The Impact of the Bill of Rights

Shelby Thomas
Mrs. Horn
English 11
May 21, 2013
The Impact of the Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights is a memorial and milestone in the never ending struggle of men to recapture and uphold liberty and dignity. The need of a stronger government was the cause of the creation of the Constitution of the United States. “The Constitution established not merely a league of states, but a government that exercised its authority directly over all citizens.” (Almanac of Policy Issues) The Constitution protected citizen’s rights in the states. However, the Bill of Rights was merely the statement and enforcement of every citizen’s rights, no matter the race. It prevented misconstruction and abuse of power. “The Bill of Rights was added to further specify the rights the government could not encroach upon.” (Revolutionary War and Beyond) The government couldn’t do anything against what was written in the Constitution. The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments of the Constitution. The first amendment is the most well known amendment, which is the freedom of speech. The next nine amendments are as follows: the right to bear arms, “privacy in your own home without unwanted government intrusion,” (ACLU) the right to a speedy and public trial, the right to trial by jury in civil cases, excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Lastly, whatever powers the federal government does not acquire are reserved for the states. (Head) The Bill of Rights has played a very important role in society, protecting the rights of every American citizen. The Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution. Anti-Federalists were a diverse group of people who believed that the Constitution would only lead to a corrupt government with too much power. The United States had just won their independence from Britain in the Revolutionary War in 1775-1783. (U.S History) They believed that the Constitution gave too much power to the central government; hence why the Anti-Federalists refused to accept the new Constitution. However, all the states had to affirm the Constitution before it could go into effect. To get all the states to ratify the Constitution, the Bill of Rights was added as a compromise. In exchange for approval, 10 amendments were added to the beginning of the important document to protect the rights of the people. The government only cared that the document was signed; so they gave the people what they wanted, the Bill of Rights. The Constitution had many mistakes that needed to be revised. For one, it didn’t exactly apply to everyone. It specified only “consent of governed” which meant propertied white men only. The constitution contained what the government could do, but not what it was, not allowed to do. (ACLU) The people of the United States wanted guarantees for such things as freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The Bill of Rights didn’t give the government the right to tell them how to live their life or what to believe in. The American Bill of Rights, inspired by Jefferson and drafted by James Madison, was adopted, and in 1791 the Constitution 's first ten amendments became the law of the land. (ACLU)
It wasn’t an easy process to ratify the Constitution. It took a lot of revising and persuading to get to the end point of success. There were only nine states that had to accept the document and only five of those states actually agreed with the terms of the Constitution, at first. Federalists also contributed to the writing of the Bill of Rights. Although, Federalists thought the Declaration didn’t need a Bill of Rights because they deemed it unnecessary. New Hampshire was the ninth state to finally ratify the Constitution. It took months and lots of effort on James Madison and Alexander Hamilton’s behalf. Some states even added their own amendments with their ratification. Hamilton believed that the majority of the people probably rejected the Constitution, but only permitted it after the Bill of Rights was confirmed by request. (The Chapters of Freedom) James Madison is the individual remembered as the author of the Bill of Rights. See page 6 for a photograph of James Madison. The signing of the Constitution finally occurred on September 17, 1787. There were definitely many effects of the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution. The ratification of the Constitution was only a short term affect. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to lay down the law and to give every person their individual rights as a citizen in the United States of America. Another short term affect was the limit on authority of the government. The amendments cut down on a lot of authority and power from the government. The government didn’t have many restrictions before the Bill of Rights was added to the document. The Bill made known what the government is allowed to do with the citizens, providing their rights and what they’re allowed to do. Most importantly, the Bill of Rights prevented tyranny. The long term affects continue into present day America. The Bill of Rights is still very important to all citizens. Today, there is controversy with the second amendment, the right to bear arms. Half of the U.S citizens own guns of their own. It’s their personal right to own one, according to the Bill of Rights. Much devastation has occurred in the last year, too many deaths. From the Aurora, Colorado shooting where a man went into a movie theater during the Dark Night Rises premiere, killing 12 people and injuring approximately 70 others. (Sandell) Then there was a Shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut earlier this year. A man went into a classroom and murdered twenty children and six adults. This mass murder was the trigger of the gun control, controversial, frenzy. Citizens of America began to believe that the second amendment needed to be evoked and that not all people should own a gun. If there wasn’t much availability of who can own a gun, then the world may be a safer place for everyone and the rate of gun homicides could decrease considerably. If the amendment was changed, it’d be more difficult to buy a gun. “Various possibilities would be considered such as, your medical record, criminal record, and a police interview to make sure you’re adequate to possess such a weapon.” (Ceperkovik) However, it’s controversial because criminals are going to get a gun somehow. If someone really wants to commit murder or any other type of crime, they will find another way around the law. That’s just what criminals do, they break the law. “When the founding fathers implemented the Second Amendment the main idea behind it was to provide citizens with a way to oppose possible tyrannical government.” (Ceperkovik) Now, in present day America, people buy guns mainly to protect themselves from their fellow citizens. No, the crime rate won’t drop over night, but over time it may. “The argument of the founding fathers, so long ago, therefore becomes obsolete and the amendment must be changed to ensure the greater safety of American citizens.” (Ceperkovik) The fourth amendment states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, (Epstein) In the most recent tragedy, in the United States, at the Boston Marathon, two Russian brothers set off two bombs in the crowd of people. They killed only three people but over a hundred people were injured. The police shut down the city of Boston and ordered everyone to stay inside while they searched for the runaway suspect. Police then began searching house by house, making the residents evacuate their own homes as they did so. Police have to have probable cause and a warrant to enter a home. There was no probable cause because the authorities had no credible evidence that the Boston Marathon bomber was within their police perimeter. As it turned out, the suspect was in fact outside the perimeter when they found him. Law enforcement threw out the fourth amendment in the craziness of the situation. However, it should not have happened because they were going against the citizens of Boston’s individual rights according to the Constitution of the United States. The Bill of Rights is a memorial and milestone in the never ending struggle of men to recapture and uphold liberty and dignity. The Bill of Rights is a very important part of every citizen’s life in America. It is the first 10 amendments to the Constitution and it states the basic rights for the people of the United States. The government is not to cross these rights as it is written. The Bill of Rights was added as a compromise to the people who opposed the ratification of the Constitution. They were frightened of the idea of a tyrannical government, considering that they had just avoided it with Britain and gained independence from them. The Bill of Rights was basically a political tool that quieted the critics of the Constitution. If you do not know what rights you have that is not to be violated by the government, you could easily have these rights taken away by the slick tongued politicians. If the Bill of Rights had not been added, we may not have the same rights as we do presently or none at all for that matter. Today, they stand as a quaint argument for individual liberty now long discarded in favor of civil rights and civil liberties and minority rights and the rights of the collective.

James Madison Founding Father of the Bill of Rights

Works Cited
ACLU. 4 March 2002. Website. 7 May 2013. <http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice_prisoners-rights_drug-law-reform_immigrants-rights/bill-rights-brief-history>.
Almanac of Policy Issues. June 2004. Website . 10 May 2013. <http://www.policyalmanac.org/government/archive/constitution.shtml>.
Ceperkovik, Marko. Poilcy Mic. January 2013. Website . 14 May 2013. <http://www.policymic.com/articles/20838/sandy-hook-shooting-is-it-time-to-change-the-second-amendment>.
Epstein, Richard A. Defining Ideas. 23 April 2013. Website. 14 May 2013. <http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/145446>.
Head, Tom. About.com. n.d. Website . 7 May 2013. <http://civilliberty.about.com/od/uscivillibertie1/a/billofrights.htm>.
Revolutionary War and Beyond. n.d. Website. 7 May 2013. <http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/bill-of-rights.html>.
Sandell, Clayton. ABC News. 14 May 2013. Website. 14 May 2013. <http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/05/aurora-theater-shooting-case-cites-3500-witnesses/>.
The Bill of Rights. 2000. 21 May 2013. <http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/bill_of_rights/>.
The Chapters of Freedom. n.d. Website. 7 May 2013. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights.html>.
U.S History. July 1995-2013. Website . 5 May 2013. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/18a.asp>.

Cited: ACLU. 4 March 2002. Website. 7 May 2013. &lt;http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice_prisoners-rights_drug-law-reform_immigrants-rights/bill-rights-brief-history&gt;. Almanac of Policy Issues. June 2004. Website . 10 May 2013. &lt;http://www.policyalmanac.org/government/archive/constitution.shtml&gt;. Ceperkovik, Marko. Poilcy Mic. January 2013. Website . 14 May 2013. &lt;http://www.policymic.com/articles/20838/sandy-hook-shooting-is-it-time-to-change-the-second-amendment&gt;. Epstein, Richard A. Defining Ideas. 23 April 2013. Website. 14 May 2013. &lt;http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/145446&gt;. Head, Tom. About.com. n.d. Website . 7 May 2013. &lt;http://civilliberty.about.com/od/uscivillibertie1/a/billofrights.htm&gt;. Revolutionary War and Beyond. n.d. Website. 7 May 2013. &lt;http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/bill-of-rights.html&gt;. Sandell, Clayton. ABC News. 14 May 2013. Website. 14 May 2013. &lt;http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/05/aurora-theater-shooting-case-cites-3500-witnesses/&gt;. The Bill of Rights. 2000. 21 May 2013. &lt;http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/bill_of_rights/&gt;. The Chapters of Freedom. n.d. Website. 7 May 2013. &lt;http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights.html&gt;. U.S History. July 1995-2013. Website . 5 May 2013. &lt;http://www.ushistory.org/us/18a.asp&gt;.