unalienable and natural rights

Important Ideas

unalienable and natural rights

These are rights that all people have at birth. The government does not grant these rights, and therefore no government can take them away. The Declaration of Independence says that among these rights are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

The U.S. Constitution does not mention “unalienable” or “natural rights.” But the first 10 amendments to the Constitution list the basic rights of Americans. These amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. The amendments contain many, many rights, including:.

Freedom:

of religion
of speech
of the press
to assemble
to complain to the Government
to keep and bear Arms
to a speedy and public trial
to bail
to an impartial jury
to be informed of what crime you are accused of
to be confronted with the witnesses against him
to be able to call witnesses in your favor
to have a lawyer.

Protection from:

being forced to have soldiers live in your home
“unreasonable searches and seizures”
being tried twice for the same crime
being a witness against yourself
having your life, liberty, or property taken “without due process of law”
having your private property taken “without just compensation”
excessive fines
“cruel and unusual punishments”

This is a long list of rights. But the Bill of Rights states that just because it has created this list, the list does not include all the rights that we have. It says the people have other rights as well. In fact, the Constitution only gives the government the powers listed in it. All other powers belong to the people.

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unalienable and natural rights