--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The right to be let alone is the…" description: "\"The right to be let alone is the underlying principle of the Constitution's Bill of Rights.\" — Erwin Griswold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/erwin-griswold-72369_bill-of-rights_the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-the-underly_600978.jpg" --- # The right to be let alone is the underlying principle of… ![“The right to be let alone is the underlying principle of the Constitution's Bill of Rights.” quote by Erwin Griswold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/erwin-griswold-72369_bill-of-rights_the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-the-underly_600978.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/erwin-griswold-72369_bill-of-rights_the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-the-underly_600978.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/erwin-griswold-72369_bill-of-rights_the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-the-underly_600978.jpg) > “The right to be let alone is the underlying principle of the Constitution's Bill of Rights.” Erwin Griswold ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individual privacy is the foundation of constitutional freedoms. **In simple terms:** Privacy underpins rights. Key Takeaway Protect personal space. Themes privacy rights constitution Mood serious thoughtful Type legal philosophical When to use this quote - courtroom - legislation - personal data Key Concepts Legal theory civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - How should law balance privacy and safety? - What limits should exist on government intrusion? A Different Perspective Balancing privacy with security is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bill of rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bill-of-rights/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) ## Related quotes > [In these sacred documents are embodied eternal principles that no man, group of men, or nation has the right to withhold from others. Here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/in-these-sacred-documents-are-embodied-eternal-principles-that-no-man/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [I guess the underlying principle might be, don't make it too easy for them to stereotype you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-guess-the-underlying-principle-might-be-don-t-make-it-too-easy-for/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [I think a basic principle of our Constitution is nobody above the law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-a-basic-principle-of-our-constitution-is-nobody-above-the-law/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Join America taught English, an understanding of the U.S. Constitution, that the Bill of Rights is the ultimate insurance policy for a citizen, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niger-innis/join-america-taught-english-an-understanding-of-the-u-s-constitution/) [Niger Innis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niger-innis/) > [When our founding fathers drafted the Constitution and Bill of Rights, black people weren't even considered human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudette-colvin/when-our-founding-fathers-drafted-the-constitution-and-bill-of-rights/) [Claudette Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudette-colvin/) > [The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights were all written by affluent white males, but to discuss them in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-freedman/the-declaration-of-independence-the-constitution-and-the-bill-of/) [Russell Freedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-freedman/) > [I am in favor, heartily in favor, of our Constitution and Bill of Rights and I owe my allegiance to my country at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-in-favor-heartily-in-favor-of-our-constitution-and-bill-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My - mine is based on the fact that Bill Clinton has done - and I'm - this sounds like hyperbole, but he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/my-mine-is-based-on-the-fact-that-bill-clinton-has-done-and-i-m-this/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [I also wish that the Pledge of Allegiance were directed at the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as it is when the President…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-also-wish-that-the-pledge-of-allegiance-were-directed-at-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Constitution and the Bill of Rights we designed to get the government off the backs of the people -- all the people. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/the-constitution-and-the-bill-of-rights-we-designed-to-get-the/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [You've got to protect the system of secular faith in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and Enlightenment values. That way, you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dreyfuss/you-ve-got-to-protect-the-system-of-secular-faith-in-the-constitution/) [Richard Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dreyfuss/) > [In recent years it has been suggested that the Second Amendment protects the "collective" right of states to maintain militias, while it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-halbrook/in-recent-years-it-has-been-suggested-that-the-second-amendment/) Stephen Halbrook > [If the citizens of the United States are to turn away from the Communist Manifesto and preserve the purpose of the Declaration of Independence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-norris/if-the-citizens-of-the-united-states-are-to-turn-away-from-the/) [Chuck Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-norris/) > [The Founders who crafted our Constitution and Bill of Rights were careful to draft a Constitution of limited powers - one that would protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/the-founders-who-crafted-our-constitution-and-bill-of-rights-were/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [People in this country need to understand when you go to any airport in the United States, you are not protected by the Constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/people-in-this-country-need-to-understand-when-you-go-to-any-airport/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) ## More by Erwin Griswold > [The privilege against self-incrimination is one of the great landmarks in man's struggle to make himself civilized... The Fifth is a lone sure rock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-griswold/the-privilege-against-self-incrimination-is-one-of-the-great/) Erwin Griswold > [Indeed, that the Second Amendment poses no barrier to strong gun laws is perhaps the most well-settled proposition in American constitutional law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-griswold/indeed-that-the-second-amendment-poses-no-barrier-to-strong-gun-laws/) Erwin Griswold > [We have long had death and taxes as the two standards of inevitability. But there are those who believe that death is the preferable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-griswold/we-have-long-had-death-and-taxes-as-the-two-standards-of/) Erwin Griswold Explore all 4 Erwin Griswold quotes ## More Bill of rights quotes > [Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/some-of-the-folks-on-both-sides-might-be-sincere-but-it-does-seem-as/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [“I have a recurring fantasy that one more article has been added to the Bill of Rights: the right to free access to imagination.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/i-have-a-recurring-fantasy-that-one-more-article-has-been-added-to/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [“manager’s bill of rights,” those basic things that you have a right to expect from your employees. Responsible employees: Are responsive to feedback Keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-andersen/manager-s-bill-of-rights-those-basic-things-that-you-have-a-right-to/) [Erika Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-andersen/) > [“To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." -George Mason - Father of the Bill of Rights”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-goodwin/to-disarm-the-people-is-the-best-and-most-effectual-way-to-enslave/) [Mark Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-goodwin/) > [A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-bill-of-rights-is-what-the-people-are-entitled-to-against-every/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The average citizen expresses pride in the American Bill of Rights and then seeks to protect his real estate by restrictive covenants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-allen-overstreet/the-average-citizen-expresses-pride-in-the-american-bill-of-rights/) [Harry Allen Overstreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-allen-overstreet/) > [“Among those liberties which we in this UNION claim for the child, due to him as a person, is freedom of thought, the function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parents-national-education-union/among-those-liberties-which-we-in-this-union-claim-for-the-child-due/) [Parents' National Education Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parents-national-education-union/) > [To be patriotic is to be able to question government policy in times of crisis. 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Democrats are complicit in this absurd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-notion-that-americans-can-be-protected-from-terror-by-giving-up/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) [Browse all 294 Bill of rights quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bill-of-rights/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The right to be let alone is the underlying principle of the Constitution's Bill of Rights.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erwin Griswold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-griswold/the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-the-underlying-principle-of-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bill of rights" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-griswold/the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-the-underlying-principle-of-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/erwin-griswold-72369_bill-of-rights_the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-the-underly_600978.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/erwin-griswold-72369_bill-of-rights_the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-the-underly_600978.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/erwin-griswold-72369_bill-of-rights_the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-the-underly_600978.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The right to be let alone is the underlying principle of the Constitution's Bill of Rights.” — Erwin Griswold", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Erwin Griswold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-griswold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The right to be let alone...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-griswold/the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-the-underlying-principle-of-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-griswold/the-right-to-be-let-alone-is-the-underlying-principle-of-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```