Which amendment asserts that rights not listed in the Constitution may still be retained by the people?

Which amendment asserts that rights not listed in the Constitution may still be retained by the people?

• A. The First Amendment
• B. The Ninth Amendment
• C. The Third Amendment
• D. The Tenth Amendment

Answer: (B)

Unenumerated rights—the idea that people retain rights beyond those listed in the Constitution—is what this question is testing. The Ninth Amendment makes clear that just because certain rights are spelled out in the Constitution, it doesn’t mean other rights don’t exist or aren’t protected. It was included to reassure people that the government can’t claim that only the listed rights matter or that rights disappear if they aren’t named. Think about how the First Amendment protects specific freedoms like speech and religion, or how the Third Amendment restricts quartering soldiers, or how the Tenth Amendment deals with power between the states and the federal government. None of those directly assert that unlisted rights belong to the people, whereas the Ninth Amendment does, by explicitly stating that rights not listed are still retained by the people.

Unenumerated rights—the idea that people retain rights beyond those listed in the Constitution—is what this question is testing. The Ninth Amendment makes clear that just because certain rights are spelled out in the Constitution, it doesn’t mean other rights don’t exist or aren’t protected. It was included to reassure people that the government can’t claim that only the listed rights matter or that rights disappear if they aren’t named.

Think about how the First Amendment protects specific freedoms like speech and religion, or how the Third Amendment restricts quartering soldiers, or how the Tenth Amendment deals with power between the states and the federal government. None of those directly assert that unlisted rights belong to the people, whereas the Ninth Amendment does, by explicitly stating that rights not listed are still retained by the people.