The Constitution is chock-full of guarantees of individual rights and rules about what the government can and can’t do. Some provisions affect people’s lives more than others, but they are all important in their own right. Here are just some of the important, often-discussed provisions and where you can find them in the Constitution:
Freedom of speech, press, and religion: First Amendment
Right to bear arms: Second Amendment
Right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures: Fourth Amendment
Right against self-incrimination and double jeopardy: Fifth Amendment
Due process: Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments
Right against taking without just compensation: Fifth Amendment
Right to a speedy and public trial: Sixth Amendment
Right to counsel: Sixth Amendment (also read into the Fifth-Amendment right against self-incrimination)
Prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment: Eighth Amendment
Slavery abolishment: Thirteenth Amendment
Equal protection: Fourteenth Amendment
Women’s right to vote: Nineteenth Amendment
Commerce clause: Article I, Section 8
“Necessary and proper” clause: Article I, Section 8
Contracts clause: Article I, Section 10
Full faith and credit: Article IV, Section 1