How to remember the Bill of Rights in order

By the Without Notes teamLast checked 29 October 2026

The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791. Give each amendment one word, put the words on ten parts of your body from your feet up, and the number of each amendment is the place it sits on.

The ten in order, and where each goes on your body
  1. SPEECHThe 1st: religion, speech, the press, assembly and petitionFeet
  2. ARMSThe 2nd: the right to keep and bear armsKnees
  3. SOLDIERSThe 3rd: no soldiers housed in your home in peacetime without consentThighs
  4. SEARCHESThe 4th: no unreasonable searches and seizuresHips
  5. SILENCEThe 5th: grand juries, no trial twice for one crime, no witness against yourselfStomach
  6. TRIALThe 6th: a speedy, public trial, with a lawyerChest
  7. JURYThe 7th: a jury in civil casesShoulders
  8. BAILThe 8th: no excessive bail or fines, no cruel and unusual punishmentNeck
  9. OTHERSThe 9th: rights not listed still belong to the peopleFace
  10. STATESThe 10th: powers not given to the federal government stay with the states or the peopleTop of head

Try it: all ten on your body

Ten words, one at a time, each on a part of your body: feet, knees, thighs, hips, stomach, chest, shoulders, neck, face, the top of your head. For each, type what the word does to that part, in a few words; the first two come with a scene to start you off. Up to 15 seconds a word. Then look away for 15 seconds, and walk up your body from your feet to get them back.

Where does the order slip?

The fifth holds the most, so one word only gets you started: grand juries, no trial twice for the same crime, no witness against yourself, fair process before your life, liberty or property is taken, and fair payment for property taken for public use. The ninth and tenth both cover what the list leaves out: the ninth the people’s rights, the tenth the states’ powers.

How do you keep it?

Walk up your body again tomorrow and a few days later, and say each item before you look. Recalling something before you look at it again is one of the best-supported ways to learn. If an item doesn’t come back, give it a new scene on the same part of your body.

In a 2022 study, ten parts of the body, typed from feet to head, worked as well as a classical memory palace for recalling a list in order. There’s more in how to memorize a list in order and the body method.

Keep this list with Without Notes

After the free first lesson, paste this list into Without Notes. It puts the items on your places in order, you write each scene, and it checks you at 1, 7 and 30 days, unaided.

Sources

  1. US National Archives: the Bill of Rights, a transcription
  2. Kluger et al. 2022, Memory: ten body parts against a classical memory palace
  3. Yang et al. 2021, Psychological Bulletin: recall practice in 222 classroom studies

Without Notes is a study tool. It does not diagnose or treat memory problems. If you’ve noticed changes in your memory that worry you, please talk to a doctor first.