What did the bill of right give us citizens?

Answer 1

It gave us better rights to deal with.

Rights under the "Bill of Rights" were not granted (given) the bill of rights was used to protect those rights most often violated by government(s), as noted by the authors of the bill of rights; these are inherent rights that the bill of rights were intended to protect by expressly listing them, and are only a small part of the plethora of natural rights that existed long before the contemplation of the constitution. (loosely quoting Jefferson and Madison)

Answer 2

1. The "Bill of Rights" was badly mis-named; it should be called the "Bill of Restrictions". These are not a list of "rights of the people"; these are restrictions on the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

2. "Rights" only work when matched with "responsibilities". For every "right", there's a responsibility.

3. It's important to remember where the Bill of Rights came from. The Federalists, trying to get the original constitution adopted, said that a "bill of rights" was unneeded because the Constitution gave the Federal government very few and strictly limited powers. The Anti-Federalists were afraid that the Federal government would seize powers not explicitly granted, and the Constitutional Convention was on the verge of collapse on this point. So the Bill of Rights was born in compromise as a list of explicit restrictions on the FEDERAL government's power.

4. The 9th and 10th Amendments make this explicitly clear; the rights of the people are vast and expansive, while the powers of the government are rigidly constrained.