14 November 2007
The Bill of Rights
First 10 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution
• First Amendment – Freedom of religion, speech, press and peaceable assembly plus right to petition the government
• Second Amendment – The right to keep and bear arms
• Third Amendment – Protection from the forced quartering of troops
• Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure
• Fifth Amendment – Right in a criminal trial to due process, protection from "double jeopardy" of facing trial more than once for same crime, protection from self-incrimination, and right to compensation for private property taken for public benefit
• Sixth Amendment – Rights of the accused to have a criminal trial by jury, to call witnesses in his of her defense, and to have a lawyer
• Seventh Amendment – Right to a civil trial by jury
• Eighth Amendment – Prohibition against excessive bail and against "cruel and unusual punishment"
• Ninth Amendment – Protection of rights not specifically listed in the Bill of Rights
• 10th Amendment – Affirmation that powers not delegated specifically to the federal government are reserved to state governments and to the people
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
