Question

Why was the above passage included in the Bill of Rights?

Answer 1

The correct answer is A. To explain why rights were being reserved for citizens rather than the government.

Indeed, the context of the Bill of Rights was that the articles of Confederation that were used to regulate relations between the states were insufficient as the federal government that was supposed to enforce them was actually weakened by them. The Philadelphia Convention was organized to fix these articles but it was finally decided that they would be replaced with the Constitution. However, the great fear of Anti-Federalists was that such Constitution would give too much power to the President and thus it had to be counterbalanced by strong Individual rights for American Citizens. Thus, this particular Fifth Amendment was intended to establish several constitutional rights and judicial protections for American citizens such as:

- The Right to be judged by a Grand Jury of one’s peers.

- The Infamous crime clause.

- The Double Jeopardy Clause (right not to be tried twice for the same offense).

- The Right not to be forced self-incriminate legally.

- The Due Process Clause (right not to be arrested, prosecuted or incarcerated without valid legal justification and trial).

- The Takings Clause (the right not to be dispossessed of one’s property arbitrarily or without proper monetary compensation).