When the Founding Fathers were trying to pass the Constitution, they had difficulties getting every state to ratify it. A lot of them demanded rights such as freedom of speech and religion and the right to keep guns. Because of this, a Bill of Rights had to be added which made 10 Amendments (edits) to the Constitution, each outlining a specific right that Americans would have. More have been added since, and these Amendments are still used today to determine if laws are fair.
You'll be able to see that a lot of these aren't as applicable today but were vary important to those in the colonies because they had been fighting wars with the British and dealing with a lot of different forms of oppression.
These ten Amendments are:
1. Freedom of expression (freedom of speech, religion, protest, etc.)
2. Right to bear arms (right to own guns)
3. Right to refuse quartering during peacetime (you can't be forced to house armymen without your permission)
4. All searches and seizures should be reasonable and require a warrant.
5. Rights of defendants in court (once not guilty, can't be retried...right to remain silent and right to an attorney, also)
6. Rights of those on trial (a fair, speedy trial...some of the above might be 6)
7. Right to trial by fair jury
8. Limits on bail & punishments
9. The people have rights not listed in the Constitution.
10. The US gov't only has powers which are clearly outlined. All others fall to the states and to the people.
