The Bill of Rights

Bill of Rights

As an American citizen, the Bill of Rights has been an essential part my life. The freedoms guaranteed by it have given Americans a sense of pride in their government, and has helped to maintain a strong federal system in Washington, with a representative democratic body. The Constitution has been an incredibly successful, and flexible document even for today's complex world.

The most important freedom guaranteed to me personally is the freedom of speech. This core tenant of the Constitution was not included in the original text, but as the first Amendment to the Constitution, the freedom of speech has made sure that the United States has remained a healthy democracy with many sides to each debate. The United States has faced many different types of battles around the world, against Fascists, Communists, and Monarchies, each with their own version of repression. America has maintained its strong nature by securing the values that helped create it, and the freedom of speech is the most important of these values. The freedom of speech is so strongly embedded in the American way of life that no politician or political party dares to threaten to try to overturn this Constitutionally guaranteed right. I also believe the freedom of press has been very important to the U.S. government, even as recently as the Nixon resignation scandal, and the Wikileaks U.S. government release in 2010. These events were embarrassing to the U.S. government, but because of the freedom of press, the reporters of these stories have been protected.

The Bill of Rights, and the various amendments to the Constitution that came after, has special significance and importance placed in every carefully arranged word. The entire American justice system is based on the protections and assumptions about the conduct of American justice set forth in the Bill of Rights. The thirteenth amendment was a very important one, as it formally ended slavery in the United States. (House, 2012) the Emancipation Proclamation was only based on President Lincoln's war powers during the Civil War, and therefore the thirteenth Amendment was passed to solidify the end of slavery. (History, 2012) the fourteenth amendment guaranteed all Americans the right to representation and protection under the law, as well as prohibiting state and local governments from having any unfavorable action against any citizen regardless of race. The fifteenth amendment guaranteed the right to vote to any eligible man, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.