Which document guarantees individual rights and freedoms?

The Bill of Rights is the document that specifically guarantees individual rights and freedoms. Ratified in 1791 as the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, it was created to ensure protection of civil liberties such as freedom of speech, religion, and assembly, as well as rights related to criminal proceedings, such as the right to a fair trial and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. These amendments were introduced largely due to concerns from the Anti-Federalists who feared that the original Constitution did not adequately protect individual rights.

In contrast, while the Constitution lays out the framework of government and includes some provisions for rights, it does not detail individual freedoms as explicitly as the Bill of Rights does. The Articles of Confederation primarily focused on the governance structure of the early U.S. and lacked a mechanism for protecting individual rights. The Federalist Papers, a collection of writings by key figures advocating for the ratification of the Constitution, discussed the importance of government structure and power dynamics but did not specifically outline individual rights. Therefore, the Bill of Rights is uniquely positioned as the key document that articulates and guarantees those personal liberties.