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US Constitution study guide: Difference between revisions
→Bill of Rights [Amendments 1-10]
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* = the first ten amendments that were adopted as a group | * = the first ten amendments that were adopted as a group | ||
* known collectively as the "Bill of Rights" (BOR) | * known collectively as the "Bill of Rights" (BOR) | ||
* the BOR protect certain rights from "infringement" by the federal government | * the BOR protect certain individual rights from "infringement" by the federal government | ||
* i.e., the BOR does not create those rights, it protects rights that already exist or that exist "naturally" (called "natural law") | |||
* i.e., the BOR does not | |||
* their principal author, James Madison, did not consider the amendments essential, but he understood the political need for them, as the anti-Federalists had made strong arguments for the need to protect the rights of the people and of the states from the central government | * their principal author, James Madison, did not consider the amendments essential, but he understood the political need for them, as the anti-Federalists had made strong arguments for the need to protect the rights of the people and of the states from the central government | ||
* Madison feared that a general convention, called by the states per Article V, might take the opportunity for direct amendment of the Constitution, as opposed to merely adding the BOR | * Madison feared that a general convention, called by the states per Article V, might take the opportunity for direct amendment of the Constitution, as opposed to merely adding the BOR | ||
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* the House approved 17 Articles, the Senate approved 12 of them, and the states ratified 10 of them as of Dec 15, 1791 | * the House approved 17 Articles, the Senate approved 12 of them, and the states ratified 10 of them as of Dec 15, 1791 | ||
* one of the two remaining Articles was adopted on May 5, 1992 as the 27th amendment (regarding Congressional compensation) | * one of the two remaining Articles was adopted on May 5, 1992 as the 27th amendment (regarding Congressional compensation) | ||
* as originally enacted and interpreted by the Courts, the BOR did not apply to the states | |||
* see the 14th amendment for how that amendment opened the path for judicial application of the BOR to state law (called "incorporation" of the BOR)}}''' | * see the 14th amendment for how that amendment opened the path for judicial application of the BOR to state law (called "incorporation" of the BOR)}}''' | ||