Created:
|
September 25, 1789
|
Ratified:
|
December 15, 1791
|
Location:
|
National Archives |
Author(s):
|
James Madison |
“A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inferences.” -Thomas Jefferson
If you are interested in finding out more about the creation
of the most important unit in the U.S. Constitution, the “Bill of Rights”, you
should continue reading our today’s blog post.
Firstly, we tell you something
about its origins and beginnings and later on we will tell you more about the
content and the importance the Bill of Rights have for U.S. citizens.
Secondly,
you will have a better understanding of how American population is working and
thinking about certain subjects in modern society.
Finally, you may be able to
understand the feelings of U.S. American citizens, in general, when it comes to
issues like gun ownership, death penalty, abortion, right to vote, etc. as
sometimes, we are not able to make sense of American behavior regarding laws
and verdicts in the U.S. judicial world.
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are
called the Bill of Rights. They were added three years after the Constitution
was ratified, i. e. in the year 1791.
In 1789 they were created by James Madison, the 4th
President of the United States (1809-1817). During his term he conducted the
American-British war, also known as the “second War of Independence”.
The role model for the American Bill of Rights was the
English Bill of Rights created back then in 1639 and earlier English political
documents such as Magna Carta (a charter agreed by King John of England at Runnymede
near Windsor, on 15 June 1215). The English Bill of Rights set out
certain rights of individuals including the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. and reestablished the liberty of Protestants to have arms for their defense within the rule of law. Here
you can note one example of connection to the American Bill of Rights, the
right to bear arms that is still today of great importance for U.S. American
citizens.
The reason why the Bill of Rights was added to the
Constitution was, the people were afraid the federal government would have too
much power. The Constitution was still a very young establishment therefore the
final touch was still to be made.
The Bill of Rights protects the most important
freedoms of U.S. citizens and limits the power of the federal government. At
first, the Bill of Rights only applied to the federal government, but now it
also applies to the states.
The Bill of Rights had little judicial impact for the
first 150 years of its existence, but was the basis for many Supreme Court
decisions of the 20th and 21st centuries. One of the first fourteen copies of
the Bill of Rights is on public display at the National Archives in Washington, D. C.
The first amendment of the Bill of Rights is probably the most important one.
It includes freedom of
·
Religion
·
Speech
·
Press
·
Assembly
·
Petition
Freedom of Religion means you can practice any
religion you want or not practice a religion at all.
Freedom of Speech means the government can't stop
people from saying what they think.
Freedom of Press means the government can't
control what the media writes.
Freedom of Assembly means people can protest by
having rallies or marches.
Freedom of Petition means people can request that
the government change things.
The Second Amendment is also worth and important to
mention. It includes the right to bear arms. This law is considered to be
strange and dangerous by at least the European part of the world.
Please see below the Preamble of the Bill of Rights that
provides you the reason why people decided on adding the Bill of Rights to the
Constitution, namely, they were afraid of the fact the government would abuse
its powers, as already mentioned above.
Congress
of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the 4th
of March, 1789.
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.
In the
following you can see a list of the Bill of Rights in shortened form:
We would
be happy if we cleared things up for you regarding the Bill of Rights in the
Constitution of the United States of America. Hope to have you back soon for
some more details about current, important legal affairs in the States and how
they are linked to the Constitution.
Source:
