Why was the United States Bill of Rights
created? I’ll address that in today’s video . Hello Good People! My name is
Janiece, your host here at Dignity: Human Rights in Daily Life. Thank you for
stopping by. If you’re new here, welcome! After watching this video, I invite you
to check out this playlist and please consider subscribing. The background of
the Bill of Rights, the first 10 Amendments to the United States
Constitution, tells the story as to why they were drafted in the first place.
In July 1776, when the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence,
Thomas Jefferson being its principle author, the 13 Original States set out to
draft and adopt their individual constitutions and the Bill of Rights. By
1781, the Articles of Confederation, which have been approved by the States after
they declared their independence from Great Britain, had been fully ratified.
However in 1787, a pivotal event took place in Massachusetts that led to the
creation of the federal government as we know it today. Daniel Shay, a
Revolutionary War veteran and farmhand, sought to overthrow the government to
protest for closures of farms for debts and he briefly succeeded in shutting
down the court system. The problem was that the federal government could not
finance troops, so the Massachusetts militia had to step in to quash the
rebellion. This prompted delegates from all the states to immediately convene in
Pennsylvania for what is known as the Constitutional Convention. its purpose
was to address the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation which resulted
in replacing it with the formation of United States government under the US
Constitution establishing a chief executive, courts, and taxing power. The
delegates engaged in a bitter debate before ratifying the Constitution. On the
one hand, anti-federalists opposed it because it did not provide a bill of
rights to protect personal liberties. On the other hand, Federalists opposed the
Bill of Rights because they felt the states already provided sufficient
personal liberties. In the end, the delegates agreed to draft ten amendments
to the Constitution known as the Bill of Right; they are one. freedom of religion
speech and the press known as fundamental rights; two. the right to bear arms; three. the housing of soldiers; four. protection from unreasonable search
and seizures; five. protection of the rights to life liberty and property; six.
rights of accused persons in criminal cases; seven. rights in civil cases; eight.
forbids excessive bail fines and punishments; nine. other rights kept by
the people; and ten. undelegated powers kept by the states and the people.
So, in 1791, the delegates finally ratified the Bill of Rights which are
the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution for the purpose of
protecting individual liberties also known as the fundamental rights. Next
week, we’ll look at how Article 1 impacts your life. To catch up on the
UDHR series that’s featured on Tuesdays check out this playlist. Mark #TeamDignity in the comments, like, share, subscribe if you haven’t already and in
the meantime be well and remember to live your life with Dignity. Bye-bye!