Who was not protected by the Bill of Rights?

Asked by: Shyann Langworth  |  Last update: January 5, 2026
Score: 4.3/5 (21 votes)

Native Americans were entirely outside the constitutional system, defined as an alien people in their own land. They were governed not by ordinary American laws, but by federal treaties and statutes that stripped tribes of most of their land and much of their autonomy.

Who didn't support the Bill of Rights?

Federalists rejected the proposition that a bill of rights was needed. They made a clear distinction between the state constitutions and the U.S. Constitution.

Did the Bill of Rights protect everyone?

Despite its seemingly inclusive wording, the Bill of Rights did not apply to all Americans—and it wouldn't for more than 130 years. At the time of its ratification, the “people” referenced in the amendments were understood to be land-owning white men only.

Who does the Bill of Rights not apply to?

In the 1833 case of Barron v. Baltimore, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Bill of Rights did not apply to state governments; such protections were instead provided by the constitutions of each state.

Which group was most likely not protected by the Bill of Rights?

Final answer: The Bill of Rights did not protect enslaved people, who were considered property and excluded from civil liberties. White men and landowners benefitted from these protections, showcasing the inequality of rights during that period.

Why wasn’t the Bill of Rights originally in the US Constitution? - James Coll

17 related questions found

What was not protected by the Bill of Rights?

People were denied the right to demonstrate publicly. There was no curb against censorship. Women's rights were unprotected. Racial discrimination was open and legal.

Who was excluded in the Bill of Rights?

Women were second-class citizens, essentially the property of their husbands, unable even to vote until 1920, when the 19th Amendment was passed and ratified. Native Americans were entirely outside the constitutional system, defined as an alien people in their own land.

Which group was not in favor of a Bill of Rights?

The Federalists felt a Bill of Rights was unnecessary. They said since the new Constitution limited the power of the government and since the people kept control of everything they did not say the government could do, no bill of individual rights was needed.

Who does the Bill of Rights limit?

It spells out Americans' rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion. It sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States.

Which of the following is not included in the Bill of Rights?

The answer to the question is voting rights. The Bill of Rights, which is the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, include protections for the people, limited government, and inalienable rights, but it does not specifically address voting rights.

Was George Washington involved with the Bill of Rights?

This week, 233 years ago, President George Washington sent 12 amendments to the Constitution for ratification by the states. Two years later, the states adopted 10 of these amendments, now known as the Bill of Rights.

Does the Bill of Rights only protect US citizens?

The Supreme Court has generally held that the protections listed in the Bill of Rights protect not just citizens, but everyone living in the United States.

Which right isn't guaranteed in the First Amendment?

Incitement to Imminent Lawless Action

The First Amendment does not protect speech that incites people to break the law, including to commit acts of violence.

Who were the people against the Bill of Rights?

Federalists opposed the inclusion of a bill of rights as unnecessary. The Constitution's first draft established a system of checks and balances that included a strong executive branch, a representative legislature, and a federal judiciary—specifying what the government could do but not what it could not do.

Did Benjamin Franklin support the Bill of Rights?

Benjamin Franklin: Franklin was a printer, scholar, philosopher, inventor, philanthropist, and Founding Father. He was a co-signer of the Bill of Rights.

What Bill of Rights were rejected?

In 1789, at the time of the submission of the Bill of Rights, twelve pro-were ratified and became the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Proposed Articles I and II were not ratified with these ten, but, in 1992, Article II was proclaimed as ratified, 203 years later.

Is everyone protected by the Bill of Rights?

The Bill of Rights in the USA Constitution protects everyone from the United States governments from abuse of their rights. This means any aggression against those rights by the government can be challenged in courts as high as the supreme court, but doesn't mean such violations can't or won't happen.

What does the Bill of Rights forbid?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Whose power is limited by the Bill of Rights?

Congress approved 12 amendments, and the states ratified 10 that would become the United States Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights only limited the federal government's power at first, but Supreme Court cases later extended most of the Bill of Rights to the states.

Who was excluded from the Bill of Rights?

Final answer: The original U.S. Bill of Rights did not explicitly exclude any specific groups, but certain groups, such as slaves and women, were not granted full rights and protections.

Which group opposed the Bill of Rights?

The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the 1787 U.S. Constitution because they feared that the new national government would be too powerful and thus threaten individual liberties, given the absence of a bill of rights.

Which group believed the Constitution did not need a Bill of Rights?

In contrast, Federalists opposed any change to the Constitution. They pointed out that the government had not existed long enough to know its flaws (Jackson, address to Congress, 8 June 1789), and contended that enumerated rights were unnecessary for a democratic republic.

Who didn't agree with the Bill of Rights?

On October 6, Pennsylvanian James Wilson delivered a speech at the state house in which he argued that a bill of rights was unnecessary because the new national government had limited, enumerated (i.e., specified) powers and had no power to violate liberties in the first place. In Federalist Paper No.

What group was excluded from the rights of man?

While slavery and serfdom were outlawed in France, the French colonies were exempt from the law. The Jews and some Protestants were also excluded from enjoying the rights issued in the Declaration.

Which right is not mentioned in the Bill of Rights?

The right to privacy, they found, is a right even though it was not listed in the Constitution.