About Your Rights as a United States Citizen

A United States citizen is defined as anyone born or naturalized within the jurisdiction of the United States of America or its territories. The body of the original Constitution defines only the three branches of government: Legislative, judicial and executive. Citizens' rights are outlined in the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights.

The Facts

The Bill of Rights was added four years after the ratification of the Constitution when the framers realized their omission for the citizens. All 10 amendments were added at the same time; the remaining 17 amendments outline various other changes and/or clarifications.
The First Amendment protects the citizens' freedom to practice the religion of their choice or not practice any religion, freedom of speech, freedom to address the government and freedom of the press.
The Second Amendment protects the citizens' right to own guns; although it is still unclear whether this amendment means individual citizens or state militias.
The Third Amendment protects citizens from being forced to feed and house the armed forces.
The Fourth Amendment protects citizens against unlawful or unwarranted search and seizure of their persons or their property.
The Fifth Amendment gives citizens the right to have due process under the law, protects against "double jeopardy"--being tried twice for the same crime, protects them against self-incrimination and assures that citizens' property cannot be taken without just compensation.
The Sixth Amendment clarifies trial procedures: guaranteeing a speedy trial, an impartial jury, the ability for the accused to confront the witnesses testifying against him, and access to an attorney.
The Seventh Amendment guarantees citizens will have a jury trial in federal civil cases.
The Eighth Amendment protects citizens against cruel and unusual punishment for crimes.
The Ninth Amendment simply states that there may be other rights not specifically listed, but those rights still cannot be violated.
The 10th Amendment focuses more the on the states, giving them and their citizens any power that is not specifically reserved for the Federal Government.

History of

After the original Articles of Confederation were found to be flawed, delegates from the original 13 states met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write a new document, which became the Constitution. The Constitution spelled out what the federal government could do, but not what it could not do. In 1791, the Bill of Rights, inspired by Thomas Jefferson and written by James Madison, was finally ratified by all 13 states.

Significance

The Bill of Rights is significant because the framers of the Constitution wanted to protect citizens against abuse by the government, and to guarantee the "inalienable (or natural) rights" of the citizens as spelled out in the Declaration of Independence. The framers actually thought citizens naturally had these rights but needed the Bill of Rights to offer protection of those rights.

Benefits

Many people come to the United States and live here without actually becoming naturalized citizens. However, there are many benefits to becoming an actual citizen, including the ability to obtain a passport and not be denied re-entry into the country; any children born in this country are given automatic citizenship; the ability to obtain employment with the federal government; and the right to vote in all local, state and federal elections.

Evolution

The Bill of Rights did not include everyone; at the time only white men were afforded the protections of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It took another four amendments and 135 years for full citizenship to be granted to women, blacks and other minorities, and American Indians.

Resources

• Explanation of The Bill of Rights
• The Top Ten Reasons to Become a United States Citizen