Question

How did the debate over the Bill of Rights influence the rights that were finally included in these ten amendments? Give your response in three to five sentences and use what you read in Jefferson’s and Madison’s letters.

Answer 1

Sample response: Jefferson believed that a Bill of Rights was necessary to protect civil liberties and that, without a list of protected rights, the government could abuse its power. As a result, the Bill of Rights protects personal expression and property and legal rights. Madison, on the other hand, thought listing specific rights could ultimately limit the unmentioned rights that also needed to be protected. His concerns were answered by the inclusion of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, which address the rights not specifically listed in the Constitution.

Answer 2

The Bill of Rights is the name of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.

The bill was mostly written to address the objections of Anti-Federalists who were worried about the shortcomings of the Constitution. These amendments have added significant guarantees of personal freedom, limits to state power and other important rights that were not included in the Constitution originally.

The Bill was a result of several other documents that were also influential on the Constitution, such as the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), the English Bill of Rights (1689) and the Magna Carta (1215). Madison was particularly significant in the passing of these amendments, as he carefully studied the deficiencies of the Constitution.