The bill of rights only applied to the federal government?

Answer 1

The Bill of Rights, which is the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, when written only applied to the federal government. As written it does not apply to individuals, states, or foreign nations... it simply is a restriction upon the power of the federal government. It also provides redundant statements in the 9th and 10th Amendments which demonstrate the importance the founders placed upon said amendments. The 14th Amendment established the term citizen in section I: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States"... Prior to the 14th Amendment, an individual was only a citizen of their state. In the 20th century the Supreme Court ruled in a number of cases that some of the amendments found in the Bill of Rights, those in respect to the case being ruled upon, were to be applied to all citizens, therefore under the Supremacy Clause, state or local laws could not conflict with those amendments. Such amendments were incorporated under the 14th Amendment. It is important to note that as of writing this response, not all amendments and/or sections of amendments in the Bill of Rights have been incorporated. One such example is the 2nd Amendment in its entirety.

Answer 2

The Bill of Rights applied only to the Federal Government. The Supreme Court Case of Mapp v Ohio in 1961 began the process of "nationalization" of the Bill of Rights, by ruling that states were not to permit evidence seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Since that case the Bill of Rights has slowly been "nationalized" in a series of Judicial "tests". Mapp v Ohio marked the beginning of a period of unprecedented judicial activism. They justified the extension of the Bill of Rights to the States under the authority of the 14th Amendment.

Answer 3

The bill of rights is not legeally bound to the federal government

Answer 4

true