Final answer:
The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, aimed at protecting individual liberties and limiting federal government power. It safeguards fundamental rights like freedom of speech and religion but did not resolve all federal-state power questions. Over time, these protections have been extended to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment and court rulings.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding the Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution and serves to protect individual liberties by limiting the powers of the federal government. These amendments address fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly, as outlined in the First Amendment. It was a key factor in appeasing critics of the Constitution, known as the Anti-Federalists, who feared the potential for governmental overreach absent such protections.
Contrary to creating a national military or directly handling issues of trade with foreign governments, the primary purpose of the Bill of Rights was to provide a series of legal safeguards for individual freedoms against possible infringement by the government. While initially only applicable to the federal government, the Fourteenth Amendment and various Supreme Court decisions have since expanded most of these protections to state governments as well, a process known as selective incorporation.
However, the Bill of Rights did not settle all questions concerning the division of power between federal and state authorities, which has remained a topic of legal debate and interpretation. Notably, the Tenth Amendment clarified that powers not delegated to the federal government were reserved to the states or the people, underscoring the intent to maintain a balance of power.