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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA December 15, 1791 - A bill of rights to the Federal Constitution was officially entered into law
today by an act of the United States Congress. Among other guarantees, these
10 amendments to the constitution ensure citizens of the United States freedom
of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly.
They protect Americans from "unreasonable searches and seizures," guarantee
criminals the right to "a speedy" trial, and from "cruel and unusual
punishments."
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| Signing of the Constitution |
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Proponents of the measures hailed them as a necessary safeguard of individual
rights. "Every American's guarantee of freedom," one observer called the
amendments. But others viewed the Bill as a sop to
anti-Federalists, who had withheld their support for the
ratification of the constitution 3 years ago, until promised that a protection
of individual rights would be included in the document.
Federalists at the time felt that a Bill of Rights was an unnecessary addition
to the Constitution (most claimed the amendments were a redundancy---these were
rights already guaranteed to citizens of the new republic), but they agreed to
the stipulation to help adopt the Constitution.
Accordingly, it was James Madison, chief architect of the
Constitution, who shepherded the 17 proposed amendments through the newly
convened 1st Congress in 1789. These 17 were shrunk to 12 in the U.S. Senate,
and to 10, as they were passed by the constitutionally mandated 3/4ths of the
states.
The passage of the Bill brings to a close a long battle that began early in the
post-war years. Though it passed at least one piece of great
legislation and encouraged a host of reforms, the
confederation of states which constituted the American government through the
Revolutionary War and beyond, was the source of a great deal of acrimony and
debate almost from its inception.
Early critics of the confederation, like Alexander Hamilton, claimed that the
new republic would never achieve greatness—let alone function as a united
country—if it continued to be governed by the parochial concerns of 13
independent republics.
Many older patriots like Patrick Henry, George Mason and Samuel Adams, defended
the confederation as the bastion for the hardwon liberties achieved through
Revolution. They feared the power of the strong, central government they saw
outlined in the federal constitution and claimed the powers of their own
state constitutions would be diminished. As another opponent, Mercy
Otis Warren, said, "We are told . . . 'that the whole constitution is a
declaration of rights,' but mankind must think for themselves, and to many very
judicious and discerning characters, the whole constitution with very few
exceptions appears a perversion of the rights of particular states, and of
private citizens."
Madison's support for "the Bill" has been crucial to its passage. That "The
Father of the Constitution," should be the chief proponent of a measure that
threatened to sink the ratification process just a few years ago, is probably
an indication of Madison's own good work. The Constitution is already being
seen as a document flexible enough to bend to the variety of interests
contained in the new republic—including federal and republican ideologies.
Only time will tell if it can maintain this unique elasticity . . .
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