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During the debates on the adoption of the Constitution,
its opponents repeatedly charged that the Constitution
as drafted would open the way to tyranny by the
central government. Fresh in their minds was the
memory of the British violation of civil rights
before and during the Revolution. They demanded
a "bill of rights" that would spell
out the immunities of individual citizens. Several
state conventions in their formal ratification
of the Constitution asked for such amendments;
others ratified the Constitution with the understanding
that the amendments would be offered.
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of
the United States therefore proposed to the state
legislatures 12 amendments to the Constitution
that met arguments most frequently advanced against
it. The first two proposed amendments, which concerned
the number of constituents for each Representative
and the compensation of Congressmen, were not
ratified. Articles 3 to 12, however, ratified
by three-fourths of the state legislatures, constitute
the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, known
as the Bill of Rights. |
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