What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution collectively known as?

The first ten amendments to the Constitution are collectively known as the Bill of Rights. This term refers to the amendments that were ratified to protect individual liberties and rights against infringement by the federal government. The Bill of Rights was introduced to address concerns raised by Anti-Federalists who feared that the new Constitution granted too much power to the federal government and lacked adequate protections for personal freedoms.

The amendments cover a range of rights, including freedom of speech, religion, and assembly, the right to bear arms, protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, and rights of the accused, among others. The inclusion of these amendments helped to ensure the Constitution's acceptance by providing clearer safeguards for individual rights, thus forming a crucial part of American legal and cultural heritage.

The other options do not relate to the first ten amendments. The Articles of Confederation were the original governing document before the Constitution, the Federalist Papers are a series of essays written to promote the ratification of the Constitution, and the Preamble serves as the introduction to the Constitution, outlining its purposes and guiding principles. Each of these serves a different function within the framework of American governance and law.