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The Importance Of The Bill Of Rights

Decent Essays

James Madison wrote the 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights when several states requested protection of their individual liberties(BILL OF RIGHTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1791). The Federalists argued that the Constitution didn't need the bill of rights because the people and states kept any powers that was not given to the federal government. However, the Anti-Federalists felt the need to have the bill of rights for safeguarding individual liberty(BILL OF RIGHTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1791). In 1789, when the Congress proposed the first ten amendments for their first session, they received three-fourths by several States, so it became a part of the Constitution(1791: US Bill of Rights (1st 10 Amendments) - with commentary). The Federalists supported a stable national government to preserve order, and 2/3 majority of the states must ratify for the Bill of Rights to be a part of the Constitution(Bill of Rights 1791). It went through several changes and The House approved 17 amendments, but the Senate only approved 12. Therefore, they were sent to the states for approval in August of 1789, and ten were quickly adopted (or, ratified). The Bill of Rights was officially passed on December 15, 1791, when Virginia ratified the amendments(Bill of Rights 1791). Although the Constitution doesn’t really focus economic terms in details, it still recognizes the right to own property and enter into contracts(The Constitution - economic rights and opportunities).

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