Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights enumerates the basic rights of citizens of the United States of America. The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, entitles citizens to fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, press, and religion; peaceable assembly; the keeping and bearing of arms; and protection from unreasonable search and seizure. The first Continental Congress of the United States of America passed the Bill of Rights on September 25, 1789, and then submitted it to the states for ratification. The Bill of Rights was not made into law until all the former colonies ratified the document, which occurred on December 15, 1971. The inclusion of the Bill of Rights as amendments into the constitution was controversial. The issue split the Continental Congress into two groups: federalists and anti-federalists. The federalists wanted the Bill of Rights included in the Constitution in order to form a stronger centralized federal government. The anti-federalists were proponents of states' rights and believed that the Bill of Rights would diminish the states' rights. The Ninth Amendment was included to appease the anti-federalists; it returned power to the states for anything that was not outlined in the Constitution or in the Bill of Rights.

The interpretation of the rights outlined in the Bill of Rights has been disputed since the day they were written. Even as recently as the 1960s, some states required daily Bible readings in public schools, and the U.S. African American population was systematically denied the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The U.S. judicial system, from the local district courts to the U.S. Supreme Court, is constantly reviewing and re-reviewing decisions in order to maintain the best possible adherence to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and prior decisions (precedents) of the courts.

The First Amendment limits congressional power in regard to freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly of the people, and the ability to petition the government with concerns:

The freedom of religion is distinctly itemized as both the freedom to establish religion and the freedom to exercise religion. These itemizations are known as the establishment clause and the free exercise clause, respectively. The establishment clause has been interpreted to mean that there exists an impassable wall between the government and the people in respect to religion, so much so that religious iconography of any kind is forbidden in government facilities, for example. The free exercise clause protects the people's right to choose to practice or not to practice religion of any kind without government interference. Freedom of speech and press are also protected under the First Amendment. Essentially, freedom of speech and freedom of press are treated in the same manner, in that [Page 242]they are both ways to express one's views. In 1931, in the case of Near v. Minnesota, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that except in the most extraordinary of circumstances, the government cannot influence or force a media publication to publish or not publish their material. An example of extraordinary circumstances where the government did intervene is in the case against Manuel Noriega in 1990. Taped conversations implicating Noriega were obtained by the Cable News Network (CNN) before Noriega had the chance for a fair trial. The Supreme Court ruled that CNN could not broadcast the tapes because the broadcast of the tapes could impair Noriega's right to a fair trial.

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