Bill Of Rights

From the 12/15/15 Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1791 that the Bill of Rights was ratified by the newly formed United States of America. From the beginning, American politicians fought about how much power the central government should have. Some believed that the Constitution did not do enough to protect individual liberties, and worried that the Constitution would allow the central government to oppress the people. During the Constitutional Convention, several states only agreed to ratify the Constitution with the understanding that a Bill of Rights would be added to guarantee basic rights to American citizens.

The most vocal supporter of a Bill of Rights was George Mason, who wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Thomas Jefferson used it as an inspiration for the opening paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence, and James Madison used it as a model for the Bill of Rights. Madison ran for Congress (and won) with the promise that he would support a Bill of Rights. Four days after Washington's inauguration, Madison began the work of reading through the Constitution and noting all the places he thought it should be changed. These changes were presented as a list of 19 amendments. Madison used non-negotiable language. For example, where the states rights documents said that the government "ought not" to interfere with freedom of the press, Madison wrote that it "shall not." Of Madison's 19 amendments, the House approved 17, and the Senate 12. By the time they were ratified by all the states, the amendments were down to 10. One of the two amendments that didn't make the final cut was never ratified, but the second - an amendment about congressional salaries - was ratified in 1992. The 10 amendments that became the Bill of Rights guarantee the freedom of the press, right to bear arms, freedom of religion, the right to trial by jury, and other basic rights.

In a 1788 letter to Jefferson about the Bill of Rights, Madison wrote: "It is a melancholy reflection that liberty should be equally exposed to danger whether the Government have too much or too little power, and that the line which defines these extremes should be so inaccurately defined by experience."