Civic Literacy Practice Test 2026 - Free Civic Literacy Questions and Study Guide

The first ten amendments to the Constitution are collectively known as the Bill of Rights. This framework was introduced to guarantee specific freedoms and rights to individuals, addressing concerns about the limitations of government power and protecting citizens from potential government overreach. The Bill of Rights plays a crucial role in American democracy, ensuring essential liberties such as freedom of speech, right to bear arms, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to a fair trial.

The other choices do not pertain to the first ten amendments. The Magna Carta, for instance, is a 1215 document that laid the foundation for the principle of limited government but is not part of the U.S. Constitution. The Emancipation Proclamation refers to President Lincoln's executive order during the Civil War that aimed to free enslaved people in the Confederate states and is not related to constitutional amendments. The Federalist Papers are a series of writings advocating for the ratification of the Constitution but do not specifically refer to the amendments themselves.