Question

Which best explains the purpose of the Ninth Amendment?

Answer 1

Answer: The 9th Amendment asserts that the people have rights beyond those listed in the Constitution.

Further detail:

The 9th and 10th Amendments are closely related.  

The 9th Amendment asserts that the Constitution has not attempted to list all the rights that individuals have, and affirms that the people have rights that are not all listed within the Constitution.

The 10th Amendment affirms that the Constitution is the law of the United States, but that states themselves are free to establish their own constitutions and laws, as long as they are not in conflict with the US Constitution.

Here's the wording of those two amendments:

• 9th Amendment:  The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
• 10th Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Answer 2

The purpose of the 9th amendment is to ensure that citizens receive rights not explicitly discussed in the US Constitution. If the Constitution has not directly talked about a specific right or action or limited it to a certain part of government, that right than belongs to the citizens of the US. This amendment allows for greater individual freedoms in the US.