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Bill of Rights

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In the USA, the first ten amendments to the US Constitution , incorporated in 1791: 1 guarantees freedom of worship, of speech, of the press, of assembly, and to petition the government; 2 grants the right to keep and bear arms; 3 prohibits billeting of soldiers in private homes in peacetime; 4 forbids unreasonable search and seizure; 5 guarantees none be ‘deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law’ or compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself or herself; 6 grants the right to speedy trial, to call witnesses, and to have defence counsel; 7 grants the right to trial by jury of one's peers; 8 prevents the infliction of excessive bail or fines, or ‘cruel and unusual punishment’; 9 , 10 provide a safeguard to the states and people for all rights not specifically delegated to the central government. Not originally part of the draft of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights was put forward during the period of ratification (final approval) of the…
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Full text Article Bill of Rights

From The Great American History Fact-Finder
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution , which enumerate the fundamental liberties of U.S. citizens. The first bill of rights in America was the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), written by George Mason . It became a model for all later American bills of rights, including that in the…
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Full text Article Glorious Revolution

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
A revolution in Britain in 1688 in which the parliament deposed King James II, a Roman Catholic who had asserted royal rights over the rights of Parliament. Parliament gave the crown to the Protestant King William III, a Dutch prince, and his British wife, Queen Mary II (daughter of James II), as…
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Full text Article Dominican Republic Constitution of 1844

From Latin American History and Culture: Encyclopedia of Early Modern Latin America (1820s to 1900)
The Dominican Republic's Constitution of 1844 was the nation's first constitution after achieving its independence from neighboring Haiti. The constitution was signed and promulgated on November 6, 1844, at Benemérita de San Cristóbal following a successful revolt by La Trinitaria movement, which…
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Full text Article Bonus Army

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
World War I veterans who gathered in Washington, D.C., in summer 1932 to demand payment of their promised bonuses. More than 12,000 veterans and their families camped near the U.S. Capitol, urging support for a bill to force early payment of bonuses already voted by Congress. When the bill was…
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Full text Article WASHINGTON, GEORGE

From The Reader's Companion to American History
(1732-1799), Virginia planter, commander of the Continental army, and first president of the United States. Washington was the son of Augustine Washington, a Virginia planter of modest wealth. When he died in 1743, George went to live with his older brother at Mount Vernon. As a youth, Washington…
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Full text Article US Bill of Rights

From American Governance
Much of the United States Constitution of 1787 prescribes what the government can do and how it may do it. There are limits, to be sure; in fact, the Framers saw every power granted as a limited one. The Bill of Rights, however, sprang from the demand for a clear, wider enumeration of what…
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Full text Article civil liberties

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
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Full text Article Appendix I: Documents

From The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History
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© LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS...
Incorporation is a legal theory or process by which the United States Supreme Court has gradually applied most of the provisions of the Bill of Rights to constitutionally protect citizens from state infringement. Incorporation has taken place by using the due process clause of the Fourteenth…
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Full text Article INFORMATION RIGHTS: New York Times Co. ν. United States (1971)

From Opinions throughout History: National Security vs. Civil & Privacy Rights
The Washington Post Headline After Winning Court...
Introduction In the previous chapter, we saw how the 1964 Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut established a constitutional right to privacy, and the 1967 Katz v. United States case established an important ramification of this right, that the government must demonstrate justification before…
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