United States History Student Edition

Anyone accused of a crime has the right to a trial and to have an attorney argue the case before a jury. It is one of the individual rights of all citizens.

Congress can check decisions made by the courts by beginning the process of changing the Constitution. For example, the Supreme Court ruled in the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision that enslaved African Americans were not citizens. In 1866, Congress proposed the Fourteenth Amendment. The amendment was meant to grant full citizenship to formerly enslaved African Americans. When ratified by the states in 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment had the effect of overruling the Dred Scott decision. Individual Rights The Constitution that the Framers wrote in Philadelphia in 1787 did not have a bill of rights. Therefore, some people believed the Constitution did not include guarantees of the basic freedoms held dear by the newly independent Americans, such as the freedom of religion. Many years earlier, in 1777, Thomas Jefferson had written a resolution on religious freedom. It was adopted by the Virginia legislature in 1786. Commonly known as the Statute for Religious Freedom, the resolution said: “ No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or [burdened] in his body or goods, nor shall

otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities. ” —Thomas Jefferson, “Virginia Statute of Religious Liberty” As argued by Jefferson, freedom of religion was a founding principle of the country. The other freedoms and rights that came to be addressed in the Bill of Rights included freedom of speech and the press; freedom to assemble in groups and to protest against the government; the right to bear arms; the right to a speedy and public trial by jury; the right to be free from unreasonable searches by the government; and freedom from “cruel and unusual” punishments. The 10 amendments that addressed these issues, the Bill of Rights, became part of the Constitution in 1791. Since 1791, other constitutional amendments have expanded on the rights of the American people. For example, amendments have abolished slavery, defined citizenship, guaranteed “equal protection of the law” for all people, and guaranteed the right to vote for people aged 18 and older. Amendments have also authorized the direct, popular election of senators.

PHOTO: moodboard/Getty Images; TEXT: Jefferson, Thomas. 1900. The Jeffersonian Cyclopedia: A Comprehensive Collection of the Views of Thomas Jefferson Classified and Arranged in Alphabetical Order Under Nine Thousand Titles Relating to Government, Politics, Law, Education, Political Economy, Finance, Science, Art, Literature, Religious Freedom, Morals, Etc. No. 1257. New York and London: Funk & Wagnalls Company

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