Eleanor Finch
The Bill of Rights, which forms the first 10 amendments of the US Constitution, has been amended several times since its ratification in 1791. The process of amending the Constitution is challenging and time-consuming, requiring a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress and subsequent ratification by the states. Despite the challenges, amendments have been made to address significant issues, such as granting women the right to vote, repealing Prohibition, abolishing poll taxes, and lowering the minimum voting age. The Bill of Rights has also influenced other important documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. While some countries, like the UK, have incorporated the Bill of Rights into their legal systems, others, like Australia, have ongoing debates about implementing a bill of rights.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Amendments proposed | 12 |
| Amendments ratified | 10 |
| Date proposed | September 25, 1789 |
| Date ratified | December 15, 1791 |
| Amendment process | Requires passage by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, then ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures |
| Influenced by | English Bill of Rights, Virginia Declaration of Rights, French Revolution, Age of Enlightenment |
| Opposition | George Mason, who refused to sign the Constitution because it lacked a bill of rights |
| Proponents | James Madison, who introduced a list of amendments to the Constitution |
| Recent amendments | 27th Amendment (right to burn the flag), 19th Amendment (women's right to vote) |
| Country-specific examples | United States, United Kingdom, Australia |
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What You'll Learn
The US Bill of Rights
The process of amending the Constitution is challenging and time-consuming. A proposed amendment must gain significant traction as a major impact idea affecting all Americans or securing the rights of citizens. It must then be passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress before being ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures.
The Bill of Rights was influenced by the English Bill of Rights, which inspired the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights and, later, the United States Declaration of Independence. James Madison, once an opponent of the Bill of Rights, proposed a list of amendments to the Constitution in 1789, which eventually led to the Bill of Rights being introduced in Federal Hall, New York's first capitol building.
Amendments to the Bill of Rights have been made over the years, including one in 1992 when, 203 years after it was proposed, Article 2 was ratified as the 27th Amendment to the Constitution. Article 1, however, was never ratified.
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Amending the Constitution
Amending the US Constitution is a challenging and lengthy process, and since it was first drafted in 1787, it has only been amended 27 times, including the first ten amendments, which were adopted as the Bill of Rights in 1791. The Bill of Rights was influenced by British constitutional history and the English Bill of Rights, which also inspired the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights and the subsequent US Declaration of Independence.
The process of amending the Constitution begins with a proposal for an amendment, which must be passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress. This is a significant hurdle, as it requires strong support for the amendment across political parties. Once an amendment is passed by Congress, it is sent to the states for ratification. Here again, the threshold for approval is high, as ratification is required by either three-fourths of the state legislatures or three-fourths of state ratifying conventions, depending on the method chosen by Congress.
The process of amending the Constitution is deliberately designed to be difficult to ensure that any changes made are carefully considered and have a broad consensus of support. Amending the Constitution is not a common occurrence, and the bar for a new amendment is set high. The amendments must have a significant impact on the country, affecting all Americans or securing the rights of citizens.
There have been notable proposals for amendments in recent times, such as outlawing flag burning, adding a crime victims' rights amendment, allowing voluntary school prayer, making English the official language, and abolishing the Electoral College. However, these proposals have not yet made it through the rigorous amendment process.
While there have been calls for a new Constitutional Convention to address growing dissatisfaction with the government, it has never happened. Critics argue that the current political climate, with its gridlock and influence from interest groups, may not be conducive to a successful convention.
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Rights-related amendments
The US Constitution and its Bill of Rights were influenced by British constitutional history and the English Bill of Rights, which in turn influenced the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights. The US Constitution was drafted in 1787 and has been amended 27 times since then, including the first ten amendments, which were adopted as the Bill of Rights in 1791.
The amendments to the US Constitution were proposed by James Madison, who had initially opposed the Bill of Rights. Madison proposed a list of rights-related amendments, ignoring suggestions that would have structurally changed the government. The House passed a joint resolution containing 17 amendments based on Madison's proposal, but the Senate changed this to 12 amendments. On October 2, 1789, President Washington sent copies of the 12 amendments to the states for ratification. By December 15, 1791, three-fourths of the states had ratified 10 of these amendments, now known as the "Bill of Rights."
The amendments in the Bill of Rights include guarantees of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. They also reserve powers for the states and the people, such as the right to peaceably assemble and the right to keep and bear arms.
Since the Bill of Rights was adopted, there have been several other rights-related amendments to the US Constitution. For example, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, and the 26th Amendment lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18. There have also been proposals for new amendments to the Constitution, such as outlawing flag burning, allowing voluntary school prayer, and making English the official language. However, the amendment process is difficult and time-consuming, and not all proposals gain enough support to be adopted.
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State ratification
The Bill of Rights, comprising the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, was ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution, which grants Congress the authority to propose and determine the mode of ratification for amendments.
An amendment can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Once an amendment is proposed, the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is responsible for administering the ratification process.
The Archivist submits the proposed amendment to the states by sending a letter of notification to each state governor, along with informational material. The governors then formally submit the amendment to their state legislatures or call for a convention, as specified by Congress. When a state ratifies an amendment, it sends an original or certified copy of the state action to the Archivist, who forwards it to the Director of the Federal Register for examination and acknowledgment.
It is important to note that Congress has attached a time limit to the ratification of all proposed amendments since the 20th Amendment. While some deadlines are included in the language of the amendment itself, others are specified in the proposing clause. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), for example, passed Congress in 1972 with a seven-year time limit in its proposing clause, which Congress later extended. As of 2018, 37 states have ratified the ERA, with one more state needed to achieve the required 38 states for federal ratification.
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The UK Bill of Rights
The UK does not currently have a Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights 1689 is considered a basic document of the uncodified British constitution. It remains in statute and continues to be cited in legal proceedings in the UK and other Commonwealth realms, particularly Article 9 on parliamentary freedom of speech.
In 2010, David Cameron proposed replacing the Human Rights Act 1998 with a new "British Bill of Rights". These plans were shelved after the Conservative Party formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. However, after winning an overall majority in the 2015 general election, Cameron vowed to introduce a new Bill of Rights.
In 2020, the UK Government set up an independent review of the Human Rights Act, which reported its findings in December 2021. The review concluded that "there is no case for changing the Human Rights Act". Despite this, in May 2022, the Government committed to introducing a new Bill of Rights, arguing that it would "end the abuse of the human rights framework and restore some common sense to our justice system".
The proposed Bill of Rights Bill was criticised by some, who argued that it would weaken human rights protections and create a class of acceptable human rights abuses. It was also argued that the Bill would not have altered the UK's membership of the ECHR or its obligations to secure convention rights for everyone in the UK. In June 2022, the think tank Policy Exchange released a paper criticising the continued pursuit of a Bill of Rights, suggesting that it may compound problems created by the Human Rights Act. The Bill of Rights Bill was ultimately not pursued by the government.
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Frequently asked questions
The Bill of Rights is a set of amendments to the US Constitution, which outlines certain fundamental rights for citizens.
Yes, the Bill of Rights has been amended. The original Bill of Rights, proposed in 1789, consisted of 12 amendments, of which 10 were ratified in 1791 and came to be known as the "Bill of Rights". Article 2 was ratified in 1992 as the 27th Amendment, and other amendments have been proposed and ratified over time, such as those granting women the right to vote and abolishing poll taxes.
Amending the Constitution is a difficult and time-consuming process. A proposed amendment must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and then ratified by the states. The idea behind the amendment must be of major impact, affecting all Americans or securing the rights of citizens.
