The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights
1789
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After the Constitution of the United States was ratified in June of 1788, it was realized that the Constitution had no formal declaration, or bill, that stated individual rights of the people. The constitution stated what the government could do, but not what it was not allowed to do. This posed a problem for states trying to ratify the constitution. The formation of the Bill of Rights, however, did not come easy. It took 4 years of intense debate between the Federalists (opposed to Bill of Rights) and the Anti-Federalists (supported Bill of Rights). Ultimately, in the end, popular sentiment was decisive and the Bill of Rights was to be added to the constitution. James Madison, with a little help of Thomas Jefferson, wrote the Bill of Rights, which was amended to its current version, and has been a valuable part of the US Constitution ever since ratification.
