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United States Bill of Rights

First United States Congress · 1789

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, whose due-process clause traces its legal ancestry back to Magna Carta's clause 39.

The Fifth Amendment's due-process clause descends directly from Magna Carta's clause 39, showing its legacy in American law.

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A framed parchment document under glass in a display case beneath the engraved words 'Bill of Rights' on a stone wall. The handwritten text reads 'Congress of the United States' at the top.
United States Bill of Rights, 1789. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

About this source

What it is

The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, proposed by the First United States Congress in 1789 following debate over the Constitution. It is held today by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Why it matters

Delegates such as George Mason and Elbridge Gerry argued for adding a bill of rights to protect individual liberties, though the idea was initially rejected at the Constitutional Convention. The Fifth Amendment's protection of due process descends from the same tradition as Magna Carta's clause 39, letting students trace an idea about fair treatment under law across centuries and across an ocean.

Look closer

  • Why might the framers have initially rejected the idea of a bill of rights?
  • How does the wording about due process compare with what Magna Carta promised?
  • What does it mean that an idea from medieval England ended up shaping a modern nation's founding document?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Magna Carta on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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