For America's 250th anniversary, what does the United States Bill of Rights comprise?

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The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

Congress proposed twelve amendments in 1789, largely in response to concerns raised by opponents of the Constitution. The states ratified ten of them on December 15, 1791, and those became Amendments One through Ten. The proposed amendment concerning congressional apportionment was not ratified, while the proposed amendment concerning congressional pay eventually became the Twenty-seventh Amendment in 1992.

The first ten amendments protect or define several civil liberties and limits on government power. They address subjects including religion, speech, press, assembly, firearms, searches, criminal procedure, trials, punishments, retained rights, and powers reserved to states or the people. The Bill of Rights is therefore not a separate constitution or a list of all constitutional rights. It is the collective name for the Constitution’s first ten amendments.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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