The document discusses the history and development of the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution. It describes how the Bill of Rights was drafted by James Madison in response to calls from anti-federalists who were concerned the new Constitution did not adequately protect individual liberties. The first Congress took up the issue and debated which rights should be enumerated. The Bill of Rights ultimately guaranteed freedoms like speech, press, religion, assembly, petition, and bearing arms. It was formally ratified in 1791.

1. Create an illustration
After reading the Bill of Rights create an illustration (i.e. table, graph, etc.,) detailing the main
constitutional rights guaranteed by the USA Constitution to its citizens.
Autor: Paulo Arieu
Bill of rights of The United States
Image of the United States Bill of Rights in the administration of the national archives of
the United States.
The Bill of Rights is the term by which the first ten amendments of the Constitution of
the United States of America are known. These amendments limit the power of the federal
Government, and guarantee the rights and freedoms of individuals. Among the rights and
freedoms that the Charter of rights guarantees are the following: freedom of expression, freedom
of Assembly, freedom of religion, freedom of petition, and the right to keep and bear arms; the
right to not be subjected to unreasonable seizures and records, or punishment cruel and unusual;
the right not to testify against oneself, due process, and to a speedy trial with a jury unbiased and
local. In addition, the Bill of rights States that "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain
rights, not should be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

2. The Bill of rights also reserves to the States or the people all powers not delegated to the
federal Government. These amendments entered into force on December 15, 1791, when they
were ratified by three-fourths of the States.
The first draft was made by James Madison in 1789. The Bill of rights was written at a
time of ideological conflict between federalists and anti-federalists, which originated in the
Philadelphia Convention of 1787 and which endangered the ratification of the Constitution. The
Bill of rights had influences of the Virginia Declaration of rights (1776) written by George
Mason, English Bill of rights of 1689, works of the age of enlightenment pertaining to natural
rights, and English political documents such as Magna Carta (1215). The Bill of rights was a
response to of the Constitution's influential opponents, including prominent members of the
Philadelphia Convention, who argued that he failed to defend the basic principles of human
liberty.
The Bill of rights plays a central role in American law and Government, and remains a
fundamental symbol of freedom and the culture of the nation. One of the original fourteen copies
of the Bill of rights is exposed publicly, at the national archives in Washington D. C.
Even though the original document actually contained twelve amendments, the first two
were not ratified initially. It is important to note that the second was ratified two centuries later
as the 27th amendment. As the first two amendments they dealt with Congress rather than on the
rights of the people, the term "Bill of rights" traditionally referred to amendments between the
third and the twelfth of the document both included, which were ratified as the first ten
amendments. This traditional use has continued even with the ratification of the twenty-seventh
amendment.
Background
The Philadelphia Convention was convened to correct the defects inherent in the articles
of Confederation which had appeared even before the conclusion of the war of independence: it
was widely considered that the central Government needed greater power to introduce necessary
changes, that Congress lacked authority; the Liberum Veto and the requirement of majority to
achieve legislative reforms allowed one or two States to repeal legislative proposals; they had not

3. provided mechanisms for executive power enacted laws or to a national court could interpret
them; and a State could refuse to be bound by treaties or international agreements.
The need for a strong and unified legislation and a central authority with sufficient power
to drive the issues, led to the adoption of a strong federal Government exercised by commitment
to the Convention.
The new federal Government, a product of the Connecticut compromise between the
Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan, included a strong executive power, legislative power and
an independent judiciary. However, a hard debate between political factions known as federalists
and anti-federalists influenced the balance between the strengthening of the national Government
and the weakening of the rights of the people, that only ten years earlier had explicitly rebelled
against the tyranny of Jorge III of England.
Arguments against
A portrait of Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull, 1792.
The idea of adding a bill of rights to the Constitution caused controversy from its
approach, and suffered a strong opposition from several notable Americans, including Alexander
Hamilton. In the article Federalist No. 84 published during the Philadelphia Convention of May
28, 1788, Hamilton argued that "the Constitution is in itself... a bill of rights". Hamilton argued

4. against the Bill of rights, claiming that the ratification of the Constitution did not imply any
restriction of the rights of the people, and therefore their protection was unnecessary: "Here,
strictly, the people did not give up anything, and as it retains everything, does not need private
Reserve". As the critics of the Constitution referred to earlier political documents protecting
specific rights, Hamilton argued that the Constitution was inherently different.
The anti-federalists
During the debate on ratification of the Constitution, famous revolutionary figures such
as Patrick Henry spoke publicly against the Constitution. They argued that the strong national
Government proposed by the federalists was a threat to individual rights and that the President
would become a King, and objected to the federal judicial system proposed by the Constitution.
Thomas Jefferson, then ambassador to France, expressed concern, motivated by the lack of a bill
of rights, among other criticisms. In response to the argument that a list of rights could be
interpreted as exhaustive, Jefferson wrote to Madison: "half a loaf is better than not having one.
If we can’t ensure all our rights ensure, however, that we can".
The anti-federalists papers, referring to papers federalists who had advocated the creation
of a stronger federal Government were collected best and most influential articles and speeches
that criticized the Constitution by historians in a collection called. One of these, an essay entitled
"about the lack of a bill of rights" ("On the lack of a Bill of Rights"), later called "Antifederalist
number 84" ("Antifederalist Number 84"), was written under the pseudonym of "Brutus",
probably by Robert Yates. In response to the argument of federalists who believed that it was
unnecessary to protect persons from powers that would not be granted to the Government,
"Brutus" wrote:
"We found, in the ninth section of the first article declared, that of habeas corpus shall not
be suspended, except in cases of rebellion - which no legislative execution, or retroactive law,
penalty will be approved - that no title of nobility shall be granted in the United States, etc." If all
that is not given is reserved, what is the purpose of these exceptions? Granted this Constitution
somewhere in the power to suspend the habeas corpus procedure, create retroactive laws, or
grant titles of nobility? Certainly it does so expressly. The only answer that can be given is that

5. they are implicit in the General powers granted. With equal certainty is, that all the powers
against whose abuse of the Bill of rights protects are contained or implied in the General Powers
granted by the Constitution".
Ratification and the Massachusetts compromise
Individualism was the strong opposition element; the necessity, or at least the desire, of a
bill of rights was almost universally felt, and the anti-federalists were able play with these
sentiments at the Massachusetts ratification Convention. At this stage, five States had already
ratified the Constitution with relative calm; however, the Massachusetts Convention was bitter
and contentious:
"In Massachusetts, the Constitution suffered a serious and organized opposition. The
Convention voted for the ratification of February 6, 1788 (187-168) only after two antifederalists
leaders, John Adams and John Hancock, negotiated an agreement. The anti-federalists had
demanded that the Constitution be amended until they consider it or that the amendments were a
condition for ratification. Federalists responded that it should be accepted or rejected as it was.
Under the Massachusetts compromise, the delegates recommended amendments that were
considered by the new Congress, before entry into force of the Constitution. The Massachusetts
compromise determined the fate of the Constitution, to allow delegates who had doubts about
voting for her to have the hope that it would be amended."[1]
Four of the following States to ratify, including New Hampshire, Virginia and New York,
included similar language in their instruments of ratification. Thus, although the anti-federalists
did not succeed in his mission to prevent the adoption of the Constitution, their efforts were not
completely in vain.
Draft
James Madison, "Father of the Constitution" and the first author of the Bill of Rights.
Once the United States Constitution was ratified in 1789, the first Congress of the United States
met at the Federal building in New York City. Most of the delegates agreed that a "Bill of rights"
was needed, and what rights should be listed on it.

6. James Madison, at the head of the delegation of Virginia in the first Congress, had
proposed a bill of rights in the hope of preventing a potential political disaster. The second
constitutional Convention could undo difficult commitments made in 1787, putting the entire
Constitution to reconsideration and subvert the work that he and many others had been made to
establish the governance structure of the United States.
Madison based his work on the Virginia Declaration of rights (1776), work of George
Mason. In addition to this direct influence, Madison's Bill of rights reflected centuries of law and
philosophy English, modified by the principles of the American Revolution. The English legal
tradition included revolutionaries such as the Magna Carta (1215) documents, which protected
the rights of the nobility against the King of England, and the Bill of rights English (1689),
which protected the rights of lawmakers in the Parliament against the powers of the King. Also
influenced the political thought of John Locke, who had argued that all men have inalienable
natural rights as human beings and that the purpose of Government was to protect the rights of
property, ideas that became part of the American conception of Government. Madison, in the
United States Bill of rights, continued the radical tradition of the American Revolution spreading
and codifying these rights.
Background
To some degree, the Bill of rights and the American Revolution incorporated the ideas of
the English philosopher John Locke, who argued in his 1689 work, two treatises on civil
government, that civil society was created for the protection of property (Latin: proprius), or of
what is characteristic of every human being, referring to "life, liberty and State". Locke also
advanced the notion that every individual is free and equal in the State of nature. Locke
developed the idea of natural rights inherent to all individuals of the human race, a concept
Madison mentioned in his speech introducing the Bill of rights to the first Congress.
Process of ratification
On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first State to ratify the amendments. On
December 15, 1791, ten of these proposals became the first ten amendments - and the United
States - official law when they were ratified by the Virginia Legislature.

7. Articles III-XII were ratified by 11/14 States (> 75%). Article I, rejected by Delaware, was
ratified only by 10/14 States (< 75%), and despite the late ratification of Kentucky (11/15
States < 75%), the article has never received sufficient approval to form part of the
Constitution. Article II was ratified by 6/14 States, then by 7/15 States, but did not receive the
majority of three fourths of the States needed for ratification until 1992 when it became the
twenty-seventh amendment of the Constitution.
Dates of ratifications
 New Jersey, 20th November of 1789; rejected article II
 Maryland, 19 December of 1789; approved all
 North Caroline, 22th. December of 1789; approved all
 South Caroline, 19th January of 1790; approved all
 New Hampshire, 25th January of 1790; rejected article II
 Delaware, 28th January of 1790; rejected article II
 New York, 27th February of 1790; rejected article II
 Pennsylvania, 10th march de 1790; rejected article II
 Rhode Island, 7th June of 1790; rejected article II
 Vermont, 3th of November of 1791; approved all
 Virginia, 15th of December of 1791; approved all
Further considerations
• Text of the Bill of rights
• Preamble
• Preamble to the Bill of rights:
The Congress of the United States started and completed in the city of New York, on
Wednesday, March 4, the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

8. The conventions of a number of States, having at the time of adopting the Constitution,
expressed a desire, in order to prevent abuse or misinterpretation of its powers, that further
declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: and to extend the scope of public confidence
in the Government is the best way to ensure the charitable end of your institution.
RESOLVED by the Senate and the Chamber of the representatives of the United States,
gathered as Congress, concurring with two-thirds of both houses, that the following articles be
proposed to the legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the
United States, with all or some of these articles, when they are ratified by three-fourths of the
legislatures they are valid for all weekends and purposes, as part of the Constitution; viz.
THE added items, and amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America,
proposed by Congress, and ratified by the legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth
article of the original Constitution.
The Table of the Main Constitutional Rights Guaranteed by the USA Constitution
Amendment Text of the amendment
Amendment I Freedom of expression, press, religious, peaceful assembly and petition the
Government.
The Congress will not approve a law that adopted an official State religion or
prohibiting the free exercise there of, or that restrict the freedom of
expression or of the press, or the right of the people to assemble peacefully
and to ask the Government for the redress of grievances.
Amendment II Right of the people to keep and bear arms, as well as to maintain a militia.
Requiring a well-ordered militia for the security of a free State, will not
violate the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
Amendment III The accommodation of military protection. In peacetime will stay not to any
soldier in house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, except
in the manner prescribed by law.

9. Amendment IV Protection against unreasonable seizures and records. The right of the people
to their people, homes, papers and effects are protected against unreasonable
seizures, and records shall be inviolable, and they shall not be issued to effect
orders that not support in a plausible motive, are supported by oath or
affirmation, and describe with particularity the place which should be
registered and people or things that must be seized.
Amendment V Due process, non bis in idem, self-incrimination, private property. No one
shall be required to answer an offence punishable with the death penalty or
other infamous crime unless a grand jury accused him, with the exception of
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the national militia when in
actual service in time of war or public danger; nor will be judged a person
any twice for the same offence, which may lead to the loss of life or a
Member; will not compel him to testify against itself in any criminal trial;
nor it is deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law; It
will not take private property for public use without just compensation.
Amendment VI Trial by jury and other rights of the accused. In any criminal case, the
accused shall enjoy the right to be tried quickly and in public by a jury
unbiased district and State in which the crime was committed, district who
shall have been previously ascertained by law; as well as that they have
know the nature and cause of the accusation, is care with witnesses against
him, that undertakes summoned witnesses favoring him and to count with the
help of a lawyer who defends him.
Amendment VII Civil trial by jury. The right to be held before a jury trials of customary law
where the value in dispute exceeds twenty dollars, will be guaranteed, and no
fact tried by a jury shall be re-examined in any Court of the United States,
except pursuant to the rules of customary law.
Amendment VIII Prohibition of excessive bail, as well as that of cruel and unusua l
punishment. Excessive bail, shall not be required nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

10. Amendment IX Protection of rights not specifically enumerated in the Bill of rights. The
enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to
deny or disparage other rights retained by the people.
Amendment X Powers of the States and people. The powers that the Constitution does not
delegate to the United States nor prohibited to the States are reserved to the
States respectively or the village.
--------------------
References
[1] Bernstein, Richard B. "Ratification of the Constitution." The Reader's Companion to
American History. Retrieved on 2006-02-28.
-------------------------
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carta_de_Derechos_de_los_Estados_Unidos