The Bill of Rights

The Constitution has been amended 27 times since 1789, and it is likely to be further revised in the future. The most sweeping changes oc­curred within two years of its adop­tion. In that period, the first 10 amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, were added. Congress approved these amend­ments as a block in September 1789, and 11 states had ratified them by the end of 1791.

Much of the initial resistance to the Constitution came not from those opposed to strengthening the feder­al union but from statesmen who felt that the rights of individuals must be specifically spelled out. One of these was George Mason, author of the Declaration of Rights of Virginia, which was a forerunner of the Bill of Rights. As a delegate to the Consti­tutional Convention, Mason refused to sign the document because he felt it did not protect individual rights sufficiently. Indeed, Mason's opposi­tion nearly blocked ratification by Virginia. Because of similar feelings in Massachusetts, that state conditioned its ratification on the addition of specific guarantees of individual rights. By the time the First Congress convened, sentiment for adoption of such amendments was nearly unani­mous, and the Congress lost little time in drafting them.

These amendments remain intact today, as they were written two cen­turies ago. The first guarantees free­dom of worship, speech, and press, the right of peaceful assembly, and the right to petition the government to correct wrongs. The second guar­antees the right of citizens to bear arms. The third provides that troops may not be quartered in private homes without the owner's consent. The fourth guards against unreason­able searches, arrests, and seizures of property.

The next four amendments deal with the system of justice. The fifth for­bids trial for a major crime except after indictment by a grand jury. It prohibits repeated trials for the same offense, forbids punishment without due process of law, and provides that an accused person may not be com­pelled to testify against himself. The sixth guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial by an unbiased jury, guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, and provides that witnesses shall be compelled to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the accused. The seventh assures trial by jury in civil cases involving anything valued at more than 20 U.S. dollars. The eighth forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel or unusual punishment.

The last two of the 10 amendments contain very broad statements of con­stitutional authority. The ninth de­clares that the listing of individual rights is not meant to be comprehen­sive, that the people have other rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution. The tenth provides that powers not delegated by the Constitution to the federal govern­ment nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states or the people.