Bill of Rights: The first ten amendments, ratified in 1791
Why add a bill of rights?: Many people wanted written protection from a strong national government
First Amendment: Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition
Freedom of religion: Government cannot set up an official church or stop you from practicing your faith
Establishment Clause: Government may not establish an official religion
Free Exercise Clause: You may practice your religion freely
Freedom of speech: You may express your ideas without government punishment, within limits
Freedom of the press: News outlets may publish without government censorship
Freedom of assembly: People may gather peacefully
Right to petition: People may ask the government to fix problems
Second Amendment: The right to keep and bear arms, with a militia purpose stated
Third Amendment: Soldiers cannot be forced to live in your home in peacetime
Fourth Amendment: Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures
Search warrant: Court order that lets police search a place, based on probable cause
Probable cause: Good reason to believe a crime happened
Fifth Amendment: Grand jury, no double jeopardy, no self-incrimination, due process, fair payment for property taken
Double jeopardy: You cannot be tried twice for the same crime
Self-incrimination: No one can be forced to testify against themselves
Pleading the fifth: Refusing to answer questions that could incriminate you
Due process: Fair procedures before the government takes life, liberty or property
Eminent domain: Government may take private land for public use if it pays fairly
Grand jury: Group that decides whether there is enough evidence to bring charges
Sixth Amendment: Speedy public trial, an impartial jury, a lawyer, and facing your accusers
Right to counsel: Right to have a lawyer
Impartial jury: Jurors who are fair and have not decided in advance
Seventh Amendment: Jury trials in many civil cases
Civil case: A legal dispute between people or groups, often about money
Criminal case: Government charges someone with breaking a law
Eighth Amendment: No excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishment
Bail: Money paid to be free while waiting for trial
Ninth Amendment: People have other rights besides those listed
Tenth Amendment: Powers not given to the national government belong to the states or the people
Reserved powers: Powers the Tenth Amendment leaves to the states
James Madison: Wrote the Bill of Rights in Congress in 1789
George Mason: Virginian who urged a bill of rights and wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights
Anti-Federalists: Opponents of the Constitution who demanded a bill of rights
Federalists: Supporters of the Constitution who promised to add one
Ratification of Bill of Rights: Completed December 15, 1791
Bill of Rights Day: December 15, marking ratification
Magna Carta influence: England's 1215 charter influenced ideas of due process
English Bill of Rights: 1689 document that influenced American rights
Virginia Declaration of Rights: 1776 state document, a model for the national Bill of Rights
Selective incorporation: Courts applying the Bill of Rights to the states through the 14th Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment: Guarantees equal protection and due process from state governments
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969): Students keep free speech rights at school if they do not disrupt learning
Miranda v. Arizona (1966): Police must tell suspects of their rights before questioning
Miranda rights: You have the right to remain silent and to have a lawyer
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): The state must provide a lawyer to defendants who cannot afford one
Mapp v. Ohio (1961): Evidence taken by illegal search cannot be used in state court
New York Times v. United States (1971): Upheld press freedom in the Pentagon Papers case
Engel v. Vitale (1962): Public schools cannot sponsor official prayer
West Virginia v. Barnette (1943): Students cannot be forced to salute the flag
Libel and slander: False statements that harm someone's reputation; not protected speech
Censorship: Government control of what can be said or published
Peaceful protest: Gathering to express views, protected by the First Amendment
Search and seizure: Looking through property and taking items
Jury of peers: A group of ordinary citizens who decide a trial
Unreasonable search: A search without a good reason or warrant
Witness: Person who testifies about what they saw or know
Defendant: Person accused of a crime or sued in court
Rights vs responsibilities: Rights come with duties, like respecting others' rights
Amendments 11-27: Later amendments, such as ending slavery, granting voting rights, and others

Free flashcards from Peabody at peabody.kids/flashcards/us-bill-of-rights