Free
Some states insisted that a bill of rights be added to the Constitution. They proposed more than 200 amendments.
James Madison weeded out duplicates and wrote up the most important ideas in 17 proposals. Congress sent 12 of these proposals to the states. In the end, ten were approved. In 1791, they became the first ten amendments to the Constitution. They are called the Bill of Rights. They outline some basic rights of citizens.
The First Ten Amendments
First Amendment
People have freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press. They have the right to gather in a peaceful way. They have the right to appeal to the government if they feel something wrong is happening. Freedom of religion means two things. One, people can worship, or not worship, as they please. Two, the government cannot promote religion in general or a particular religion.
◀ Two of the 12 proposed amendments were not ratified. One of them later became the 27th Amendment. It says that if Congress votes itself a raise, the raise cannot take effect until after the next election. This gives the people a chance to show if they approve of the raise or not. By 1791, only six states had voted for this amendment. Ohio approved it in 1873. Thirty more states ratified between 1983 and 1992.
