The main purpose of implementing the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, was to safeguard fundamental individual rights against seizure by the federal government and prohibit interference with existing rights. The Revolutionary War with Britain was still quite clear in the American mind during the writing of the Constitution, so the Bill of Rights had full support of the public because it protected citizens against
everything which had angered the colonists about the British (Holder 52).
The Constitution is extremely ambiguous concerning individual rights and personal freedoms of man. It does, however, prohibit the passage of ex post facto laws, which punish people for an act they committed before such an act was illegal, disallow bills of attainder, which punish offenders without a trial, and prevent suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, which requires a detained man to be notified of the offense he committed (Gilbert 331). The Constitution also prohibits religious qualifications for seeking and holding a governmental office, and it secures the right of a trial by jury of peers in a criminal case (Gilbert 336). Articles One, Two, and Three of the United States Constitution define the three structures of the national government, and include each branch's composition and function. Article One deals with the Congress, the legislative structure of the federal government. It is the Congress, rather than the President, who is bestowed by the Constitution with the lawmaking duty. The legislative branch contains two Houses, one being the Senate, which is based upon equal representation of the states, and the other being the House of Representatives, which is based upon state population. The Framers envisioned Congress as the most important and most powerful branch of government, although today much of the significant legislation is initiated by the President and the executive department (Holder 20). In order to be a Representative, one must be twenty-five years of age or older, a United States citizen for at least seven years, and reside in the state from which he is elected (Holder 21). On the other hand, Senators must have attained the age of thirty years, be a citizen for at least nine years, and also reside in the state from which he is elected. While Representatives serve two year terms, Senators serve six year terms (Holder 23). The powers belonging to Congress can be classified as either economic or military. Economic powers include the authority to levy taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce, coin money, and establish bankruptcy laws (Holder 28).