Lecture 8: Bill of Rights Part 1

GOVT 2305: Federal Government

Instructor: Tom Hanna

2026-09-14

Today

“Congress shall make no law…” — federal only
Religion clauses: establishment and free exercise
The home as a special zone of protection
What the text does not create: a general right to privacy
A basis for asking: What is missing?

Why This Matters

By the end of today you will explain why “Congress shall make no law” originally bound only the federal government, how the religion clauses protected both free exercise and state establishments, and why the Bill of Rights treats the home as a special zone of protection without creating a general right to privacy — giving you a basis for asking: What is missing?

Bridge

Unfinished contract and formal amendments (Lecture 7)
Today: the first great list of limits on federal power
As understood at the Founding — and what changed in the 1940s

Congress Shall Make No Law

Congress shall make no law…

Large text emphasizing Congress shall make no law

Federal only

The Bill of Rights originally limited the federal government — not the states

As understood at the time

Demand was for restraint on the new national government
Most states already had their own bills or declarations of rights
Barron v. Baltimore (1833): Bill of Rights does not apply to the states
That understanding held until the 1940s (incorporation through the 14th)

Religion Clauses

First Amendment — religion

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…

No national establishment

No official national church
No automatic membership by birth
No national tax support for churches
No federal payment of clergy salaries

It protected state establishments

Timeline showing all 13 states had established churches in 1776, with disestablishment in Virginia 1786, New Hampshire 1817, and Massachusetts 1833

Timeline of state church establishments and disestablishment

Free exercise

Practice according to conscience — or not

Worked with, not against

No establishment and free exercise reinforce each other

Not in the text

“Separation of church and state” does not appear in the Constitution

Second Amendment

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

As written

Militia clause explains one reason the right is desirable
The right is held by the people
Disagreement about the explanation does not erase the right of the people

The Home

Third Amendment

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

The home is your castle

Illustration of the home as castle

Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…

The home is your castle

Illustration of the home as castle

Secure in their…

Diagram of the four protected categories under the Fourth Amendment: persons, houses, papers, and effects

Four sanctums of the Fourth Amendment: persons, houses, papers, effects

Warrant requirements

Probable cause
Oath or affirmation
Particular description of place
Particular description of persons or things

Property and Due Process

Fifth Amendment — property focus

…nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Due process protects

Life
Liberty
Property

Takings Clause

Public use + just compensation

Later

Criminal-suspect protections in the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth return in Court Cases lectures

People and States

Ninth Amendment

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Tenth 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.

Rights and powers

Two-panel diagram: Rights of the People versus Powers of the States, noting the Founders distinguished person from citizen

Diagram distinguishing rights of the people from powers of the states

Person and citizen

The Founders knew the difference between a person and a citizen

What Is Missing?

No general right to privacy

Massive protections for the home — no free-floating right to privacy in the text

Discussion

Should we pass a right-to-privacy amendment?

What should it say?
How and where should it apply?

Incorporation (preview)

Most of these limits later reach the states through the 14th Amendment — we return there in Court Cases

Next class (September 16): Better Angels of Our Nature

Short lecture, then discussion of why we limit government based on material so far.

Reminders

Module 1 Study Guide and Connect due September 18
Quiz: September 21

Authorship and License

Do not submit to Quizlet, Chegg, Coursehero, or similar commercial sites.

Author	Tom Hanna
Website	tomhanna.me
License	CC BY-NC-SA 4.0