In 1833, which case held that the Bill of Rights does not apply to the states?

• A. United States v. Windsor (2013)
• B. Barron v. Baltimore (1833)
• C. Katz v. United States (1967)
• D. Furman v. Georgia (1972)

Answer: (B)

This question tests how the Bill of Rights was applied to state governments in U.S. history. In the 1833 ruling Barron v. Baltimore, the Supreme Court held that the protections in the Bill of Rights restrained only the federal government, not the states. So, at that time, state and local governments could act without being bound by most of those federal liberties. The idea of applying many of those rights to the states would come later through the Fourteenth Amendment and the incorporation process, changing how civil liberties protected individuals against state action.

Context helps: Barron v. Baltimore shows the pre-incorporation landscape, where the Bill of Rights limited only federal power. The other cases listed involve different issues—United States v. Windsor centers on federal recognition of marriages, Katz v. United States concerns Fourth Amendment privacy (and incorporation) in a later era, and Furman v. Georgia deals with the death penalty.