Many instructors use the term supporting details or concrete details instead of evidence. 1) Facts: The most frequent type of evidence in an essay is facts. Facts include names, dates, or specific events. When writing about literature, evidence takes the form of plot summaries or specific quotations. 2) Authoritative Opinions: Experts in the field about which you are writing provide supporting details and evidence for your thesis statement.
Lysander Spooner (1808-1887) points out the importance of the 9th Amendment to the American Constitution in protecting the natural rights of the people not enumerated in the first 8 amendments. He laments the fact that this amendment has been ignored by the courts almost since it was enacted:
The purpose of the Ninth Amendment is parallel to that of the Tenth Amendment -- especially the last four words of the Tenth. Both the Ninth and Tenth Amendments mean that the federal government cannot do what it was not authorized by the U.S. Constitution to do. The people who proposed and ratified the Constitution (before any amendments were proposed) granted to the federal government only certain powers.