Individual Guarantees against Governmental Action

1.Bill of Rights

Twenty-seven amendments have been added to the Constitution since 1789. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were adopted as a unit in 1791. The BoR is the most important source of limitations on the federal government's power. By its terms, the BoR is not applicable to the states, althoug most of its safeguards have been held to be applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause.

2. The Fourteenth Amendment

This amendment prohibits states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process and equal protection of the law. As discussed above, this amendment is the most important source of limitations on the states' power over individuals, since through the Due Process Clause; most of the protections of the BoR are application to the states.

3. Commerce Clause

The Supreme Court has allowed Congress to use Commerce Clause to limit the power of individuals over other individuals-- by adopting legislation barring private racial discrimination in activities "connected with" interstate commerce. Recall that under the affection doctrine, almost any activity can be said to be connected with interstate commerce.

4.Rights of National Citizenship

The Supreme Court has also allowed Congress to limit the power of private individuals to infringe ( vt.侵犯，侵害） upon others's rights of national citizenship, without pointing to any specific constitutional source for the power.