The Bill of Rights is comprised of what?

• A. First ten amendments to the United States Constitution
• B. First ten amendments to the Bill of Rights
• C. First ten articles of the Constitution
• D. First ten provisions of the U.S. Declaration

Answer: (A)

The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Ratified in 1791, these amendments were added to protect individual liberties and limit the powers of the federal government. They establish fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition; the right to keep and bear arms; protections against unreasonable searches and seizures; due process guarantees and rights to a speedy, public trial by an impartial jury; and safeguards against cruel and unusual punishment and self-incrimination. They are changes to the Constitution itself, not to the Bill of Rights, nor to the Articles of the Constitution, and not provisions of the Declaration.