A Bill of Rights versus an Amendment Although the original ten Amendments of The Constitution are often referred to as the Bill of Rights, there are important differences between an amendment and a bill of rights. The purpose of this paper is to define a bill of rights and an amendment, and then to clarify their differences. Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary Online (1828) defines a bill of rights as “A summary of fundamental rights and privileges guaranteed to a people against violation by the state—used especially of the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution.” A bill of rights is a law that protects the rights listed within it from abuse by government or any higher power. The first use of a bill of rights in American …show more content…
One of the differences between a bill of rights and an amendment is that a bill of rights can exist on its own, while an amendment cannot. An amendment is only an amendment if it is added into a preexisting document or law. A bill of rights is a list of people’s rights, whether it is listed within the main body of a document or within an amendment, such as in The Constitution (Merriam-Webster, 1828). Another difference is that a bill of rights must contain actual rights to be a bill of rights, whereas an amendment can contain any extra information deemed necessary. Both were initially used by Americans in the Constitution to secure the future of American government, but each served a different purpose. The Confederation Congress used a bill of rights to preserve the people’s fiercely desired personal rights, while they used amendments to correct any errors or to edit federal laws and bills as necessary. The Constitution had to adapt to “changing economic and social conditions” (Thompson, 1913, p. 17), and this is exactly the flexibility the Amendments …show more content…
An amendment is an addition to a preexisting document that can alter or add to the document. The differences between an amendment and a bill of rights are the information they contain and their purpose. A bill of rights is intended to protect people’s rights from government intrusion, as its name suggests. An amendment is intended to adapt laws and documents to suit the economy, and most importantly the people as evolving culture and society dictates. Both of these concepts are designed to help people live better lives alongside their government by protecting rights of individuals and the ability to adapt outdated laws to suit their
The Constitution is a plan of government for our country. An Amendment is a change or addition to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to Constitution. The three branches of government include the Judicial, Legislative, Executive. The Judicial branch interprets the laws or says what the laws mean, the legislative branch makes the laws, and the executive branch carries out/executes the laws.
From the failure of the Articles, should the new government, the Constitution, be approved? In 1788, the Constitution was created as the Articles of Confederation wasn’t successful and strong enough for their new government. During that time, a debate went throughout America about the Constitution whether to ratify it or not. Yes, the Constitution should be ratified because a Bill of Rights was promised, no one overpowered (in the government; checks and balances), and it is fair to both citizens and officials. Starting off, a bill of rights was promised which would ensure many things for the citizens.
The Bill Of Rights, along with the Declaration of the Rights of Man are very important in the sense that they state the civil rights everyone is entitled to. Without these documents, we would have no freedom and no rights for ourselves. Even though these two documents are very similar, they also have many differences. Both the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Rights of man have rights that are very similar to one another.
In document E it states that the bill of rights for all of the 10 amendments for the all the U.S. citizens to have what they all need like freedom, to carry around their guns etc.
In Document I they are taking out the Bill of Rights and putting that information elsewhere and enter information that doesn’t need to be in the Constitution. One of Thomas Jefferson's group leaders has sent a copy of his work and he noticed that he took out one part of information that needs to be in The Constitution. Without the Bill of Right the people will turn against their government. Thomas Jefferson said a complaint to his friend and wanted to know why he took out the Bill of Rights. With the Bill of Rights the people are under control because they accept what is written and why they look up to the Bill of Rights.
After the Constitution was sent to states for ratification, the people felt the Constitution did not protect the natural rights of the American citizens. The cause or reason for this addition to the Constitution was to ensure that the rights detailed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were not thought to be the only possible rights of American citizens. The Anti-Federalists, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Mason, said that if certain rights weren't specifically granted to the people, the government would easily take over these rights and abuse the people in the country. The Federalists, George Washington, John Adams, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, said that the Constitution give the government to do things that were
On December 15th, 1791 the bill of rights was ratified and became a part of the now-complex U.S. constitution. The amendments in the bill of rights dictate laws
The Patriot Act and the Bill Of Rights was set forth to help protect citizen 's basic rights. Both have achieved what they were intended for and have set certain principles so citizens can have reasonable rights but at the same time they can 't abuse that power. The Patriot Act was made to protect citizens freedom and civil liberties. This act was passed shortly after the devastating September 11,2001 terrorist attack.
The Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791 written by James Madison. The Bill of Rights was written and added into the Constitution in order to protect the rights of the citizens. The Bill of Rights was added into the Constitution by a compromise between the Anti-Federalists and the Federalists. Federalists were citizens who supported the new Constitution. While Anti-Federalists were another group of citizens who were scared to have another king or a abusive government, basically did not support the Constitution.
The purpose of The Constitution is to establish a federal government with limited power in the USA. The Bill of Rights were requested by the anti-federalists in order to further restrict the government’s already limited power. The people (via the congress) and also The States were allowed to amend the Constitution. Additional Amendments to the Constitution were required to have two-thirds vote to be proposed by the supermajority and three-fourths vote to approve them. In total, there are twenty seven Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights which was written by James Madison. He wrote The Bill Of Rights in response of calls from several states for greater constitutional protection of individual liberties. The people who signed the declaration made a promise to protect the people from the government. The colonist wanted to keep their rights because they had a fear of a tyrannical government. People believed and were taught that The Bill Of Rights came from the desire to protect the liberties won in the American Revolution.
In the late 1700’s, James Madison wrote the first Ten Amendments that are listed in the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights were written to ensure American citizens that they have freedoms and rights that the government can 't infringe. Out of the Ten Amendments, I believe that the First and Eighth Amendment are the most significant. The First Amendment grants us freedom of speech, religion, press, petition, and for people to assemble peaceably.
Although written “to endure for ages to come”, the creators made sure the Constitution could be changed in the future. In 1791, the Bill of Rights were ratified, or the first 10 amendments. As time continued, amendments
The Bill of Rights is a document which states the rights the people have such as rights to bare arms, and trial by jury. The first ten amendments were deemed as the Bill of Rights. The first amendment was that people have freedom of speech, religion and
The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments with the United States. These are the rights that make every man, woman and child equal. At the time this document was written many people did not believe in equality. Minorities at this time were discriminated against in a major way. This is why it was not accepted.