tells the relationship of the federal...
Words: 1019 - Pages: 5
...The Bill of Rights Kimm Baker AJS-552 April 30, 2012 Steven J. Duplissis J.D. Abstract The first, fourth, fifth, sixth, and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution are vital to the citizens of the United States safety and freedoms. These amendments affect the administration of justice and security in different ways we will discuss this relationship and how each are affected. Every division of law enforcement faces challenges, maintains certain objectives to serve, and protect the public. This paper will discuss the roles of the federal, state, and local court systems to public safety and civil rights. Before closing, we will discuss the objectives of juvenile justice, the role of private security organizations with respect to both corporate, and public protection, along with recommendations for solutions to the challenges faced by the criminal justice system, and private security organizations. The Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights are important to every member of society to ensure their rights are protected and justice is serve for all parties involved in civil and criminal cases heard within the courts system of the United States. Victims and offenders have certain rights during the course of a trial and all members of the court and law enforcement must follow special guidelines mandated by the Constitution when pursuing any case under the law. Each Amendment of the Constitution is equally important however, this paper will only explain the first...
Words: 2045 - Pages: 9
...Bill of Rights After reading the Bill of Rights and researching them, I must add that I have a better understanding of each of them and I believe that they are all important in their own ways. The Amendment that is most important to me would have to be the first Amendment. I believe that it is the foundation of all our rights as Americans. The first Amendment established the four great liberties; freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly. All of these rights together form the essential core of all our rights as citizens. By me working hard to become a teacher, I also believe this amendment is related to my field and is important to me. Even though all of the Amendments are of great importance, the Amendment that is least important to me would be the seventh Amendment. It codifies the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases, and asserts that cases may not be re-examined by another court. If I were suddenly arrested and tried for a crime, the Amendment that might be most important to me would be the sixth Amendment. It is designed to protect individuals accused of crimes. It includes the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial. After reading about the sixth Amendment, I definitely understand the need for it. Each Amendment has its own importance but in my opinion the first Amendment is important to each of us on a daily...
Words: 262 - Pages: 2
...Hello Mr. Obama - Level : State The reason why rights are not absolute because The Right to Free Speech does not allow you to yell "Fire" in a movie theater. When they start conflicting with the rights of others, they aren't absolute. As another example, the right to religion does not allow you to marry 13 year old girls even if it is your religion. There are limits on all of the rights enshrined in the Bill Of Rights, but when they are limited, they are subject to strict scrutiny by the courts.Additionally, the rights are only protected from government infringement. Your employer can limit your right to free speech. Your apartment complex can violate your 4th amendment rights. The following situation I choose was Citizens were denied the right to bring legally owned firearms to storm shelters. The constitutional amendment that relates to the first situation is second amendment. The arguments that would be made is that it would prevent in crime in a innocent areas or neighborhood. My position in this situation is that I wouldn't let them walk with their firearms anywhere and the officials would agree with me because walk with firearms cause allot of problems. The other situation I choose was The government forced people to evacuate from their homes. The constitutional amendment relates to the second situation is fourth amendment. The argument about this situation it not right to evacuate innocent peoples from their homes if they not bothering nobody or causing problems...
Words: 349 - Pages: 2
...Hello Rick Scott, A person’s individual rights are not absolute. If everyone could do what they wanted, society would be in utter chaos. The rights of others would interfere with other rules, violating them and lead to dysfunction. I am sure you can agree that the government must balance individual rights with the public good or general welfare of the people. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights protect individuals, but also give the government the power to pass laws to restrict behavior. Legislation, the Bill of Rights, court decisions, and the amendment process work together to both safeguard individual rights and limit them as deemed appropriate to protect the rights to safety and security for all. When people bring a case to the courts, judges can decide whether or not the Constitution allows a law that restricts the rights of individuals. A couple days ago, Hurricane Danny affected my community in the city of Hallandale Beach. The press has accessed the disaster area and published a story in a national newspaper about the event. They utilized the First Amendment which guarantees freedom of: speech, press, and assembly. I am pleased because they should be able to let the public know what is really happening to people through photographs. The press coverage of Hurricane Danny deserve some praise because the media is letting the world know the truth of the victims’ plight that some government officials seemed to ignore or underestimate. In response to the media, the...
Words: 486 - Pages: 2
