INCORPORATION DOCTRINE
A constitutional doctrine whereby selected provi-
sions of the BILL OF RIGHTS are made applicable
to the states through the DUE PROCESS CLAUSE of
the FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT.
The doctrine of selective incorporation, or
simply the incorporation doctrine, makes the
first ten amendments to the Constitution—
known as the Bill of Rights—binding on the
states. Through incorporation, state govern-
ments largely are held to the same standards as
the federal government with regard to many
constitutional rights, including the FIRST
AMENDMENT freedoms of speech, religion, and
assembly, and the separation of church and
state; the FOURTH AMENDMENT freedoms from
unwarranted arrest and unreasonable SEARCHES
AND SEIZURES; the FIFTH AMENDMENT PRIVI-
LEGE AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION; and the
SIXTH AMENDMENT right to a speedy, fair, and
public trial. Some provisions of the Bill of
Rights—including the requirement of indict-
ment by a GRAND JURY (Sixth Amendment) and
the right to a jury trial in civil cases (Seventh
Amendment)—have not been applied to the
states through the incorporation doctrine.
Until the early twentieth century, the Bill of
Rights was interpreted as applying only to the
federal government. In the 1833 case Barron
ex rel. Tiernon v. Mayor of Baltimore, 32 U.S.
(7 Pet.) 243, 8 L. Ed. 672, the Supreme Court
expressly limited application of the Bill of
Rights to the federal government. By the mid-
nineteenth century, this view was being chal-
lenged. For example, Republicans who were
opposed to southern state laws that made it a
crime to speak and publish against SLAVERY
alleged that such laws violated First Amendment
