The American Bill of Rights
On April 30, 1789, George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States. The new United States Constitution had already been ratified and went into effect the 4th March 1789, but the new country was still in danger/unsettled. Many of the founding fathers were demanding a “bill of rights” to protect people from the new government, to make sure that it would never treat citizens like the old colonial government did. The idea of protection of rights had plenty been incorporated in spirits by: - the English Bill of Rights passed in 1689 - writings of thinkers/philosophers like John Locke who introduced the idea of natural rights that are inherent to all individual being. - the Virginia Declaration of Rights drafted initially by George Mason in 1776 to proclaim the inherent natural rights too, including the right to rebel against “inadequate” government. In spite of this current, the question of the necessity of a bill of rights divided. Two groups opposed each other, the Federalists who wanted a strong government and no bill of rights. The Anti-Federalists wanted more power for the states and a bill of rights. They feared that a strong national government was a threat to individual rights and that the President would become a king. James Madison believed that citizens needed to be protected from the states government and the national government. On June 8, 1789, he submitted his proposal to the Congress; and came up with 42 rights that needed to be protected. Madison's 42 rights where cut down to 27 by the House of Representatives, then to 12 by the Senate and finally only the last 10 articles were approved by the states. These 10 rights became the first 10 amendments to the Constitution on December 15, 1791 and became known as the Bill of Rights. The first amendments proposed but not ratified by the states, dealing with the number and apportionment of U.S Representatives, never became part of the Constitution. The