The Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791, and is one of the most important documents in American History. It was inspired by Thomas Jefferson and drafted by James Madison, consisting of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, each of which are vital to protecting the civil rights and liberties of American citizens. The ratification of the Bill of Rights was a long process that took years to finally come to fruition. “At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, two delegates – George Mason of Virginia and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts – proposed the addition of a Bill of Rights to the Constitution. However, the motion was defeated by the state delegations” (3). There was a lot of conflict that was brought about by the proposal of the Bill of Rights between Federalists and anti-Federalists. The refusal to include a Bill of Rights later endangered the entire ratification process. This was because many of the opponents of the Constitution, called anti-Federalists, pointed to the lack of a Bill of a Bill of Rights as one of their major arguments against ratification (3). Interestingly enough, despite most Federalists initially opposing the adding of a Bill of Rights, many of them wound up supporting the addition of it as a way to silence the Anti-Federalists’ most effective criticism. And in effect, many Anti-Federalists wound up opposing the Bill, realizing that its adoption would greatly lessen the chances of a second constitutional convention, which they longed for (3). Jefferson was a major advocate for the Bill, persistent in trying to persuade Madison to support it. Eventually, Jefferson’s efforts were successful and Madison wrote letters indicating that he supported the addition of a Bill of Rights during the elections for the first Congress in 1788-89 (3). Finally, after Vermont was admitted to the Union in 1971, the total number of states needed for ratification rose to eleven. Vermont ratified the amendments on November 3, 1791, and Virginia finally did the same on December 15, 1791. On March 1, 1792, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson announced the adoption of ten successfully ratified amendments on March 1, 1792 (3).

These first 10 amendments are still the most debated and discussed section of our Constitution today. Their purpose is to guarantee individual rights, such as freedom of speech, freedom of press, separation of church and state, the right to counsel, the right against self-incrimination, and due process (3). There are people who feel they are outdated and need to be altered while others believe that without them our country would be under extreme government control. “The Bill of Rights was written by the First Congress at Federal Hall in New York City. At that time, New York City was the nation’s capital. The capital was moved to Philadelphia in 1790” (2). The preamble to the bill of rights suggests that the states wanted amendments added to the Constitution protecting its citizens from the abuse of power.  All of the amendments hold their own significance in protecting citizens from this potential abuse of power. The first amendment protects freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press (2). The second amendment allows a person to keep and bear arms. The third amendment prevents people from being required to provide soldiers with a home (2). The fourth amendment requires law enforcement to have a warrant or reasonable cause to search people (2). The fifth amendment protects those charged with a crime by allowing them the right to remain silent, and nobody can be found guilty without a legal process (2). The sixth amendment gives anyone the right to be defended by a lawyer. The seventh amendment gives the accused the right to be judged by a jury. The eighth amendment protects the guilty from cruel and unusual punishments. The ninth amendment states that the Constitution is unable to deny other rights (2). And finally, the tenth amendment says anything specifically not stated in the Constitution is left under the power of the people (2).

As previously mentioned, there are plenty of critics out there of the Bill of Rights who feel their relevance and impact when applied to today’s society are entirely different and therefore should be reevaluated. Akhil Reed Amar  is someone who wrote a book sharing their thoughts and opinions on  The Bill of Rights. “The Bill of Rights stands as the high temple of our constitutional order—America’s Parthenon—and yet we lack a clear view of it. Instead of being studied holistically, the Bill has been broken up into discrete blocks of text, with each segment examined in isolation (1).” This quote from his book describes just one criticism that is often made of the Bill of Rights. The lack of a clear view of it is insinuating that we do not have its interpretation down to a science yet although we absolutely should. Still, despite the people who share their distaste for it, the Bill of Rights is a crucial piece of American history. It is undeniable that society has gone thru an immense number of changes since the ratification of these amendments. However, the application of the Bill of Rights and the ways in which they are interpreted are as important today as they were when they were written.

(1) Amar, Akhil Reed. The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000.

https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.shu.edu/stable/j.ctt1nprm9.4

(2) Armentrout, David, and Patricia Armentrout. The Bill of Rights. New York, NY: Newbridge, 2005.

https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/ZTcwMHhuYV9fMzkyMTM0X19BTg2?sid=939ca4d5-d1a7-45fd-bd52-0e99041b4815@redis&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1

(3) Lewis, Thomas T. The Bill of Rights, 2nd ed., volume 1-2. Ipswich, MA: EBSCO Information Services, Inc., 2017.

https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/ZTcwMHhuYV9fMTY5MTg2Ml9fQU41?sid=33542902-0c4a-4052-9efc-0a07d2dc740d@redis&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1