Rights and REsponsibilities of U.S. citizens
The Rights of American Citizens
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, created to convince enough delegates to agree with the final form of the Constitution, as many would not sign it until they had a Bill of Rights. It protects what were seen as essential political rights for all Americans to possess for them to be protected in all aspects from tyranny in their government. While many of its articles are open to interpretation, these are rights that the government cannot infringe upon no matter what.
A short list of the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights would be:
Besides these rights, there are many more amendments, numbered Eleven through Twenty-Seven. They cover various rights, from suffrage to income taxes. Each amendment was passed to fix something that people had decided to change or amend, or to address a new issue that had arisen since the creation of the Bill of Rights and Constitution.
Some issues are never addressed by the Amendments to the Constitution, while others have been rejected as amendments. There were movements to create effective bans on practices such as polygamy, interracial marriage, same-sex marriage, and various other things. Others have attempted to create changes in policy, such as term limits for senators and congressmen, abolition of the electoral college to allow a direct democratic election of the President, and even to explicitly define a citizen as being a natural person and not a corporation.
Many amendments have never even made it out of committee, regardless of how they would have changed the United States. But the ones that have passed have set the laws of the land. These have many times been to extend the rights of citizens. Some of the things that have been added as protected rights have been universal suffrage, the right to hold public office, the abolition of slavery, and many more.
Any rights not explicitly stated in the constitutional amendments or Bill of Rights are deferred to the states, and if they aren't prohibited at that level or the city level, they are assumed to be allowed and lawful rights of American citizens.
A short list of the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights would be:
- Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition - protects basic freedoms from being infringed upon, especially those of speech and expression. These, sadly, also include hate speech and various other kinds of malicious speech, up until the point it hurts someone.
- Right to keep and bear arms in order to maintain a well regulated militia - This is the right to defend one's self from the government's tyranny, and if needed to use the militia to overthrow an unjust government.
- No quartering of soldiers - This prevents the military from occupying homes, in effect making the need to create bases isolated from civilian populations.
- Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.
- Right to due process of law, freedom from self-incrimination, double jeopardy - this allows for fair trials, and if someone has already been exonerated of a crime that they cannot be tried for it again.
- Rights of accused persons, e.g., right to a speedy and public trial - this prevents the government from imprisoning people without trial for years upon end until their death.
- Right of trial by jury in civil cases - Due process under the law for civil cases
- Freedom from excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments - The government cannot set excessive punishment or bail for any crime no matter what it is
- Other rights of the people - This protects people by stating that anything not explicitly stated otherwise is legal. This protects all rights not stated by name.
- Powers reserved to the states - This means that anything not explicitly listed in the constitution or its amendments shall be deferred to the state, unless the federal government says something to the contrary.
Besides these rights, there are many more amendments, numbered Eleven through Twenty-Seven. They cover various rights, from suffrage to income taxes. Each amendment was passed to fix something that people had decided to change or amend, or to address a new issue that had arisen since the creation of the Bill of Rights and Constitution.
Some issues are never addressed by the Amendments to the Constitution, while others have been rejected as amendments. There were movements to create effective bans on practices such as polygamy, interracial marriage, same-sex marriage, and various other things. Others have attempted to create changes in policy, such as term limits for senators and congressmen, abolition of the electoral college to allow a direct democratic election of the President, and even to explicitly define a citizen as being a natural person and not a corporation.
Many amendments have never even made it out of committee, regardless of how they would have changed the United States. But the ones that have passed have set the laws of the land. These have many times been to extend the rights of citizens. Some of the things that have been added as protected rights have been universal suffrage, the right to hold public office, the abolition of slavery, and many more.
Any rights not explicitly stated in the constitutional amendments or Bill of Rights are deferred to the states, and if they aren't prohibited at that level or the city level, they are assumed to be allowed and lawful rights of American citizens.
The Responsibilities of Citizens
The responsibilities of citizens within the United States is comparatively few compared to that of Rome. Much of American law is based around what citizens, the Federal Government, and State Governments can or cannot do, and much less about punishment and what is required of citizens.
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