The Rights Reader

Amendment I · Ratified December 15, 1791

Speech, Faith, Press, Assembly

Say it, believe it, print it, gather for it.

As Written

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

In Plain English

The government may not set up an official religion, and it may not stop you from practicing yours.

It may not punish you for what you say or publish, and it may not stop people from gathering peacefully or from asking the government to fix a wrong.

This limits the government, not private people or companies. A business can still set its own rules; Congress cannot pass a law that silences you.

Amendment II · Ratified December 15, 1791

Keep and Bear Arms

The right to own weapons.

As Written

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

In Plain English

People have a right to own and carry weapons, and the government may not take that right away.

The amendment opens by explaining why: a free state needs people able to defend it. Courts and legislatures still set the rules on who may carry what, and where.

Amendment III · Ratified December 15, 1791

No Soldiers in Your Home

Your house is not a barracks.

As Written

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

In Plain English

In peacetime, the military cannot make you house soldiers. In wartime, it can only do so under a law that says how.

It is rarely tested today, but it set an early idea the Fourth Amendment carries on: a home is the owner's, not the government's.

Amendment IV · Ratified December 15, 1791

Searches and Seizures

Your body, your home, your papers, your things.

As Written

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

In Plain English

The government may not search you, your home, your papers or your belongings, or take them, without a good reason.

To get a warrant, officers must swear to facts that give probable cause, and the warrant must say exactly where they will search and what they are looking for.

Courts have carved out situations where no warrant is needed, such as when you agree to a search. That is why "I do not consent to a search" is a sentence worth knowing.

Amendment V · Ratified December 15, 1791

Due Process and Silence

You cannot be made to testify against yourself.

As Written

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

In Plain English

Serious federal charges must first go through a grand jury. You cannot be tried twice for the same crime once a case is decided.

You cannot be forced to give evidence against yourself. That is the right to remain silent, and it is the reason the words "I choose to remain silent" matter.

The government cannot take your life, your freedom or your property without fair process, and if it takes private property for public use, it must pay a fair price.

Amendment VI · Ratified December 15, 1791

A Fair and Speedy Trial

Know the charge, face the witnesses, have a lawyer.

As Written

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

In Plain English

If you are charged with a crime, you have the right to a trial that is public, reasonably quick, and decided by an impartial jury where the crime happened.

You must be told what you are accused of. You can question the witnesses against you and require witnesses to appear for you.

You have the right to a lawyer. Since Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963, that includes a lawyer provided for you when you cannot afford one in serious cases.

Amendment VII · Ratified December 15, 1791

Juries in Civil Cases

A jury for disputes over money and property.

As Written

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

In Plain English

In federal civil cases of the traditional kind, you can have a jury decide the facts, and a judge cannot simply overrule what that jury found.

The twenty dollars is a 1791 number that was never updated; the principle is what lasted.

Amendment VIII · Ratified December 15, 1791

No Cruel Punishment

No excessive bail, fines or cruelty.

As Written

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

In Plain English

Bail cannot be set higher than is reasonable to make sure you return to court. Fines cannot be out of proportion to the offense.

Punishments cannot be cruel or unusual. The words come almost unchanged from the English Bill of Rights of 1689.

Amendment IX · Ratified December 15, 1791

Rights Not Listed

The list is not the limit.

As Written

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

In Plain English

Just because a right is not written down here does not mean you do not have it.

The founders worried that listing some rights would be read as a complete list. This amendment says it is not.

Amendment X · Ratified December 15, 1791

Powers Left to the People

What Washington is not given, it does not have.

As Written

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

In Plain English

The federal government has only the powers the Constitution gives it. Everything else belongs to the states, or to the people themselves.

Amendment XIII, Section 1 · Ratified December 6, 1865

Slavery Abolished

No person may be owned.

As Written

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

In Plain English

Slavery is abolished everywhere the United States has authority. No one can be forced to work against their will, with one exception the text names: punishment after a lawful conviction.

Amendment XIV, Section 1 · Ratified July 9, 1868

Equal Protection

The same law for every person, in every state.

As Written

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

In Plain English

If you were born here or became a citizen here, you are a citizen of the country and of your state.

States, not only the federal government, must give every person fair process before taking life, liberty or property, and must apply their laws equally to everyone.

Courts have used this amendment to apply most of the Bill of Rights to the states. It is the reason those 1791 protections reach a city police department or a state court today.

Amendment XV, Section 1 · Ratified February 3, 1870

The Vote, Regardless of Race

No ballot denied for race or color.

As Written

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

In Plain English

Neither the federal government nor any state may stop a citizen from voting because of their race, their color, or because they or their ancestors were enslaved.

Amendment XIX · Ratified August 18, 1920

The Vote, Regardless of Sex

No ballot denied for being a woman.

As Written

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

In Plain English

Neither the federal government nor any state may stop a citizen from voting because of their sex. Congress can pass laws to make sure of it.

The Bill of Rights, in plain English.