The Bill of Rights defines in writing the rights of American citizens that the Federal Government may not ignore or take away. By doing so, it places limits on what the government can do. It helps define the idea of limited government, and it reinforces the idea that the powers of government come from the people. Thus, the Bill of Rights list powers the people specifically have NOT given the government. In this sense, the Bill of Right incorporates several basic principles of American government used to construct the U.S. Constitution: Popular sovereignty and limited government. For Americans, the Bill of Rights stands as a reminder to the government that it is not all powerful, that the people have given the government powers in return for protecting the rights of citizens, and that the people as the originators of all political power specifically retain specific rights to themselves.
