of Rights in their own state constitutions. Only after the Civil War were U.S.
constitutional rights strengthened so that they apply in every state. The
Constitution's 14th Amendment declares:

"No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of the law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws."

Federal courts have interpreted this to mean that state governments must respect
most - bus still not all - of the provisions in the federal Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights does not precisely define the rights it means to protect. Like
much of the rest offhe Constitution, it speaks in general terms. For example,
"freedom of speech," "due process of law," and "cruel and unusual punishment" are
broad concepts, and the Constitution does not specify how to interpret them. It
doesn't even say who should interpret them, and this was to produce one of the
earliest legal crises in the United States.