What is the Bill of Rights?

The Bill of Rights is made up of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The Bill of Rights guarantees rights and liberties to the American people. These amendments were proposed by Congress in 1789, and ratified (approved) by three-fourths of the states on December 15, 1791, thereby officially becoming part of the Constitution. The first eight amendments outline many individual rights guaranteed to all people of this nation, while the Ninth and Tenth Amendments are general rules of interpretation of the relationship among the people, the state governments, and the federal government.