What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution referred to as?

The first ten amendments to the Constitution are referred to as the Bill of Rights. This term signifies a formal declaration of the rights of the citizens and serves to protect individual liberties against potential government overreach. Ratified in 1791, the Bill of Rights encompasses essential protections such as freedom of speech, religion, the right to bear arms, and rights related to criminal proceedings, among others.

This foundational component of the Constitution emerged from the debates surrounding ratification, where concerns about the lack of explicit protections for individual rights were prevalent. As a result, the inclusion of these amendments helped to secure broader support for the Constitution itself, ensuring that the fundamental rights of citizens would be safeguarded.

The other options refer to different historical documents or periods. The Articles of Confederation was the first governing document of the United States, outlining a weak central government before the establishment of the Constitution. The Federalist Papers are a series of essays written to promote the ratification of the Constitution but are not amendments themselves. The Constitution itself refers to the entire document that outlines the framework of the U.S. government and does not specifically denote only the first ten amendments.