Your Bill of Rights
In 1789, the United States sought to make the union more perfect, drawing up 10 amendments to the Constitution now known as the Bill of Rights. In this series of ten short videos, TIME brings to life the words of the Founding Fathers and explores how these deeply felt ideas about liberty and property have evolved into the amendments as we interpret them today. More »
-
Cover Story: One Document, Under Siege
How fights over the U.S. Constitution illuminate four of today's most divisive issues: Libya, taxes, health care and immigration More »
-
The First Amendment
Why were the freedoms of press, speech and assembly so important to the Founding Fathers? More »
-
The Second Amendment
Why did the framers of the U.S. constitution demand the right of the people to keep and bear arms? More »
-
The Third Amendment
Because the British army regularly commandeered colonists' homes, the Framers insisted on the right to refuse to quarter troops in private property More »
-
The Fourth Amendment
The right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures is often argued as protecting our right to privacy More »
-
The Fifth Amendment
Guarantees rights for citizens accused of crimes, not the least of which is the protection against self-incrimination More »
-
The Sixth Amendment
The guarantee of the right to a speedy trial by jury in the district where the crime was committed and the opportunity to question witnesses More »
-
The Seventh Amendment
The right to a jury trial for any civil case over property more than $20 More »
-
The Eighth Amendment
Protection against excessive bail and cruel or unusual punishments. What was considered cruel or unusual in 1789? More »
-
The Ninth Amendment
When James Madison penned the Bill of Rights, some worried that by writing some things down, it meant other rights were not secured More »
-
The Tenth Amendment
The final amendment in the Bill of Rights was drafted because the states were concerned about the power of a Federal government More »
-
Graphic: We The People
Americans weigh in on the founding document More »
Related Lists
Most Popular »
- Yahoo! Board Said to Weigh Billion-dollar Tumblr Deal
- 5 Tech Stocks You Should Have Bought Instead of Facebook
- Timelapse
- Facebook's Stock Price Is the Least Important Thing About Facebook
- Shopping for Cool: Yahoo! Board Reportedly Set to Weigh $1.1B Tumblr Deal
- After Fighting Over Mountains, India and China Lock Horns in the Indian Ocean
- Richard Corliss Previews the Movies of Summer 2013
- Science's Brilliant Blunders: How Oops Moments Became Eurekas
- Is 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Too Dark?
- The 10 Greatest Books of All Time
- After Fighting Over Mountains, India and China Lock Horns in the Indian Ocean
- Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation
- Timelapse
- The 5 Best Facebook Parodies
- Forget the IRS — There's an Olive-Oil Scandal Afoot
- Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us
- Viewpoint: My Case Shows What's Right -- and Wrong -- With Psychiatric Diagnoses
- Sorting Out the Scandals
- Don't Drink the Pool Water! It Contains a Surprising Amount of...Human Waste
- The Roots of Sexual Abuse in the Military
our partners
