The Fourth of July ~
Independence Day ~ marks our countries independence and celebrates
our liberty. As you enjoy the day, with food, family, fireworks, and fun,
remember how lucky we are to live in the greatest country in the
world. Celebrate America!
"[A] bill of rights is what the people are
entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular,
and what no just government should refuse."
---
Thomas Jefferson December 20, 1787
In the summer of 1787, delegates from the 13 states
convened in Philadelphia and drafted a remarkable blueprint for
self-government -- the Constitution of the United States. The first
draft set up a system of checks and balances that included a strong
executive branch, a representative legislature and a federal
judiciary.
The Constitution was remarkable, but deeply flawed.
For one thing, it did not include a specific declaration - or bill -
of individual rights. It specified what the government could do but
did not say what it could not do.
The absence of a "bill of rights" turned
out to be an obstacle to the Constitution's ratification by the
states. It would take four more years of intense debate before the
new government's form would be resolved. The Federalists opposed
including a bill of rights on the ground that it was unnecessary. The
Anti-Federalists, who were afraid of a strong centralized government,
refused to support the Constitution without one.
In the end, popular sentiment was decisive. Recently
freed from the despotic English monarchy, the American people wanted
strong guarantees that the new government would not trample upon
their newly won freedoms of speech, press and religion, nor upon
their right to be free from warrantless searches and seizures. So,
the Constitution's framers heeded Thomas Jefferson who argued: "A
bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every
government on earth, general or particular, and what no just
government should refuse, or rest on inference."
The American Bill
of Rights, inspired by Jefferson and drafted by James Madison, was
adopted, and in 1791 the Constitution's first ten amendments became
the law of the land.
The provisions contained in the
Bill of Rights were predated by the Magna Carta, which King John
signed in 1215 to protect citizens against abuse of power by the King
or Queen. Likewise, the authors (led by James Madison) sought to
limit the role of the central government. Virginia's Declaration of
Rights, drafted by George Mason immediately after independence in
1776, served as a model for other state bills of rights as well as
the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
"CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS"
Democracy and liberty are often thought to be the
same thing, but they are not. Democracy means that
people ought to be able to vote for public officials in fair
elections, and make most political decisions by majority
rule. Liberty, on the other hand, means that even in a
democracy, individuals have rights that no majority should be able to
take away.
The rights that the Constitution's framers wanted to
protect from government abuse were referred to in the Declaration of
Independence as "unalienable rights." They were also called
"natural" rights, and to James Madison, they were "the
great rights of mankind." Although it is commonly thought that
we are entitled to free speech because the First Amendment gives it
to us, this country's original citizens believed that as human
beings, they were entitled to free speech, and they invented the
First Amendment in order to protect it. The entire Bill of Rights was
created to protect rights the original citizens believed were
naturally theirs.
LIMITED GOVERNMENT
Early American mistrust of government power came
from the colonial experience itself. Most historians believe that the
pivotal event was the Stamp Act, passed by the English Parliament in
1765. Taxes were imposed on every legal and business document.
Newspapers, books and pamphlets were also taxed. Even more than the
taxes themselves, the Americans resented the fact that they were
imposed by a distant government in which they were not represented.
And they were further enraged by the ways in which the Stamp Act was
enforced.
Armed with "writs of assistance" issued by
Parliament, British customs inspectors entered people's homes even if
they had no evidence of a Stamp Act violation, and ransacked the
people's belongings in search of contraband. The colonialists came to
hate these "warrantless" searches and they became a
rallying point for opposition to British rule.
From these experiences came a uniquely American view
of power and liberty as natural enemies. The nation's founders
believed that containing the government's power and protecting
liberty was their most important task, and declared a new purpose for
government: the protection of individual rights.
The protection of rights was not the government's
only purpose. It was still expected to protect the community against
foreign and domestic threats, to ensure economic growth, and to
conduct foreign affairs. It was not, however, the government's job to
tell people how to live their lives, what religion to believe in, or
what to write about in a pamphlet or newspaper. In this sense, the
idea of individual rights is the oldest and most traditional of
American values.
Once drafted, the Bill of
Rights was quickly ratified by the states.
Amendment 1
Congress shall
make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of
the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment
2
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of
a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall
not be infringed.
Amendment 3
No soldier shall, in
time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the
owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment 4
The right of the people to be secure in
their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or
things to be seized.
Amendment 5
No person shall be
held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on
a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising
in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual
service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be
subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or
limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for
public use, without just compensation.
Amendment 6
In
all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and
district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of
the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the
witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his
defense.
Amendment 7
In suits at common law, where
the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of
trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall
be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than
according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment
8
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment
9
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights,
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people.
Amendment 10
The powers not delegated to
the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
