This document shows the changes the Senate made to the amendments passed by the House. Representative James Madison reduced over 200 suggested amendments to 19, of which the House approved 17. The Senate combined articles and revised text, reducing the 17 to the 12 that, after being passed by both houses, were sent to the states for ratification. The states ratified 10 of the amendments—today’s Bill of Rights, which became effective on December 15, 1791.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
Senate Revisions to the House Version of the Bill of Rights, September 9, 1789
Drafting The Bill of Rights
The first Congress wrote the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Known as the Bill of Rights, they are part of the bedrock of our national government. The amendments guarantee citizens’ individual rights and liberties. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention disagreed over the wisdom of listing specific rights within the U.S. Constitution, but members of the First Congress, fresh from the struggle against tyranny, insisted on the necessity of protecting individual liberties, including the freedoms of speech, religion and assembly. In 1789 they proposed twelve amendments to the original U.S. Constitution. Ten of these were swiftly ratified by the states and became known as the Bill of Rights. They form part of the bedrock of our national government.
This document shows the changes the Senate made to the amendments passed by the House. Representative James Madison reduced over 200 suggested amendments to 19, of which the House approved 17. The Senate combined articles and revised text, reducing the 17 to the 12 that, after being passed by both houses, were sent to the states for ratification. The states ratified 10 of the amendments—today’s Bill of Rights, which became effective on December 15, 1791.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
