What are the first 13 amendments called?

Quick answer: Are the first 13 amendments called the Bill of Rights?

13 bill of rights

Short answer: No. The label Bill of Rights properly refers to the first ten amendments, Amendments 1-10; Amendments 11-13 are later, distinct amendments and are not usually grouped under a single formal name.

This distinction matters because using precise labels helps readers find the authoritative texts and ratification dates that apply to each amendment, and it avoids common confusions about what protections originally constrained the states.

What the Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10) covers and when it was ratified

The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the Constitution; those amendments were completed and ratified on December 15, 1791, and the National Archives provides a transcription of that document for reference Bill of Rights: A Transcription, and our first ten amendments page.

In plain language, the Bill of Rights lists core protections and limits on federal power, and modern summaries often use those transcriptions to explain the original text and placement in constitutional history.

The First Amendment protects five core freedoms: religion, speech, press, assembly and petition; concise transcriptions and explanations appear in annotated overviews for readers who want the exact wording The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments).

Beyond the First Amendment, Amendments 2 through 10 contain a mix of individual rights and structural protections, such as bearing arms, restrictions on quartering troops, safeguards against unreasonable searches and seizures, due process and jury trial guarantees, and limits on certain governmental powers; these summaries are commonly drawn from primary transcriptions and reference works Bill of Rights.

Amendments 11-13: what each does and when it was ratified

11th Amendment: sovereign immunity and federal jurisdiction

The Eleventh Amendment, ratified in 1795, limits suits brought against states in federal courts by private parties, and reference transcriptions list its text and ratification date for verification Amendments 11-27. See FindLaw’s amendments page FindLaw amendments.

12th Amendment: changes to presidential elections

The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, revised the procedure for electing the president and vice president to address defects in the earlier electoral process; authoritative transcriptions provide the amendment text and timing The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments).

13th Amendment: abolition of slavery and its ratification

The Thirteenth Amendment, ratified on December 6, 1865, abolished slavery in the United States; the National Archives Milestones summary is a recommended quick reference for its ratification context and text The 13th Amendment and its Milestones.

A plain-language, amendment-by-amendment summary of Amendments 1-13

Amendment 1 (1791): Protects freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition; read the exact wording in the National Archives transcription Bill of Rights: A Transcription.

Amendment 2 (1791): Addresses the right to keep and bear arms as an individual or collective right depending on legal interpretation, with the text available in primary transcriptions The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments).

Amendment 3 (1791): Prohibits the peacetime quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner’s consent, phrased succinctly in founding transcriptions Bill of Rights: A Transcription.

Amendment 4 (1791): Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires warrants based on probable cause; the exact limits come from the amendment text and later case law The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments).

Amendment 5 (1791): Provides protections for due process, grand juries in certain cases, double jeopardy, self-incrimination and just compensation for takings; consult primary texts for precise phrasing Bill of Rights: A Transcription.

Amendment 6 (1791): Guarantees speedy and public trials, impartial juries, notice of charges, confrontation of witnesses and assistance of counsel; the transcription records the language used in those guarantees The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments).

Amendment 7 (1791): Preserves the right to trial by jury in certain civil cases according to the common law tradition; the National Archives transcription shows the amendment’s original wording Bill of Rights: A Transcription.

Amendment 8 (1791): Prohibits excessive bail and fines and forbids cruel and unusual punishment, with the concrete terms available in founding documents The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments).

Amendment 9 (1791): Notes that listing specific rights does not mean other rights do not exist; the amendment’s brief text is preserved in primary transcriptions Bill of Rights: A Transcription.

Amendment 10 (1791): Reserves undelegated powers to the states or the people; see the transcription for the exact wording and placement in constitutional structure The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments).

Amendment 11 (1795): Limits suits against states in federal courts by private parties and clarifies federal judicial power in specific circumstances; the amendments-11-27 page lists its text and ratification details Amendments 11-27.

Amendment 12 (1804): Changes the electoral procedure for president and vice president to address earlier electoral problems; the reliable transcription records the reform and its date The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments).

Amendment 13 (1865): Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime, with ratification certified in 1865 and summarized in milestone pages The 13th Amendment and its Milestones.

How scholars and reference works name and group early amendments – common conventions

Major reference works and archives commonly call Amendments 1-10 the Bill of Rights and treat 11-13 as later, separate amendments; the National Archives and other institutional pages use that convention in their headings and transcriptions Bill of Rights: A Transcription. The Constitution Center also provides an overview The Amendments.

There is no widely adopted formal collective name for Amendments 1-13 as a single block; writers and editors therefore usually describe them as the Bill of Rights plus the subsequent amendments or simply as the first 13 amendments to avoid implying a single common title The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments).

Why people confuse the Bill of Rights with later amendments: incorporation and constitutional reach

One frequent source of confusion is the belief that every Bill of Rights protection originally constrained state governments; that understanding changed over time as the Fourteenth Amendment and Supreme Court doctrine applied many protections to the states, a development explained in legal overviews and annotated resources The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments).

Because textbooks and summaries sometimes simplify incorporation history, writers should attribute interpretive claims about application to states to annotated legal sources rather than to the amendment texts alone.

Where to verify ratification dates and read the exact amendment texts

For exact wording and ratification dates, start with the National Archives transcriptions and milestone pages, which present the primary texts and official dates in one place Bill of Rights: A Transcription.

The Library of Congress offers historical notes and reproductions that are useful for historical context, and Cornell Law School provides accessible annotated transcriptions that are helpful for legal overviews Bill of Rights (transcription and historical notes). See the Library of Congress guide Bill of Rights guide.

How the 13th Amendment changed the Constitution and what ‘abolished slavery’ legally meant

The Thirteenth Amendment, ratified December 6, 1865, contains a core clause that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime; the National Archives milestone page provides the text and ratification context The 13th Amendment and its Milestones.

While the amendment’s text formally ended slavery, its legal and social effects were shaped by subsequent statutes and court decisions that addressed enforcement, civil rights, and related questions; annotated legal sources help trace that history in more detail.

Practical implications: how early amendments affect rights and government powers today

Many contemporary legal disputes rest on how courts interpret First Amendment protections and procedural safeguards in the Bill of Rights; for current doctrinal status, consult annotated case law and legal overviews rather than short summaries The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments). See our constitutional-rights page.

Understanding the distinct purposes of Amendments 11-13 helps avoid conflating structural or jurisdictional rules with individual liberties, a distinction that matters in reporting and civic education.

Typical mistakes to avoid when writing about the first 13 amendments

Avoid calling Amendments 1-13 the Bill of Rights without clarifying that the conventional meaning of Bill of Rights is Amendments 1-10; the National Archives labels the first ten amendments accordingly and separates later amendments in its listings Bill of Rights: A Transcription.

Do not assert that Bill of Rights protections originally bound the states without noting incorporation history; attribute such interpretive claims to annotated legal sources to keep statements accurate and verifiable.

How to quote and cite the amendments accurately in reporting or papers

When accuracy matters, quote the exact amendment wording from a primary transcription such as the National Archives or the Library of Congress and include an explicit citation that names the source and the ratification year when relevant Bill of Rights (transcription and historical notes).

As a short citation example, you can cite the First Amendment text followed by the National Archives transcription and the ratification year to make clear which source you used and to aid fact-checking.

Teaching or explaining the first 13 amendments to voters or students

Use a simple classroom activity that pairs short primary-source excerpts from Amendments 1-10 with the texts of Amendments 11-13 to show differences in purpose and timing; encourage students to check National Archives or Cornell LII pages for the exact wording The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription (Amendments).

Ask students to note ratification years beside each amendment and to discuss whether the amendment text alone answers questions about how rights apply to states, highlighting the role of later case law in those answers.

Authoritative further reading and reference pages

Primary sources to consult include the National Archives transcriptions and milestone pages for official texts and ratification dates, the Library of Congress for historical notes, and Cornell Law School for accessible annotated overviews Amendments 11-27.

These pages serve different purposes: National Archives for official transcriptions, Library of Congress for historical context, and Cornell LII for legal summaries and annotation; use more than one source when precision is required.

Conclusion: clear takeaways about naming and verifying the first 13 amendments

Takeaway 1: The term Bill of Rights properly refers to Amendments 1-10; calling Amendments 1-13 the Bill of Rights risks inaccuracy.

Takeaway 2: For exact texts and ratification dates, consult National Archives transcriptions and milestone pages and use Cornell LII for annotated legal overviews Bill of Rights: A Transcription, and our Bill of Rights guide.

Takeaway 3: Use precise language and cite primary sources when describing early amendments to avoid common confusions about scope and application.