First Amendment

Freedom of religion:

• A person can worship or not worship as they please
• The government cannot promote religion in general or a particular religion.

Freedom of speech and of the press. Right to gather in a peaceful way. Right to appeal to the government. These are all about democracy -- participation in one's own governance.

Second Amendment

People have the right to keep and bear arms.

• Some says the amendment applied mostly to militias.

• Some says it means there should be no restrictions on owning guns

Third Amendment

The government cannot force people to keep soldiers in their homes, as the British did.

Fourth - Eighth Amendments describe due process of law -- the limits on the government's power to deny rights.

  Fourth Amendment

The government cannot "unreasonably" search people or their property.

Fifth Amendment

• Persons cannot be tried for a federal crime unless a grand jury agrees there is enough evidence.
• A person cannot be charged twice for the same crime
• A person cannot be made to testify against themselves.
• A person cannot be punished without due process of law.
• The government cannot take private property for public use without fair payment.

Sixth Amendment

• A person has the right to a speedy and public trial.

• At trial, a person has the right to be represented by a lawyer.

• In a criminal trial, the accused has the right to an impartial jury in the state and district where the crime was committed.

Seventh Amendment

• When one person sues another for more than $20, the accused has the right to a trial by a jury.

• A judge cannot overturn the jury's decision.

Eighth Amendment

• Bail and fines cannot be our of proportion to the crime with which a person is charged

• Punishment cannot be "cruel or unusual."

Ninth Amendment

The Ninth Amendment says that people have rights other than those specifically listed in the previous amendments.

Tenth Amendment

The Tenth Amendment is not about individual rights, but is about sovereign power. in response to the critics of the constitution, the tenth amendment assures that powers not granted to the federal government are reserved to the states, or the people.