詹姆斯.麦迪逊（James Madison，创作宪法的国父之一），写出了限制政府权力、保障人民权利的一份列表，这些权力表述在宪法的前10条修正案中，叫做《人权法案》（the Bill of Rights）。
其中的一些权力包括诸如：
表达自由；
武装权力（持枪权）；
不受侵犯的权力；
一罪不可两罚的权力；
不能自己指证自己的权力；
被陪审团审判的权力；
对公诉人的权力；
不受逼供、滥用刑法的权力等。
《人权法案于》于1791年通过。
5、What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
答案：《the of Rights》
《The Bill of Rights》 is the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. When the Framers wrote the Constitution, they did not focus on individual rights. They focused on creating the system and structure of government. Many Americans believed that the Constitution should guarantee the rights of the people, and they wanted a list of all the things a government could not do. They were afraid that a strong government would take away the rights people won in the Revolutionary War. James Madison, one of the Framers of the Constitution,wrote a list of individual rights and limits on the government. These rights appear in the first 10 amendments, called the Bill of Rights.
Some of these rights include freedom of expression, the right to bear arms, freedom from search without warrant, freedom not to be tried twice for the same crime, the right to not testify against yourself, the right to a trial by a jury of your peers, the right to an attorney, and protection against excessive fines and unusual punishments. The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.
6、What are the rights or freedom from the First Amendment?
答案：speech；religion；assembly；press；petition the government
The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights protects a person’s right to freedom of expression. Freedom of expression allows open discussion and debate on public issues. Open discussion and debate are important to democracy. The First Amendment also protects freedom of religion and free speech. This amendment says that Congress may not pass laws that establish an official religion and may not limit religious expression. Congress may not pass laws that limit freedom of the press or the right of people to meet peacefully. The First Amendment also gives people the right to petition the government to change laws or acts that are not fair. Congress may not take away these rights. The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees and protects these rights.
This idea is called “consent of the governed.” If the government creates laws that are fair and protect people, then people will agree to follow those laws.
另外要注意，权力和自由之间是“或”的关系，right or freedom。就是说，权力和自由不是从属关系。不像中国人想象、理解的那样“政府有权力，给予人民自由”。这在下面讲到美国公民、美国合法居住者的权利和义务时，至关重要。
This idea is called “consent of the governed.” If the government creates laws that are fair and protect people, then people will agree to follow those laws.
