Learn the Bill of Rights in plain English: what each of the 10 amendments protects, key limits on government power, and real-world examples today. Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, adopted as a single unit in 1791. They constitute a collection of mutually reinforcing guarantees of individual rights and of limitations on federal and state governments. The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. It was proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists. The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans’ rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion. The ratified Articles (Articles 3–12) constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights. In 1992, 203 years after it was proposed, Article 2 was ratified as the 27th Amendment to the Constitution. Article 1 was never ratified. A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and private citizens. The remaining ten amendments became the Bill of Rights. Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Press. Amendment 2 - The Right to Bear Arms. Amendment 3 - The Housing of Soldiers. Amendment 4 - Protection from Unreasonable Searches and Seizures The first ten amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. James Madison wrote the amendments as a solution to limit government power and protect individual liberties through the Constitution. Thanks largely to the efforts of James Madison, the Bill of Rights—the first 10 amendments to the Constitution—were ratified on December 15, 1791. The roots of the Bill of Rights lie. Bill of Rights First Amendment [Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition (1791)] (see explanation) Second Amendment [Right to Bear Arms (1791)] (see explanation) Third Amendment [Quartering of Troops (1791)] (see explanation) Fourth Amendment [Search and Seizure (1791)] (see explanation).