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Context
The struggle for the ratification of the United States Constitution convinced some political leaders that amendments were needed to protect individual liberties from the strengthened national government created by the Constitution. During the First Congress, Federalist James Madison, who had supported ratification, proposed several amendments modeled on the Virginia Declaration of Rights that had been written by George Mason in 1776. Congress approved twelve amendments that were sent to the states for ratification or rejection in 1789. This document is the actual copy sent by Congress to the Virginia General Assembly and therefore includes the twelve amendments. The General Assembly ratified amendments three through twelve on December 15, 1791. Virginia was the eleventh state needed for ratification, and these ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights specifies the rights of Americans in relation to their government. It guarantees individual civil rights and liberties, including the freedoms of religion, speech, assembly, and the press; the right to petition the government for redress of grievances; the right to keep and bear arms; the right of the people not to have troops quartered in their homes; the right to protection against unreasonable government searches and seizures; the right to jury trials in civil and criminal cases and of a grand jury in criminal cases; a prohibition on government taking private property without just compensation; a prohibition on excessive bail and fines and on cruel and unusual punishments. The Fifth Amendment states that no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law." The Ninth and Tenth Amendments state that powers not specifically granted to the federal government remained with the people and state governments and that the enumeration of specific rights in the Constitution did not limit what rights were protected so that non-enumerated rights also remained with the people and the states.
The Bill of Rights is one of the most important living history documents in the United States. For example, one of Madison's proposed amendments considered in 1789 concerning the salary increases of congressmen, was revived during the 1980s and was ratified as the Twenty-seventh Amendment in 1992. The Bill of Rights continues to be a model for other countries around the world.
Citation: Records of the General Assembly, Executive Communications, Record Group 78, Library of Virginia.
Related entries
Virginia Declaration of Rights
Portrait of James Madison
Standards
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Scan it: Scan the document. What word or phrases stand out to you? List 3 things you know about the Bill of Rights just by scanning the document.
Post Activities
Think about it: Select three amendments from the Bill of Rights and describe rights included in the amendment. Keep in mind some amendments may include more than one right.
Another Perspective: Often people find the amendments difficult to understand as they include complex ideas. Select two amendments and rewrite them to be more user friendly and easily understood. Be sure to include all the rights included in the amendments.
Virginia Validation: The Bill of Rights reflected the difficulties in creating a federal government. How did Virginia governance and politicians influence the shaping of the Bill of Rights?