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The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments
of the Constitution.
It lays out the specific rights that
individuals have as citizens.
The idea for the American Bill of Rights actually
came from the British.
George Mason helped give us the idea.
And then James Madison put it into practice.
Talk about teamwork.
So the First Amendment is the freedom of
Go express yourself.
The Second Amendment spells out the right to bear arms.
Hotly debated today.
The Third Amendment prevents Americans from having to house soldiers.
So basically the president can't make your
house a personal AirBnB.
The Fourth Amendment says that the US government
cannot put any American through
unreasonable search and seizure.
Basically the government can't search your property
or take your property without a warrant.
The Fifth Amendment protects you
against self-incrimination.
You may have heard somebody say,
'I plead the fifth.'
You have the right to remain silent.
The sixth, seventh and eight continue protecting
those rights of you as a citizen if you get
accused of a crime.
You get a trial by jury.
And the government can't punish you in cruel and unusual ways.
The Ninth Amendment says that
just because a right is not spelled out
in the Constitution or the amendments
doesn't mean it's a right that you don't have.
Last, but not least, the Tenth.
It says that the federal government only
has the rights spelled out in the Constitution
All other powers are in the hands of
the state or you, the individual.
Since the Bill of Rights, we've had quite a few
amendments added to the Constitution.
In all there are 27 amendments.
Some important ones have been the 13th amendment
which called for the abolition of slavery.
And the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
Although black women really didn't get that right
until the 1960s.
Knowing helps better inform and protect you
as a citizen.