Jonah Patel
The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, proposed by James Madison and ratified on December 15, 1791. The amendments were proposed following the 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists. The amendments add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms, such as freedom of speech, the right to publish, practice religion, possess firearms, and assemble, as well as other natural and legal rights. The amendments also include clear limitations on the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, explicitly declaring that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Amendments Proposed | 12 |
| Number of Amendments Ratified | 10 |
| Date Proposed | September 25, 1789 |
| Date Ratified | December 15, 1791 |
| Author | James Madison |
| Purpose | To limit government power and protect individual liberties |
| Application | Federal government; later applied to state governments via the Fourteenth Amendment |
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What You'll Learn
The Bill of Rights became law on December 15, 1791
The Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, became law on December 15, 1791. This was the culmination of a process that began in 1787–88, when opponents of the ratification of the Constitution objected to the absence of a bill of rights.
The Constitution was written in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by delegates from 12 states, to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new form of government. Federalists advocated for a strong national government, while Anti-Federalists wanted power to remain with state and local governments and sought a bill of rights to safeguard individual liberty. James Madison, then a member of the US House of Representatives, initially opposed the idea of a bill of rights, arguing that the federal government did not have the power to take away people's rights. However, he eventually agreed to support adding a bill of rights and even served as its author.
In the summer of 1787, Madison wrote the Bill of Rights to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists and limit government power. He presented his changes as a list of amendments that would follow Article VII of the Constitution. On August 1789, the House approved 17 amendments, of which the Senate approved 12, which were then sent to the states for approval.
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution. Ten of these proposed amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791, and constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the US Bill of Rights. The ratified amendments were Articles 3–12, with Article 2 later being ratified as the 27th Amendment in 1992, and Article 1 never being ratified.
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The first ten amendments make up the Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. These amendments were proposed by James Madison, then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, to limit government power and protect individual liberties. Madison's proposal came after an intense debate over the ratification of the Constitution, in which Anti-Federalists, who wanted power to remain with state and local governments, demanded a bill of rights.
The Bill of Rights was proposed by the First Congress of the United States on September 25, 1789, and ten of the proposed twelve amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The first three articles were not ratified, and Article 2 was ratified 203 years later as the 27th Amendment.
The amendments of the Bill of Rights add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms, such as freedom of speech, the right to publish, practice religion, assemble, bear arms, and other natural and legal rights. They also include explicit limitations on the government's power, declaring that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or the people.
The First Amendment, for example, prohibits Congress from making laws establishing a religion or impeding free speech, while the Fourth Amendment safeguards citizens' right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion in their homes through the requirement of a warrant. The Ninth Amendment clarifies that the listing of specific rights in the Constitution does not deny or disparage other rights retained by the people, and the Tenth Amendment affirms that the Federal Government only has the powers delegated to it by the Constitution.
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James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights
The amendments in the Bill of Rights are organized as a list of amendments to the US Constitution. The Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments, which were ratified on December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights".
James Madison, a member of the US House of Representatives, wrote the Bill of Rights. Madison initially opposed the idea of creating a bill of rights, believing that the federal government did not have the power to take away people's rights. However, he later agreed to support adding a bill of rights and served as its author. Madison introduced a proposed Bill of Rights to the Constitution on June 8, 1789. The House approved 17 amendments, and the Senate approved 12, which were sent to the states for approval in August 1789. The states approved 10 of the 12 amendments in December 1791, which constitute the Bill of Rights.
Madison's proposed amendments included a provision to extend the protection of some of the Bill of Rights to the states, but the amendments that were submitted for ratification only applied to the federal government. Madison also proposed a different version of what became the Second Amendment, which stated that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well-armed and well-regulated militia being the best security of a free country: but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person." Madison wanted the Bill of Rights to be interwoven within the Constitution, rather than appended at the end, but this idea was rejected by Congress.
Madison wrote the Bill of Rights in response to demands from the states, particularly New York and Virginia, which passed resolutions calling for a convention to propose amendments. Madison also wanted to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists, who wanted power to remain with state and local governments and favored a bill of rights to safeguard individual liberty. The concepts codified in the amendments are built upon those in earlier documents, such as the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), the Northwest Ordinance (1787), the English Bill of Rights (1689), and the Magna Carta (1215).
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The amendments add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms
The United States Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, was proposed following the 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution. The Bill of Rights was written to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists, who wanted power to remain with state and local governments and favoured a bill of rights to safeguard individual liberty.
The amendments of the Bill of Rights add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms, such as freedom of speech, the right to publish, practice religion, possess firearms, assemble, and other natural and legal rights. The First Amendment, for example, prohibits Congress from making laws establishing a religion or impeding free speech. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens' right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion in their homes through the requirement of a warrant.
The Ninth Amendment states that the listing of specific rights in the Constitution does not deny other rights retained by the people that are not mentioned. The Tenth Amendment further emphasises that powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved for the states or the people.
The Bill of Rights also ensures protections such as due process and trial by jury. The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections for the accused in criminal cases, such as the right to a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, and the right to legal representation. The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
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The amendments limit government power
The Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, was added to address the lack of limits on government power in the original document. The amendments were written by James Madison, then a member of the US House of Representatives, to restrict the federal government's powers and protect individual liberties.
The Tenth Amendment, for instance, explicitly limits the federal government's powers to those granted in the Constitution. It states that any powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved for the states or the people. This amendment has been used by states and local governments to assert their exemption from certain federal regulations, particularly in labour and environmental controls.
The Ninth Amendment also reinforces the limitation of government power by stating that the enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution does not deny or disparage other rights retained by the people. This ensures that even if a right is not explicitly listed in the Bill of Rights, it does not mean that it does not exist.
The First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, religion, and the press, as well as the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government, is another example of limiting government power. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens' privacy by requiring a warrant for government searches, while the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms.
The amendments in the Bill of Rights were proposed to address objections raised by Anti-Federalists, who favoured power remaining with state and local governments. They were designed to safeguard individual liberty and ensure that the federal government had only limited, enumerated powers. The Tenth Amendment, in particular, was intended to reaffirm the principles of federalism and the limited powers of the federal government.
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Frequently asked questions
The Bill of Rights is one of the three founding documents of the United States Constitution. It comprises the first ten amendments and was added to the Constitution to limit government power and protect individual liberties.
The First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution on September 25, 1789. Ten of these proposed amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791, and constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights.
The First Amendment prohibits Congress from making laws regarding the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to assemble and petition the government. The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms. The Third Amendment prevents the government from forcing homeowners to allow soldiers to use their homes without their consent.
