The 9th Amendment: Partner to the 10th

By: Michael Boldin

Few parts of the Constitution have been so misunderstood as the Ninth Amendment in the Bill of Rights. With its 21 words the 9th Amendment reads; “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” Learn about two primary models or theories of the 9th: 1) the individual natural rights, or libertarian, model and 2) the federalist model.