Chapter 4: Civil Liberties- The Bill of Rights

What is an amendment?

An addition and/or alteration to the Constitution.

What is the Fourteenth Amendment?

An amendment to the US Constitution containing a clause that has been used to make most of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states, as well as to recognize substantive and procedural rights.

The Bill of Rights originally only protected what group both implicitly and legally? What groups were excluded from the protections?

Originally, the Bill of Rights implicitly and legally protected only white men, excluding American Indians, people considered to be "black" (now described as African Americans), and women.

What protections are included within the Bill of Rights?

The Bill of Rights includes protections such as freedom of the press, speech, religion, and assembly; the right to due process and fair trials; the right to personal property and other rights.

The Bill of Rights originally only applied to what level of government? What has the Bill of Rights since been expanded to cover, currently?

The Bill of Rights originally only applied to the federal government, but has since been expanded to apply to the states as well.

Who first introduced the Bill of Rights, and what was it introduced as?

The Bill of Rights was introduced by James Madison to the 1st US Congress as a series of legislative articles.

What does the Bill of Rights guarantee?

They guarantee certain liberties.

Without a Bill of Rights, what, possibly, would not have occurred to the Constitution?

Without a Bill of Rights, the Constitution may not have been ratified.

The Bill of Rights

the collective name for the first ten amendments to the US Constitution