The Bill of Rights: Summary and Analysis

The Bill of Rights, the most celebrated part of the United States Constitution, almost seems like an afterthought. The Constitution, which spelled out the form of the national government and delineated the responsibilities of each branch, was ratified in 1788. Three years later Congress added 10 amendments (the Bill of Rights) that guaranteed individual liberties. This paper will summarize why those amendments were included, and analyze whether the Bill of Rights altered the Constitution or merely strengthened it.

The 1780s were a time of triumph and turmoil in America. The decisive American victory at Yorktown in 1781 guaranteed the nation's independence, confirmed two years later by a peace treaty with England that recognized the new nation. The fledgling nation's government, however, was in disarray. The Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781, created a weak national government because the states were unwilling to relinquish any power. As a result, the national government proved ineffectual, unable to deal with the nation's mounting debt and numerous interstate disputes.

Several issues revealed the impotence of the national government. First, the Congress had no independent method of raising revenue, relying entirely on inconsistent payments from the states. Yet the government had many obligations, not the least of which was the army's pay. As a result, Congress resorted to printing more money (which soon became worthless) and borrowing from abroad. Seco

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l as executive abuse[.]" State guarantees of rights were insufficient because some did not have a bill of rights, and because states were more likely to abuse their powers than the national government. Madison proposed that the bill of rights be inserted into the Constitution at appropriate points rather than as amendments. House members who followed Madison on the floor either opposed his motion or believed that the House should attend to more pressing matters first. The House tabled the issue for two months, finally addressing the proposal on August 13 after a plea from Madison. The House generally supported Madison's proposal but rejected his idea of incorporating the changes directly into the text of the Constitution. Representative Roger Sherman, who opposed a bill of rights, hoped to trivialize the changes by insisting they be amendments to the Constitution. Ironically, it had the opposite effect. The first 10 amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, would turn out to be the most important part of the Constitution. Anti-Federalists complained bitterly that the amendments did not go far enough, addressing issues of "personal liberty alone, leaving the great points of the Judiciary, direct taxation, [

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