The weak national government under the Articles of Confederation created many problems. In 1787 these problems finally led to the Constitutional Convention to draft a new charter for the federal government, the U.S. Constitution. However, the Constitution's lack of a bill of rights became the main reason many people opposed it. Many states refused to ratify the U.S Constitution until they were assured a bill of rights would be added. Even after three-fourths of the states ratified the Constitution in 1788. Some states threatened to call a second convention to weaken the government's powers. The struggle did not end until a bill of rights was finally added to the Constitution. What is the Bill of Rights? Who wrote the Bill of Rights? How many amendments are in the bill of rights? Why was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?
The Incorporation of the Bill of Rights
The U.S. Constitution, created in the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia during the Constitutional Convention, significantly increased the powers of the national government. Still, it did not contain a separate bill of rights. The Constitution does protect several individual rights within its text, such as the right to habeas corpus, a guarantee that the citizens of each state are entitled to the privileges and immunities of citizens of other states, and a ban on religious tests for officials of the national government.
The Bill of Rights: The first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Added to the Constitution through special conventions, the amendments were a compromise between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists to bring consensus on ratifying the U.S. Constitution in 1787.
The Mason-Gerry Motion
A portrait of George Mason, 1750. Source: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Despite the protections of individual rights in the text of the Constitution, some delegates to the convention believed that a separate Bill of Rights should be added. George Mason of Virginia and the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights brought up the matter near the end of the convention. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts made a motion to the delegates to appoint a committee to create a Bill of Rights, which Mason seconded, but the motion was rejected unanimously.
The Constitution had to be ratified by nine of the thirteen states to take effect. Special state conventions were elected to decide if the Constitution should be approved. These conventions became the battleground for struggles between the Federalists, who supported the Constitution, and the Anti-federalists, who opposed it.
Federalists v.s. the Anti-Federalists: The debate over the Bill of Rights |
The Federalists | The Anti-Federalists |
Federalists supported the new Constitution because of the increased powers of the new federal government. James Madison was one of the more influential Federalist leaders because of his crucial role in drafting the Constitution. Other Federalists included John Jay and Alexander Hamilton. Together with Madison, they wrote “The Federalist” papers, a lengthy series of newspaper articles defending the new Constitution to persuade conventions to support ratification. In “Federalist 84”, Alexander Hamilton outlined why Federalists opposed adding a Bill of Rights. He pointed out that several states had no bill of rights to their constitutions. He also emphasized that the proposed federal constitution protected several individual liberties in its text. Hamilton argued that a bill of rights could be dangerous because it may imply powers that the government did not have | Anti-Federalists opposed the new constitution because they feared the expanded powers of the federal government. They worried that the federal government under the constitution might be just as oppressive as the British government while the states were English colonies. Key Anti-federalist leaders included George Mason and Patrick Henry of Virginia. The Anti-Federalists were the primary advocates of a Bill of Rights, and the absence of one in the constitution became the most significant hurdle to its ratification. Anti-Federalists cited the Necessary and Proper Clause in the constitution, which they felt could carry out expressed powers that could easily be used to repress individual rights. |
State Ratifying Conventions
The state conventions to ratify the Constitution became a battleground between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. In the early weeks of the conventions, it became clear that support for a Bill of Rights was strong. So strong in some states that many Federalists, James Madison among them, conceded the issue and supported the addition of a Bill of Rights.
The question then became whether states should ratify the Constitution before a Bill of Rights was added or refuse to ratify until a second constitutional convention was convened to add a Bill of Rights. Fearing a second convention would open debate to weaken the Constitution, Federalists proposed ratifying the Constitution with no conditions but to recommend possible amendments to the first Congress that would convene after nine states ratified the Constitution. The Federalists prevailed, and by June 1788, nine states had ratified the Constitution.
Creating the Bill of Rights
Despite the clear mandate from many states for a federal bill of rights, the new Congress delayed action on the measure. James Madison forced the issue as a U.S. representative from Virginia. At the time, Congress was preoccupied with import taxes, which were necessary to finance the government. Madison warned that a delay would weaken public confidence and support for the new government. On June 8, 1789, Madison introduced his proposed amendments.
Madison’s Draft
A portrait of James Madison. Source: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Madison’s first draft was not a separate bill of rights listed together, intended to be added to the end of the Constitution. Instead, he intended for his amendments to be inserted into the actual text of the Constitution in the appropriate places. Madison based his proposals on the Amendments recommended by the state ratifying conventions, especially those from Virginia. Madison did not rely solely on his original ideas but instead selected among the nearly 100 different provisions offered by the states. Madison chose amendments on which there was a consensus among the states. He specifically avoided any that may be controversial.
The House and Senate Versions
Madison’s original draft contained every provision that became part of the U.S. Bill of Rights. But during the congressional debate, the format of Madison’s proposed amendments was changed, and several amendments were eliminated. Examples of those amendments eliminated by congress are a provision declaring the theory of popular government, a prohibition of state violations of certain individual rights, a limit on the appeals to the Supreme Court, and a statement of the separation of powers doctrine.
The House of Representatives passed seventeen proposed amendments to be added to the end of the Constitution on August 24, 1789. The Senate reduced those amendments to twelve by combining some and eliminating others. On September 25, 1789, Congress asked President George Washington to send the twelve proposed amendments to the states for ratification.
A photograph of the Bill of Rights of the twelve original amendments proposed to the state conventions. Source: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Ratification of the Bill of Rights
Most states moved quickly to ratify the Bill of Rights. Nine states ratified the Bill of Rights by the end of June 1790, even North Carolina and Rhode Island, which had previously refused to join the Union. The amendments were met with widespread support. Only two failed to be ratified: one changing the apportionment of Congress and the other forbidding congressional pay raises to take effect until after the next congressional election. The Bill of Rights became ten amendments instead of twelve. On December 15, 1791, Virginia became the eleventh state to ratify the Bill of Rights, and it became the law of the land
The Rights Guaranteed by the Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments became the bill of rights. The table below lists the ten amendments and the rights they guarantee
The U.S. Bill of Rights |
Amendment (Ratification year) | Protection or Change |
1st Amendment (1791) | Protects citizens' freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. |
2nd Amendment (1791) | Protects the rights of citizens through militia to keep and bear arms |
3rd Amendment (1791) | Prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes during peacetime. |
4th Amendment (1791) | Protects citizen’s from unreasonable searches and seizures of personal property and establishes the limits of search warrants. |
5th Amendment (1791) | Protects a citizen’s right to due process, the process of indictment through a grand jury, forbids self-incrimination and double jeopardy |
6th Amendment (1791) | Protects a citizen’s right to a trial by jury and that people accused of a crime have the right to an attorney, confront their accuser, have witnesses, and be notified of accusations. |
7th Amendment (1791) | A trial by Jury is allowed for civil lawsuits |
8th Amendment (1791) | Protects a citizen’s right not to be privy to excessive bail and to avoid any cruel or unusual punishment. |
9th Amendment (1791) | Establishes that there are rights not listed that are still protected and retained by the citizens of the United States. |
10th Amendment (1791) | Establishes any powers not delegated or limited to the Federal government are rights reserved to the States or citizens. |
ZPresident Roosevelt signs the G.I. Bill into law in 1944 Source: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
The G.I. Bill of Rights
Also known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, the G.I. Bill of Rights guaranteed specific rights and privileges of U.S. military personnel. Signed into law on June 22, 1944, the G.I. Bill of Rights provided funding for education for U.S. service members, established veteran hospitals, created a program for low-cost mortgages and loans to military members, and unemployment compensation for veterans. Though initially passed to support veterans of World War II, it has been changed to support all servicemen and women who have served.
The Bill of Rights - Key Takeaways
- The Constitution's lack of a bill of rights became the main reason many people opposed it. Many states refused to ratify the U.S Constitution until they were assured a bill of rights would be added.
- The Constitution had to be ratified by nine of the thirteen states to take effect. Special state conventions were elected to decide if the Constitution should be approved.
- Federalists supported the new Constitution because of the increased powers of the new federal government.
- The Anti-Federalists were the primary advocates of a Bill of Rights, and the absence of one in the constitution became the most significant hurdle to its ratification.
- James Madison's proposals for the Bill of Rights were based on the recommendations by the state ratifying conventions
- The first ten amendments became the bill of rights.
References
- Berkin, C. (2016). The Bill of Rights: The Fight to Secure America’s Liberties (Reprint ed.). Simon & Schuster.
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