9781422284155

The Constitution took a long time to write. Every word was hotly debated, and compromises were hammered out in order to produce a document on which everyone could agree. Finally, the delegates signed the Constitution. Then it had to be ratified by nine states to become law. The Bill Of Rights Most states agreed to the Constitution, but North Carolina and Rhode Island would not ratify it until a Bill of Rights was added. They wanted to make sure that the government did not have too much power over people. The first 10 amendments added to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. At the time that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were written, the colo- nists remembered what it had been like when the British ruled the country. They knew how it felt to be forbidden to speak their minds or to practice their chosen religion. They knew that a powerful government can be unfair and ruthless, and that without written rights, there was no guarantee that the government would treat them fairly. The Bill of Rights guarantees the people certain rights. It ensures that even though the government is large and powerful and the individual is small and weak in comparison, the government’s power is limited. The rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights include freedom of speech, religion, and the press; the right to get together; the right to petition the government; and the right to bear arms. The Bill of Rights also made sure that even someone charged with a crime had rights. The Fifth Amendment gives anyone accused of a crime the right to due process of law (fair treatment under the law). It also gives the accused the right to remain silent, guaranteeing that the state cannot make anyone testify against himself. It also says that no one can be tried twice for the same crime, sometimes called “double jeopardy.” Under the Fourth Amendment, individuals are given protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, forbidding government officials from searching houses or taking property without a court’s permission. Other amendments guarantee the accused a fair, speedy, and public trial. The last two amendments make it clear that any rights not explicitly given in the Bill of Rights belong either to the states or to the individual. Privacy, for example, is not mentioned in the Bill of Rights, but the Supreme Court has ruled that it is one of the “unenumerated” rights meant by the Ninth Amendment and, as such, it is protected by the Constitution.

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THE U.S. JUSTICE SYSTEM