The first ten amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. This designation emphasizes their role in securing fundamental liberties and rights for individuals against potential government overreach. Ratified in 1791, these amendments address key principles such as freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the rights of the accused, among others. The Bill of Rights was introduced to ensure that specific freedoms were explicitly protected, reflecting the concerns of many states during the ratification of the Constitution who feared that individual rights might not be adequately safeguarded.
The other options represent different historical documents and concepts; for example, the Constitution refers to the overall framework of government established in 1787, while the Articles of Confederation were the first governing document of the United States, and the Federalist Papers are writings that advocated for the ratification of the Constitution. None of those options specifically refers to the set of amendments meant to protect individual rights in the way the Bill of Rights does.