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Chapter 1 · Core Rights
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From the page before
The First Amendment begins 'Congress shall make no law...'. What does that phrasing tell you?
The answer: The amendment restricts what government may do, rather than granting a permission
Why: The Bill of Rights is written as limits on government. That is why taking a right away needs an amendment, or a violation. There is no permission to repeal.
What does the Ninth Amendment address?
The answer: That rights not listed in the Constitution are still retained by the people
Why: The founders feared that writing a list of rights would suggest anything left off it was fair game. The Ninth says it is not.
None of that makes the right fake. It means a right is a floor. The space between that floor and your actual life gets filled in by three things: knowledge, money, and being organized. This course is about the first one.
The Ninth and the Tenth
Two amendments almost nobody can quote, doing quiet structural work.
The Ninth says that listing some rights does not mean those are the only ones you have. The founders worried that a written list would suggest anything left off it was fair game.
The Tenth says powers not handed to the federal government stay with the states and the people. That is the root of federalism. It is why your state can have a law your neighbor's state does not.
Before you turn the page
A person has the constitutional right to counsel but is assigned a public defender carrying hundreds of cases. What is the most accurate description?
Trying to recall a thing before you read it again is what makes it stick. That is why the question is here.
Nothing is scored. Nothing is saved. No one sees your answer, and there is no account to make.