> From: "Bob Blakely"
> For this reason, the Constitution written by the "fathers" initially
> lacked the "Bill of Rights" we have now because the the "fathers" did
> not believe it necessary. After all, the Constitution did not give
> the federal government any power to regulate speech, press, religion,
> etc., so they couldn't do it. The states, fearing the new federal
> government would seek to extend it's power by removing liberty from
> men as all previous governments had, demanded that certain rights be
> specifically named as off limits to the new governments. These became
> the first ten amendments to the Constitution known as "The Bill of
> Rights". They are amendments (or changes) to the originally written
> Constitution and so form a part of it. No state ratified the
> Constitution until after the the document had been amended. All
> amendments are a part of the Constitution.
Back to grade school Bob ...
It should be obvious the Bill of Rights can not pre-date the
Constitution, since the mechanism for amending the Constitution did not
exist UNTIL the Constitution was ratified. The Bill of Rights are
amendments to the Constitution; without the Constitution there can be no
amendments.
Unlike the chicken and the egg, we know which came first.
The United States had a government under the Articles of Confederation
for more than 10 years before the Constitution.
The Constitutional Convention of 1786 was an extra-governmental meeting
of representatives from the various states, charged to find ways to
improve the Articles of Confederation. Instead they wrote a NEW
Constitution.
The Constitutional Convention adjourned Sep 17, 1787.
Congress - the Congress already in existence under the Articles of
Confederation - agreed to send the new Constitution to the states for
debate and ratification on Sep 28, 1787.
The Constitution was adopted with New Hampshire's ratification on Jun
21, 1788. The Congress under the Articles continued to sit until late in
1788 before the new government under the Constitution could convene itself.
A digression - George Washington was not the first president of the
United States, he was the eleventh (or seventeenth if you count the
Continental Congresses). His predecessors are usually forgotten because
he was the first executive president elected under the NEW Constitution.
John Hancock was "president" twice, once under the Second Continental
Congress and once under the Articles of Confederation.
The first ten amendments, commonly known as the Bill of Rights, were
proposed on Sep 25, 1789, by the NEW Congress - more than a year after
the ratification of the Constitution, and were all ratified at once with
Virginia's ratification Dec 15, 1791.
Only two of the original 13 states, North Carolina and Rhode Island,
ratified the Constitution AFTER the Bill of Rights was proposed and both
ratified the Constitution before ratifying the Bill of Rights; and both
joined the Union before the Bill of Rights was adopted.
Three of the original 13 states, Connecticut, Georgia and Massachusetts,
did not ratify the Bill of Rights until 1939.
Originally 12 amendments were proposed for the Bill of Rights; 10 were
adopted. The first proposed amendment was not adopted.
The second proposed amendment was finally adopted as the 27th Amendment
to the Constitution in 1992.
The third proposed amendment was adopted as the First Amendment of the
Bill of Rights.
Dates of Ratification - Constitution & Bill of Rights
Delaware Constitution: Dec 7, 1787 Bill of Rights: Jan 28, 1790
Pennsylvania Constitution: Dec 12, 1787 Bill of Rights: Mar 10, 1790
New Jersey Constitution: Dec 18, 1787 Bill of Rights: Nov 20, 1789
Connecticut Constitution: Jan 9, 1788 Bill of Rights: Apr 19, 1939
Georgia Constitution: Feb 2, 1788 Bill of Rights: Mar 18, 1939
Massachusetts Constitution: Feb 6, 1788 Bill of Rights: Mar 2, 1939
Maryland Constitution: Apr 28, 1788 Bill of Rights: Dec 19, 1789
South Carolina Constitution: May 23, 1788 Bill of Rights: Jan 19, 1790
New Hampshire Constitution: Jun 21, 1788 Bill of Rights: Jan 25, 1790
Virginia Constitution: Jun 25, 1788 Bill of Rights: Dec 15, 1791
New York Constitution: Jul 26, 1788 Bill of Rights: Feb 24, 1790
North Carolina Constitution: Nov 21, 1789 Bill of Rights: Dec 22, 1789
Rhode Island Constitution: May 29, 1790 Bill or Rights: Jun 7, 1790
The longest delay between ratification of the Constitution and
ratification of the Bill of Rights is Connecticut's - Jan 9, 1788 to
Apr 19, 1939; the shortest is Rhode Island's - May 29, 1790 to Jun 7, 1790.
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