The Bill of Rights Essay -- American Government, Politics

The Bill of Rights is a list of limitations on the power of the government. Firstly, the Bill of Rights is successful in assuring the adoption of the Constitution. Secondly, the Bill of Rights did not address every foreseeable situation. Thirdly, the Bill of Rights has assured the safety of the people of the nation. Successes, failures, and consequences are what made the Bill of Rights what they are today. 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 first two articles were not ratified. Articles three through twelve were ratified on December 15, 1791 (Constitutional Politics in Ohio 1). These became known as The Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights became the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution (Primary Documents 1). From the beginning, James Madison did not see a reason for there to be a Bill of Rights in the Constitution. But his decision soon changed. In 1787, delegates to the Philadelphia Convention debated whether to include a Bill of Rights in the Constitution (Schwartz 2). Since Thomas Jefferson could not attend the Philadelphia Convention, he sent Madison a letter. The en closed letter said that the omission of a Bill of Rights was a major mistake: "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth" (Significance). After receiving the letter from Jefferson, Madison believed that there should be a bill of rights to the Constitution. Jefferson and Madison argued that a declaration of... ...The Eighth Amendment protects against "cruel and unusual punishments (Charters 2). This means a person would not get punished severely. The Tenth Amendment ensures that the individual rights that are not enumerated in the Constitution are secure -- that these rights should not be automatically infringed upon because they are omitted from the Constitution (Charters 2). This means that the powers delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. In conclusion, the Bill of Rights has assured the adoption of the Constitution. It has had some failures that did not end up in the Bill of Rights. It has also assured the safety of people. The Bill of Rights plays a key role in American Law and government, and remains a vital symbol of the freedoms and culture of the nation.