The Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791.
As Americans, it is easy to take our rights for granted. Where do our rights come from? How do they get expressed? These were the questions the Founders of our country were confronted with. The first expression of these rights came with the writing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, which declared that we were all born with certain inalienable rights, principally life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Next, a written constitution established the United States as a republic and delineated three branches of government, each with enumerated powers. During the Constitutional Convention, a proposal was made to add a bill of rights to protect individual liberties against abuses of government power. However, this proposal was not even put up for a vote. The delegates believed it was unnecessary because the Constitution itself gave the government no power to violate the liberties of its citizens.
So, how did the Bill of Rights come to be? During the ratification process of the Constitution, pledges were made to include a bill of rights to secure the support of states such as Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York. James Madison, known as the “Father of the Constitution” for his influence on its drafting, assumed leadership in advancing the Bill of Rights. “My own opinion has always been in favor of a bill of rights, provided it be so framed as not to imply powers not meant to be included in the enumeration,” Madison wrote to Thomas Jefferson. In other words, a bill of rights would strengthen the Constitution as long as it did not take away from it.
When the first Congress convened, Madison and several colleagues undertook the task of sifting through proposed amendments to submit to the states for approval. These were presented as twelve separate provisions rather than as a single document.
Madison did not want the Bill of Rights to revise or replace what had already been set forth in the Constitution, or to grant the government powers beyond those already enumerated. To this end, Madison believed in the importance of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, which reserve powers to the people and the states. However, history has shown these amendments to have received underwhelming treatment by the courts. The safeguard Madison counted on most was the people themselves. We the People must have a stake in and be the ultimate defenders of our own liberties.
James Madison was 36 years old when he attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He would later become the fourth president of the United States.
The debate over the Bill of Rights offers excellent insight into how the Founding Fathers sought to protect liberty from government overreach. Opponents of adding a bill of rights to the Constitution had several concerns. To them, a bill of rights would undermine a government of limited powers. The expression of particular rights would imply that the government is endowed with unlimited power, with only those provisions explicitly stated as limits on the government. Their concern was that the government could limit rights not explicitly enumerated, thereby creating an opportunity to infringe on citizens’ rights. Finally, opponents of a bill of rights argued that, by declaring rights through ratification, the source of our rights would be understood to be an agreement among ourselves rather than the inalienable rights already declared in the Declaration of Independence.
These concerns were not unfounded, especially after the Supreme Court asserted its right of judicial review over the Constitutionality of laws in its 1803 decision in Marbury v. Madison. However, the Bill of Rights has become a cherished part of the American tradition and defines what we hold valuable as Americans.
On December 15, 1791, Virginia became the final state to ratify the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights, as we know it today, is the first ten of what are now twenty-seven amendments to the Constitution. Two provisions dealing with the number of representatives and the compensation of senators were not ratified.
Below are the first ten amendments to the Constitution or Bill of Rights:
Congress of the United States
begun and held at the City of New-York, on
Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.
THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.
RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.
ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an 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 peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.