The Bill of Rights is actually a Bill of Constraints.

The First ten amendments to the Constitution do not grant any rights. We are endowed with ALL rights by the Creator. The amendments are constraints put on the government to protect the States' and the people's rights. 

They constrain the government:

1. Not to make a state Religion or prohibit Free exercise of Religion, Free Speech, Free press, peaceful assembly or petition of the government.
2. Not to infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
3. Not to house soldiers without the owner's permission in peacetime and in war time only as proscribed by law.
4. Not to search or seize people or property without a warrant based on an oath of probable cause and a description of the person or things.
5. Not to hold any person to answer for capital or infamous crimes without indictment by grand jury except persons serving in the military in times of war or public danger. Not to put a person in jeopardy of life and limb twice for the same offense. Not to compel anyone to be a witness against themselves in any criminal case. Not to deprive anyone of life, liberty or property without due process of law. Not to take private property for public use without just compensation. [which is why income/wealth/estate tax used for government largess such as entitlements, Disaster aid, subsidies to industry, grants to states, education and other loans or any other service or program with no direct benefit or compensation to the tax payer is unconstitutional]
6. In criminal prosecutions, ensure the accused a speedy public trial by an impartial jury from the state or district where the crime was committed and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, confronted with the witnesses against the accused, have a compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in favor of the accused and to have counsel for the accused's defense.
7. In common law suits for greater than 20 [of that time’s gold] dollars there remains a right to trial by Jury and no fact tried by a jury can be re-examined by another US court other than according to the rules of common law.
8. Not to require excessive bail or impose excessive fines [why punitive damages over and above compensatory damages are unconstitutional] or inflict cruel and unusual punishment.
9. Not to construe the enumeration of some rights in the Constitution as disparaging or denying any other rights retained by the people.
10. The States or the People retain all powers not delegated to the United States [government] in the Constitution or prohibited to the States by the Constitution.