Essay On Bill Of Rights

The Bill of Rights has been fundamental in providing and ensuring American citizens rights and freedoms for hundreds of years. The Bill of Rights has survived for so long, because of adjustments and revisions, adapting these amendments to fit the people of the current time period. Only ten of the originally proposed twelve amendments were ratified and turned into what is known as the Bill of Rights. The first of the ten amendments in the Bill of Rights, says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” In other words, the First Amendment provides American citizens with protection from the central government, in the instance
George Mason, an Antifederalist, believed that all citizens rights needed to be explicitly stated to ensure that they were protected and not infringed upon by the national government. He argued that a document that had these rights listed was crucial in protecting the people from the government. He was well respected and listened to, and after he gained a large amount of support by the Antifederalists, James Madison relented and wrote the Bill of Rights. James Madison proposed the amendments in the Federalist Papers because the Federalist were for the U.S.Constitution, and the Antifederalists were opposed to the U.S. Constitution. In order to convince the Antifederalists that the U.S. Constitution was a beneficial thing, the Federalists had to establish a document that prevents the strong federal government from infringing on the people's rights and liberties. The Federalists supported the U.S.Constitution, and they had to write the Bill of Rights to get the votes of the Antifederalists. The Federalists did not support