94 CHAPTER 4|CIVIL LIBERTIES
of civil liberties from state actions should reside in state constitutions.) In other
states, the Antifederalists who lost the ratifi cation battle continued making their
case to the public and Congress.
When the fi rst Congress took up this contentious issue, state conventions sub-
m it t ed 1 2 4 a mend ment s for con siderat ion. T hat l i st wa s wh it t led dow n t o 17 by t he
House and then to 12 by the Senate. This even dozen was approved by the House
and sent to the states, which in 1791 ratifi ed the 10 amendments that became the
Bill of Rights.^7 Despite the document’s profound signifi cance, however, one point
limited its reach: it applied only to the national government, not to the states. This
decision proved consequential because the national government was quite weak
for the fi rst half of our nation’s history. Given that the states exercised at least as
much power over people’s lives as the national government, it would have been
more important for the Bill of Rights to limit the states rather than the federal gov-
ernment, but this did not occur.
Interestingly, because the Bill of Rights only applied to the national govern-
ment, it played a relatively small role for more than a century. The Supreme Court
used it only once before 1866 to invalidate a federal action—in the infamous Dred
Scott case that contributed to the Civil War (see Chapter 3).THE BILL OF RIGHTS: A STATEMENT OF OUR CIVIL LIBERTIES
NUTS & bolts
First Amendment Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly; the separation of church and state; and the right to
petition the government.
Second Amendment Right to bear arms.
Third Amendment Protection against the forced quartering of troops in one’s home.
Fourth Amendment Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures; requirement of “probable cause” for search warrants.
Fifth Amendment Protection from forced self-incrimination or double jeopardy (being tried twice for the same crime); no
person can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; private property cannot be
taken for public use without just compensation; and no person can be tried for a serious crime without
the indictment of a grand jury.
Sixth Amendment Right of the accused to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, to an attorney, to confront witnesses,
to a compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his or her favor, and to counsel in all felony cases.
Seventh Amendment Right to a trial by jury in civil cases involving common law.
Eighth Amendment Protection from excessive bail, excessive fi nes, and cruel and unusual punishment.
Ninth Amendment The enumeration of specifi c rights in the Constitution shall not be construed to deny other rights retained
by the people. This has been interpreted to include a general right to privacy and other fundamental rights.
Tenth Amendment Powers not delegated by the Constitution to the national government, nor prohibited by it to the states,
are reserved to the states or to the people.