Bill of Rights Proposed: Congress Secures Liberties
James Madison introduced thirty-nine proposed amendments to assuage Anti-Federalist fears, resulting in twelve articles that Congress submitted to the states on September 25, 1789. These ten ratified provisions transformed from federal-only limits into universal protections for citizens through the Fourteenth Amendment's incorporation process. The shift from supplemental additions to core constitutional rights fundamentally reshaped American liberty by binding state governments to the same personal freedoms and judicial constraints as the federal government.
September 25, 1789
237 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on September 25
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