Bill of Rights and Amendments

Bill of Rights and Amendments

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Bill of Rights and Amendments

Amendments to the Constitution are essentially when parts of the Constitution is revised. The first ten amendment of the Constitution is known as the Bill of Rights. There are two ways to make a proposed amendment part of the Constitution, and therefore, into law. The first path is the amendment is proposed in the U.S. Congress, the law-making body of the United States, which is composed of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Two-thirds of both houses must then approve the amendment; if they do not, then the proposal ends at this point. If both houses approve, the amendment is then sent to the legislature for approval. Three-fourths of all state legislatures must then approve it according to their own rules. Once three-fourths of the states have approved the amendment, it becomes law; if approval is not given by three-fourths of the states, the amendment fails to become law. The second way is for a national convention, so far all twenty-seven amendments to our Constitution have been voted in by the first path.

The original Constitution was known as the Articles of Confederation. In 1787, it was revised, because there were little to no rights for individuals. In 1789, James Madison wrote the first amendments of the Constitution, they were later known as the Bill of Rights (The Bill of Rights: Its History and Significance, 2010). Originally, Madison wrote twelve amendments, two of which, were rejected. Therefore there were just finally ten amendments that did pass and those were:

1st Amendment: Freedoms, Petitions and Assembly

2nd Amendment: Right to bear arms

3rd Amendment: Quartering of soldiers

4th Amendment: Search and Arrest

5th Amendment: Rights in criminal cases

6th Amendment: Right to a fair trial

7th Amendment: Rights in civil cases

8th Amendment: Bail, fines, and punishment

9th Amendment: Rights retained by the People.

10th Amendment: States Rights

(US Constitution Online, 2010)

The effects of the Bill of Rights are simple. Because of those 10 Amendments, we have the most rational country on the Planet. These Rights have protected us for centuries against many things that the government cannot make decisions for us on. For example, the first Amendment describes the freedom of religion. Our government, according to the First Amendment, cannot choose for me who I will worship, when I will worship, nor will they prohibit me from worshipping. Another one that is beneficial is the 4th Amendment, it says we cannot be searched or seized without the law proving to a judge that there is good reason for the search. These amendments were set to protect