We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.Sounds like the states are bound, if only for their continued existence, to respect those rights.
Yet they weren't. To be clear, most of these rights were already protected under each state's constitution.
The fact remains, before the passage of the 14th amendment and subsequent incorporation decisions, the Bill of Rights only applied to the federal government.
We've all grown up in the post 'incorporation' world so I know that it seems like a very strange concept that state's could infringe on a person's freedom of speech or assembly but that's the way it was.