“in my weak judgment, a government is strong
when it applies to the most important end of all governments,
the rights and privileges of the people…
jury trial, the press and religion, and other essential rights
are not to be given up.”
-Patrick Henry
Written by rebellious and officially unrecognized statesmen of on unborn nation, the American Constitution has stood longer than any other modern charter. Its expansiveness coupled with the flexibility and personal freedom protections of the Bill of Rights has seen the United States from thirteen British-ruled colonies to fifty unified states comprising the worlds first “super-power”.
Modern America seems too easily to forget its modest roots as a struggling protectorate of another nation; but our forefathers, who fought the tyrannical laws imposed upon them, were met with this situation. British Parliament passed the Sugar and Currency Acts in 1764, which were specifically designed to bring money to the Crown from the colonies by raising levy on non-British imports and banning the production and circulation of American money. Many colonies reacted with protest to these compulsory sanctions (taxation without representation) by refusing to purchase or use imported British merchandise.
Further reason for resistance was found the following year with the passing of the Quartering Act, in which the colonists were forced to provide barracks and provisions for British troops. Shortly thereafter the Stamp Act was passed. The stamps issued by Britain were used as proof of tax paid on pamphlets, tracts, newspapers, playing cards and other daily use items. This bill prompted the organization of a clandestine group who worked to “dissuade” the Parliament’s stamp agents from collecting the tax. They were known as the Sons of Liberty, and were so successful in their persuasion that all stamp agents resigned before the tax came into effect.
Meeting in Independence Hall in May of 1776, the Second Continental Congress advocated the creation of a new colonial authority by and for the people of their respective states: “Adopt such a government as shall, in the opinion of the representatives of the people, best conduce to the safety and happiness of their constituents in particular and America in general.” Richard H. Lee, of Virginia made the motion in Congress that the colonies “are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states.” After a drafting committee was formed to create a manuscript announcing America’s autonomy, Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write the document. On July 2, 1776 Congress voted in favor of self-government and two days later recognized the Declaration of Independence.
During the session that he motioned for colonial autonomy, Lee also endorsed a confederacy of the proposed states. After a year of debates the Articles of Confederation were approved by Congress on November 15, 1777, but were not ratified by the states until 1781. The idea of a Bill of Rights for the Articles seemed, at the time, redundant to a collective of states representing themselves within a government without rule by a central authority. In this neophyte republic, all states were equally represented despite population and there was only Congress as government head. A supermajority (two- thirds of the former colonies) was requisite for any legislation to pass, and it was necessary for amendment to be supported by unanimous vote.
During the next four years efforts to revise the virginal Articles of Confederation were unsuccessful in garnering the undivided support needed for legal alteration. During this time America saw a dichotomy in a sudden boom of flourishing local and state politics tempered by territorial arguments, commercial interstate issues and imperious majorities. This changed in 1786 when the Virginia legislature brashly motioned that a convention of all thirteen states be held in May of 1787 to investigate possible solutions. The fifty-five men who arrived in Philadelphia for the “Grand Convention” took four months to declare their own government bankrupt, elect a president and cabinet and draft the Constitution of the United States of America. At its conclusion, delegates Edmund Randolph and George Mason of Virginia and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts rejected draft because it lacked a Bill of Rights
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In June of 1788, New Hampshire became the necessary ninth state required to ratify the new U.S. Constitution, and on July 2nd Congress announced its official adoption. Still, the idea of a Bill of Rights beyond those included in state constitutions persisted as a major issue. Although originally opposed to the concept, James Madison drafted a Bill of Rights and used it as a running platform during his bid for a seat in the first House of Representatives. The Bill of Rights, based on Madison’s draft, was ratified on December 15, 1791.