The American Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Most Important Amendments Essay Example

The American Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the most important amendments The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. The first three Articles of the Constitution establish the rules and separate powers of the three branches of the federal government: a legislature, the bicameral Congress; an executive branch led by the President; and a federal judiciary headed by the Supreme Court. The last four Articles frame the principle of federalism. The Tenth Amendment confirms its federal characteristics. The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ratified by conventions in eleven states. It went into effect on March 4, 1789. The United States Constitution can be changed through the amendment process. Constitutional amendments are added to it, altering its effect. The first ten amendments, ratified by three-fourths of the states in 1791, are known as the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is the First Ten Amendments to the US Constitution. These amendments were passed all at once by the First United States Congress in 1791. These Amendments are a very important part of the Constitution that protect certain rights of American citizens from being violated by the government, rights such as freedom of religion, freedom to bear arms, freedom of the press and the right to trial by jury. The Bill of Rights played a very important part in the passing of the Constitution in the first place. When the Constitution was first proposed, many individuals and state conventions were concerned that it did not adequately protect the rights of the citizens. Because of this, many people were against the Constitution as it was written. Several state governments decided they would vote to accept the Constitution only if a Bill of Rights was added. A Bill of Rights is a clearly spelled out list of the rights of the people that the government cannot