The Ninth Amendment: Rights Retained by the People

One of the more elusive and nebulous of Constitutional amendments, the Ninth Amendment essentially guarantees unnamed and unspecified individual rights not explicitly enumerated within the Constitution or the other amendments. From its ratification, the amendment has caused confusion and uncertainty. Even Supreme Court justices have been unsure how to interpret it and unclear about exactly what individual rights it extends to American citizens. The vagueness of the amendments wording has discouraged many people from basing their claim to a specific right on the Ninth Amendment. This book penetrates the veil of mystification that surrounds the amendment and explains exactly why it was proposed and ratified, and why it was worded in the way it was. It shows how consensus about how to interpret and apply the amendment has very gradually emerged through the course of several landmark Supreme Court Cases. Indeed, the story of the Supreme Court’s grappling with the Ninth Amendment provides a window onto some of the most seminal and iconic moments in American history, including New Deal politics, labor activities, fair housing laws, and past and current hot-button issues of privacy.