tion of
justice, rejected the claims of divine right by the Stewarts, established
capacity for self-government upon the independence of individual character
that knows no superior but the law, and supplied the amazing formative
power which has molded, according to the course and practice of the common
law, the thought and custom of the hundred millions of men drawn from all
lands and all races who inhabit this continent north of the Rio Grande.

The mere declaration of a principle, however, is of little avail unless it
be supported by practical and specific rules of conduct through which
the principle shall receive effect. So Magna Charta imposed specific
limitations upon royal authority to the end that individual liberty might
be preserved, and so to the same end our Declaration of Independence
was followed by those great rules of right conduct which we call the
limitations of the constitution. Magna Charta imposed its limitations upon
the kings of England and all their officers and agents. Our constitution
imposed its limitations upon the sovereign people and all their officers
and agents, excluding all the agencies of popular government from authority
to do the particular things which would destroy or impair the declared
inalienable right of the individual.

Thus the constitution provides: No law shall be made by Congress
prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or abridging the freedom of
speech or of the press. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall
not be infringed. The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated. No person shall be subject for the same offense to
be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor be compelled, in any criminal
case, to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken
for public use without just compensation. In all criminal prosecutions, the
accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial
jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed;
and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be
confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel
for his defense. Excessive bail shall not he required, nor excessive fines
imposed,