Which document contains the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution?

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

The Bill of Rights grew from concerns that the new federal government might threaten individual liberties. James Madison introduced a package of proposed amendments in the First Congress in 1789, drawing on state declarations of rights and objections raised during the Constitution's ratification debates.

Congress sent twelve amendments to the states, but only ten were ratified by December 15, 1791. The original First and Second Amendments in the proposal were not ratified at that time; the former concerned congressional apportionment and the latter eventually became the Twenty-seventh Amendment.

The ten ratified amendments protect freedoms including religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. They also address arms, searches, criminal procedure, due process, juries, and powers retained by the states and the people. The Bill of Rights is therefore part of the Constitution, not a separate founding document.