Supported by the Anti-Federalists, the Bill of Rights was put into the Constitution in fear that the Constitution gave the federal government too much power and in the future, American citizens could be at risk of oppression. After ten months waiting for the approval of all the states, it was finally ratified December 7, 1787. Nevertheless, Federalist argued that the Bill of Rights was unnecessary because the original Constitution implemented a few of the rights that were in In the Bill of Rights. However, the Bill of Rights was set in place to give rights to the people because the Constitution was believed to give the government too much power and without the Constitution being accompanied by the Bill of rights, the ratification wouldn’t have taken place. Therefore the Bill of Rights had a substantial impression on today’s society.
Federalists felt that the Bill of Rights was not needed because the Constitution itself included text that defended individual rights. For example, in Article VI of the Constitution religious freedom was stated to be protected to a degree. "No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States", as it says in Article VI of the Constitution. It was then restated in the Bill of Rights
…show more content…
Consequently, The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments of today's Constitution was put in the Constitution to protect the individual rights of American citizens. For Instance, today the Democratic party is trying to take away or at least limit our second amendment; the right to bare arms. Because of all the chaos and tragedy caused by guns, Democrats feel that if they take guns away, there will be less raids and shootings. However, the right to bear arms is the Constitution’s second amendment is an individual right that is protected because the Bill of Rights and cannot be violated by the federal
The United States Bill of Rights came into being as a result of a promise made by the Fathers of Confederation to the states during the struggle for ratification of the Constitution in 1787-88. A great number of the states made as a condition for their ratification, the addition of amendments, which would guarantee citizens protection of their rights against the central government. Thus, we have a rather interesting situation in which the entrenchment of a bill of rights in the American Constitution was done by the virtual demand of the states, they themselves fearing a central government which was not legally constrained and restricted as far as its powers were concerned.
The Bill of Rights is a very important part of The Constitution of the United States of America. Among the amendments in The Constitution is the second amendment, the right to bear arms. The second amendment is,“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” (U.S.). That's about all most people know about the second amendment. When it was written and who wrote and supports it are very important things to know about the amendment.
Anti-Federalism, an 18th century political movement led primarily by Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams, opposed the ratification of the new United States Constitution for multiple reasons. [B] The new U.S. Constitution was written by a group of delegates selected for the 1787 Constitutional Convention which took place in Philadelphia. A chief reason Anti-Federalists were highly concerned with this document was the amount of power it would give the federal government. They worried that the implementation of a strong centralized government could only be possible at the expense of individual states rights and freedoms. Anti-Federalists were also concerned that smaller states, who had previously held as much weight in national affairs as larger states, may be ignored or trampled upon in regards to passing interstate laws and amending federal documents. Another concern of the Anti-Federalists was the absence of a Bill of Rights, a specific list of personal rights possessed by American citizens, in the Constitution. They feared that without this bill of stated rights, there would be no guarantee that the American government, under the Constitution, would not pass tyrannical laws resembling those implemented by the British just prior to the American Revolution. [A]
Despite two years of heated debate between federalists and anti-federalists, the Constitution was adopted in 1789 without the bill of rights; however, the terms of ratification issued by several states, including Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, required an unwritten understanding that the ratified Constitution would quickly be amended to include such a bill. James Madison, once a champion of the federalist cause, was the first to propose a bill of rights to the Congress. Of the twelve amendments he proposed, the Congress accepted and incorporated ten into the Constitution. Since admission into the Constitution, the role of those amendments has changed drastically.
For example, Federalist Paper 78, published in 1788, justified the judicial system by explaining how it protected the Constitution and thus the people as well as acted in the best interest of the country. Through the collective efforts of the Federalists, eventually, the Constitution was passed by all states. In 1791, compelled by strong public sentiments for protection of individual rights like Mason’s, the first Congress under the Constitution added a list of ten amendments to the Constitution, known collectively as the Bill Of Rights. These first ten amendments to the Constitution, which protected rights ranging from freedom of speech and religion to the due process of law, were able to somewhat reconcile the differences between Federalists and Anti-Federalists (later known as the Democratic-Republicans), and to build and solidify the public’s trust of a democratic, central
The Federalists wanted a strong central government, I feel that the Bill of Rights helps strengthen the government by giving it structure and giving it a backbone so it could grow as the nation grows. This is why I felt that the Anti-Federalists held a stronger position in debate. The Constitution is an important document for the condition of the nation, but the Bill of Rights, and the freedom of the people, is equally as
The Constitution did not include the Bill of Rights, the Anti- Federalists believed that this was yet another example of there being no limit on the centralized government’s power, and there was no protection for the
The Anti-federalists opposed the Constitution because they believed it did not secure their rights and gave the government too much power. (2) Patrick Henry, an Anti-federalist from Virginia said that the constitution took away the states rights to be individual and to make separate decisions as well. (4) The Federalists saw the Anti-federalists complaint and realized that in order for the Constitution to be passed, they would need a Bill of Rights. (6) This Bill of Rights would give rights to the people and the states. 12 amendments were submitted for ratification by congress, but the states only ratified 10 of them. They became know as the Bill of Rights which made most
The Constitution of the United States was made through compromises that not everyone agreed on but they came to an agreement on what they thought it should be. Before all of the fifty states were founded there was not a Bill of Rights, it was not until the new government was up and running before the Bill of Rights was added. The reason for this was that the framers of the constitution did not realize that the Bill of Rights was necessary to have at the time. A certainly important choice that was made was how our government was to be
On one side, many of the framers, who called themselves Federalist, did not want to add a bill of rights to the Constitution. The Federalist feared that a bill of rights would do the opposite of protecting our freedoms. They also believed that a bill of rights was essentially showing that we get our natural freedoms from government. However, in reality
James Madison presents the Bill of Rights to the First Federal Congress on June 8, 1789 (Primary Documents 1). The First Federal Congress then suggests the twelve amendments to the constitution to their state legislatures (Constitutional Politics in Ohio 1). The very first two articles weren't authorizing. Articles three through twelve were amended on December 15, 1791 (Constitutional Politics in Ohio 1). This was called The Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights became the very first ten amendments to the United States Constitution (Primary Documents 1). Which means the powers delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited because of it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or even to the
The bill of rights is a popular document that was not originally in the US constitution, but anti federalists wanted a bill of rights really bad because supposedly they were afraid of a strong central government. They did not want another king so some states refused the constitution until there was a bill of rights. Along with being afraid of a central government they wanted a limited government so that government could not control them. The anti federalists also thought the government would not protect their individual rights enough so they wanted a bill of rights.
On September 25, 1789, The Bill Of Rights was submitted to the states for approval, based on the previous Constitution's insufficient assurances for civil freedom, liberties and justice. Concerned that the Constitution neglected to clearly state the basic civil rights of the citizens of the United States, Anti- Federalists opposed the Articles of Confederations, which gave state governments more authority (“Bill of Rights, n.d.). As a result the first tem amendments commonly known as The Bill of Rights was approved by congress in 1791, undeniably guaranteeing citizens of The United States essential and important rights. The 1st and 2nd amendments are perhaps the most
The Bill of Rights became a very important document in the United States Constitution in order to ensure United States citizens equal protection of their rights and liberties. The main objective of the Bill of rights was to place limits on the national government creating an understanding and dividing the powers between the states and the national government. Not all the powers were granted to the national government however not all the powers were prohibited to the states. As stated by Ginsberg, Lowi, Weir & Tolbert (2015) the bill of rights consists of 10 amendments incorporated in the U.S constitution. It is important to note that each amendment contains a legal court case in which the supreme court as well as the government have ruled and have ignored or have protected the rights of the individuals involved.
Firstly, the Bill of Rights has guaranteed the adoption of the Constitution. James Madison proposed the Bill of Rights to the First Federal Congress on June 8, 1789 (Primary Documents 1). The First Federal Congress then proposed the twelve amendments to the constitution to the state legislatures (Constitutional Politics in Ohio 1). The