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Engrossed Bill of Rights, September 25, 1789; General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives.
The Bill of Rights, the first ten Amendments of the U. S. Constitution, was ratified in December of 1791. The amendments protect American citizens against abuses of power by the government and are a testament to the philosophical beliefs upon which the nation was founded. In the years after the Revolutionary War, however, there was an intense debate over how to best protect the citizens of the new nation. Many of the founding fathers, including James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson, did not immediately embrace a Bill of Rights. George Mason, a Virginia delegate who authored the Virginia Bill of Rights, was especially insistent that citizens must be given formal protections.
The Bill of Rights answered Mason’s greatest concern and the concerns of many ratifying states. As a representative in the First Federal Congress, James Madison ushered seventeen amendments through the House of Representatives. Eventually, Congress passed twelve of the amendments and sent them to the states on September 25, 1789. The first two proposed amendments were not ratified. By December 15, 1791, the remaining articles (three through twelve) were ratified by the required number of states and became the Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights is housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and is viewed daily by thousands of people who are eager to see the document that ensures a United States citizen will not lose his or her individual freedoms.
This article was written by This article was written by Margret Atkinson, elementary school teacher, Baton Rouge, LA, and Bill Neer, Visiting Assistant Professor of Literacy, Lemoyne College, Syracuse, NY.
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