Free Essays on Bill Of Rights

In 1791, the Bill of Rights, consisting of 10 amendments, was ratified into the constitution. The document’s purpose was to spell out the liberties of the people that the government could not infringe upon. Considered necessary by many at the time of its development, the Bill of Rights became the cause for a huge debate between two different factions: The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists were those who thought that there should be a new Union created with a strong centralized government and individual regional governments. They felt that it was not necessary for there to be a bill of rights because it was implied that those rights the Constitution did not specifically state would be handed down to the states. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists were opposed to such a form of government on the grounds that the Constitution, in which it was outlined, lacked clarity in the protections of the individuals. The Anti-Federalists- whose memory of British oppre ssion was still fresh in their minds- wanted certain rights and guarantees that were to be apart of the constitution (Glasser 1991). A clear demonstration of the Anti-Federalist attitude was performed by Samuel Bryan, who published a series of essays named the ‘Cenitnal Essays,’ which â€Å"assailed the sweeping power of the central government, the usurpation of state sovereignty, and the absence of a bill of rights guaranteeing individual liberties such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion (Bran 1986).† Of course, the freedoms stated above are a portion and not the whole of The Bill of Rights. Ultimately, The Bill of Rights was adopted to appease the Anti-Federalists, whose support was necessary to ratify the constitution, and who believed that without the liberties granted therein, the new constitution- that they thought was vague and granted too much power to the central government- would give way to an elite tyrannical government. The purpose... Free Essays on Bill Of Rights Free Essays on Bill Of Rights In 1791, the Bill of Rights, consisting of 10 amendments, was ratified into the constitution. The document’s purpose was to spell out the liberties of the people that the government could not infringe upon. Considered necessary by many at the time of its development, the Bill of Rights became the cause for a huge debate between two different factions: The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists were those who thought that there should be a new Union created with a strong centralized government and individual regional governments. They felt that it was not necessary for there to be a bill of rights because it was implied that those rights the Constitution did not specifically state would be handed down to the states. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists were opposed to such a form of government on the grounds that the Constitution, in which it was outlined, lacked clarity in the protections of the individuals. The Anti-Federalists- whose memory of British oppre ssion was still fresh in their minds- wanted certain rights and guarantees that were to be apart of the constitution (Glasser 1991). A clear demonstration of the Anti-Federalist attitude was performed by Samuel Bryan, who published a series of essays named the ‘Cenitnal Essays,’ which â€Å"assailed the sweeping power of the central government, the usurpation of state sovereignty, and the absence of a bill of rights guaranteeing individual liberties such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion (Bran 1986).† Of course, the freedoms stated above are a portion and not the whole of The Bill of Rights. Ultimately, The Bill of Rights was adopted to appease the Anti-Federalists, whose support was necessary to ratify the constitution, and who believed that without the liberties granted therein, the new constitution- that they thought was vague and granted too much power to the central government- would give way to an elite tyrannical government. The purpose... Free Essays on Bill Of Rights The first ten amendments of the Constitution of the United States are called the Bill of Rights. These amendments were ratified on December 15, 1791. The first amendment deals with religion, speech, assembly, and politics. The second amendment talks about the militia and right to bear arms. The third amendment discuses the topic of quartering soldiers. The fourth amendment talks about search and seizures. The Fifth Amendment talks about juries, self-incrimination, double jeopardy, due process and eminent domain. The sixth amendment deals with criminal court procedures. The seventh amendment is the right of trial by jury in common law cases. The eighth amendment discusses bail, cruel and unusual punishment. The ninth amendment deals with the rights retained by the people. The last amendment talks about powers to the people and/or states. The first amendment states the congress can not make any laws respecting a religion. Everyone has the right to pick his or her own religion. The government is not allowed to tell the people that they have to all picks the same religion. The amendment also talks about the freedom of speech and/or the press. The people are allowed to speak their mind. No one can tell someone to be quiet to this amendment. First amendment also discusses the freedom to peacefully assemble. This means that people can protest as long as that they do it in a peacefulable way. They can not interfere with other things going on like traffic. They can not block traffic, doors and entrances. The second amendment is about the militia and the right to bear arms. We will always need the National Guard in case of any state disasters. We need to be able to keep on running well and trained. If we don’t keep up a good Guard then we will not be able to respond to disasters. There are a lot of associations that make sure we can have the right to bear arms. The NRA (National Rifle Association) is a very outspoken group for the amendm...