What it said about human rights in US Constitution?

Answer 1

-All men are created equal

-Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness

there are many more

A common misconception, the above statements are actually contained in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.

Strictly speaking, there is only one individual right enshrined in the main text of the Constitution: that of the writ of Habeas Corpus, which basically means that the government needs to provide a justification for imprisoning a citizen. Many of the rights we take for granted were actually added to the Constitution at the insistence of Virginia delegate George Mason. These rights were written as the first ten Amendments, better known as the Bill of Rights. Please note that many of the Amendments are deliberately vague, so interpretations vary.

The First Amendment covers freedom of religion, expression, and the right to petition the government. The Second covers a right to bear arms, the Third bars the military from housing soldiers in private homes without consent, the Fourth protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, the Fifth deals with self-incrimination, the Sixth confers the right to a fair and speedy public trial, the Seventh prevents double jeopardy, the Eighth bans cruel and unusual punishment, the Ninth ensures that rights not explicitly mentioned in the other Amendments are reserved to the people.

Other amendments deal with rights issues, such as the Thirteenth, which bans slavery, the Fourteenth; which guarantees equal protection; the Seventeenth, which allows citizens to vote for Senators; and the Nineteenth, which gives women the right to vote.

The Supreme Court, which is ultimately responsible for interpreting the Constitution, has also interpreted the Amendment as including the right to an abortion (Roe v. Wade, 1973), the right to be made aware of your rights during an arrest (Miranda v. Arizona, 1966), and the right to use corporate money for free speech purposes (Citizens United v. FEC, 2010). Supreme Court interpretations can change, and many cases are controversial (see Roe and Citizens United, for example), but since Amendments are so short (often only a single sentence), the Court has the power to determine exactly what rights are covered by the Constitution.