Bill of Rights 1791

The first ten amendments guaranteeing fundamental rights against the federal government

Overview

Promised during ratification to quiet anti federalist fears, the first ten amendments protect speech, press, religion, arms, security of person and papers, jury trial, and due process, reserving undelegated powers to states and people. Originally a restraint on the federal government only, the Fourteenth Amendment later incorporated most of it against the states, a process the Supreme Court completed case by case through the twentieth century. They are the most litigated few hundred words in law. The original twelve proposed amendments included one on congressional pay ratified only in 1992 as the Twenty Seventh.