The U.S. Bill of Rights of 1791 : a study of the process and evolution of Madison's work

Abstract

On June 8th, 1789, a proposal for the U.S. Bill of Rights was put before the House of Representatives by a Mr. James Madison. On September 25th, the House and the Senate accepted the conference report that laid out the emended proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution. On October 2nd, the president at the time, a Mr. George Washington, proceeded to send out copies of the 12 amendments adopted by the U.S. Congress to each State for its ratification. Then, on December 15th, 1791, the document entered into effect after Virginia finally conceded its ratification. The U.S. Bill of Rights refers to the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Although James Madison is its acclaimed author, he fiercely opposed it in the beginning. In fact, it was a Mr. George Mason who initially proposed the inclusion of a bill of rights during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Unfortunately, this motion did not succeed, and the proposed preparation committee was subsequently never created. Eventually, the Federalists conceded, as many States refused to ratify the Constitution were it not for the promise of the inclusion of rights. It was in 1971 that the bill was finally ratified and enacted. It is safe to say that this far-reaching document has changed the course of history. For instance, in 1868, the 14th Amendment made it illegal for States to deny black people their rights and, in Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court banned segregation on the same premise. It has also been used to impede certain decisions. This begs the question: is it a useful tool for protecting the rights of the people or has it become an outdated obstacle to change?