most of the rights in the bill of rights apply to the states under
Incorporation of the Bill of Rights Incorporation, in United States law, is the doctrine by which portions of the Bill of Rights have been made applicable to the states. When the Bill of Rights was first ratified, courts held that its protections only extended to the actions of the federal government and that the Bill of Rights did not place limitations on the authority of state and local governments. However, in the post-Civil War era, beginning in 1897 with Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad v. City of Chicago, various portions of the Bill of Rights have been held to be applicable to state and local governments by incorporation through the Fourteenth Amendment.