This Day 230 Years Ago; The Bill of Rights is Officially Certified

Edited by Yujin Tchun

(Bill of Rights, 1971)

On the 15th of December, 1791, the first ten amendments in the US Constitution became the country’s unwritten laws with Virginia becoming the last state to finally approve the legislation. These amendments, which are officially known as the Bill of Rights, were made to guarantee civil rights and liberties to every individual in the US, whether it came in the form of freedom of speech, press, or religion (National Archives).

Brought on by the influence of the English Bill of Rights which was signed in 1689, the United States’ Bill of Rights was originally drafted in 1776 by George Mason. Mason, who was originally from Virginia, was a large supporter of the move towards gaining more individual liberties. An example of his beliefs was put on display during 1787, which were made when he attended the Constitutional Convention, openly criticizing the final document for lacking any mention of basic protection over political rights (History, 2009).

In order for the Bill of Rights to be approved, it needed a majority vote by state. Virginia ultimately became the tenth state to ratify the bill, therefore making it the last, given at the time there were only fourteen states. However, because they only agreed to the first ten out of twelve amendments, the remaining two were set aside for the time being. The first of these two amendments concerned the population’s system of representation and has ended up never being certified (History, 2010). The second of the two revolved around stopping laws that were put in place to vary payment between congressional members, and would ultimately be certified over 200 years later in 1992.

Currently, this bill continues to be the basis of civil rights and freedom of speech in the United States. It allows people to have the rights of freedom of speech, trial by jury, press, religion, firearm bearing, and so on.

References

History.com Editors. (2009, October 27). Bill of Rights. History.com. Retrieved December 7,

2021, from https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/bill-of-rights

History.com Editors. (2010, February 9). The Bill of Rights is finally ratified. History.com.

Retrieved December 7, 2021, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bill-of-

rights-is-finally-ratified