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The Bill of Rights
During the debates on the adoption of the Constitution,
its opponents repeatedly charged that the Constitution
as drafted would open the way to tyranny by the central government. Fresh in
their minds was the memory of the British violation of civil rights before and
during the Revolution. They demanded a "bill of rights" that would spell out
the immunities of individual citizens. Several state conventions in their formal
ratification of the Constitution asked for such amendments; others ratified
the Constitution with the understanding that the amendments would be offered.
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress
of the United States therefore proposed to the state legislatures 12 amendments
to the Constitution that met arguments most frequently advanced against it.
The first two proposed amendments, which concerned the number of constituents
for each Representative and the compensation of Congressmen, were not ratified.
Articles 3 to 12, however, ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures,
constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, known as the Bill of
Rights.
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You can read transcriptions of:
* The
Preamble,
* Amendments
1-10 (the Bill of Rights), and
* Amendments
11-27 of the Constitution.
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