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The Importance Of The Ninth Amendment

Decent Essays

The 9th Amendment in the Bill of Rights states “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” Ratified on September 5, 1789, James Madison introduced this Amendment to the House of Representatives due to the fact he felt that the eight preceding Amendments dealt with how the Federal Government could exercise its powers. Varying from the prior eight Amendments, the Ninth Amendment was focused on the importance of enumerable rights of the American citizens. The Ninth Amendment offers a protection to the American people, expressing that Americans have more inherent, fundamental rights beyond those that are listed in the Bill of Rights. Even though the first ten amendments to the Constitution were approved to ensure all citizens were granted the same basic freedoms all persons should have, the Ninth Amendment was instrumental in the foresight towards the future and enumerable rights. Though the Amendment was written out of concern that the Bill of Rights would not in fact cover fundamental human rights, the Amendment is still left to the courts to determine exactly what rights the Amendment does and does not protect. Despite many of the other Amendments within the Bill of Rights explicitly stating rights of the Federal Government and protections of the American people, the Ninth Amendment is more open-ended and left to the judgment of an enforcer. In 1971, the first case regarding the Ninth

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