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Bill Of Rights History

Decent Essays

The Bill of Rights is defined as the first ten amendments to the constitution. Without these amend- ments, the people would not accept the constitution. The people thought of the constitution as a list of rules without any rights. In return, the Bill of Rights was created to satisfy those demands for privileges. A congressman from Virginia named James Madison created the Bill of Rights in March of 1789. It was comprised of twelve amendments, and was sent to congress for approval. Congress approved the addition to the constitution and it was then sent to the states for ratification. In December of 1791, the required three fourths of states ratified the third through twelfth amendments, which soon became the first through tenth …show more content…

Legislature agreed with eleven of the new amendments, not accepting the amendment dealing with congressional pay. On the other hand, on December 1, Georgia rejected the Bill of Rights; legislature stated it was too early to consider new amendments since the constitution has not been tested yet. Maryland accepted all twelve amendments on December 19, and North Carolina did as well on December 22, however North Carolina wanted eight additional amendments, some involving congress. South Carolina also agreed with all twelve amendments and also pushed for more amendments on January 19, 1790. Comparable to New Jersey, New Hampshire only accepted eleven of the amendments, rejecting the amendment dealing with congressional pay. The following day, January 26, Delaware became the sixth state to ratify the Bill of Rights, however Delaware did not accept the amendment dealing with the number of representatives. New York was the next sate to ratify the Bill of Rights, accepting all the amendments but one, the amendment dealing with the size of the house. Pennsylvania rejected the first two amendments but agreed with the remaining amendments and became the eighth state to ratify the Bill of Rights on March 10. On June 7, Rhode Island voted yes to all amendments but the one regarding salaries. Soon after earning statehood, Vermont accepted all of the amendments in November …show more content…

This amendment also guarantees the right to due process, grand jury screening of criminal indictments, and compensation for the seizure of private property under eminent domain. The Sixth Amendment to the Bill of Rights creates the right to a speedy and public trial, the right to trial by an impartial jury, the right to be informed of criminal charges, the right to confront witnesses, the right to compel witnesses to appear in court, and the right to assistance of counsel. All of these rights ensured in the sixth amendment pertain to the defendant in a criminal trial. The Seventh Amendment to the Bill of Rights guarantees jury trials in federal civil cases that deal with claims of more than twenty dollars, it also prohibits judges from overruling findings of fact by juries in federal civil trials. The Eighth Amendment of the Bill of Rights forbids the imposition of excessive bails or fines, though it leaves the term excessive open to

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