#7: CIVICS 101: The Constitution
Q&A #7: What is the Bill of Rights?
Our American Government
Our American Government is a small book published by the House of Representatives for citizens and those who seek a greater understanding of the American interpretation of democracy. It follows a question-and-answer format and covers a broad range of topics dealing with the three branches of our Government, the electoral process, and the role of political parties.
The Savvy Citizen is reproducing the 169 questions-and-answers through a series of posts called Civics 101. Each post will contain the Q&A as well as some additional commentary to add historical context, fun facts, or anything we believe will add to our collective understanding of these topics.
Think of it as your adult Civics class, but without the test!
Let’s keep at it.
SECTION: The Constitution
Q&A #7: What is the Bill of Rights?
The Bill of Rights is a series of constitutionally protected rights of citizens. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, ratified by the required number of States on December 15, 1791, are commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights.
The first eight amendments set out or enumerate the substantive and procedural rights associated with that description. The 9th and 10th amendments are general rules of interpretation of the relationships among the people, the State governments, and the Federal Government.
The ninth amendment provides that the “enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” The 10th amendment reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
My Thoughts …
Here’s some Bill of Rights trivia you may not know …
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States passed a Joint Resolution proposing 12 amendments (called Articles) be added to the Constitution. A Joint Resolution requires passage by both houses of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
On December 15, 1791, two years after the Joint Resolution, 10 of the 12 proposed Articles were ratified as the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, collectively called the Bill of Rights. Of the original 12, the first and second Articles didn’t make the cut; so Articles 3 thru 12 became the Bill of Rights.
But, worry not!
The original Article 2 finally had it’s day in 1992 when it was finally ratified as the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, some 203 years after it was originally proposed. It reads:
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
The initial Article 1 was never ratified as it became moot with population growth.
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Back tomorrow with Q&A: #8: What are the rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights?
Meanwhile, don’t forget that we’re organizing the post links on a single page available here.
xo,
Kelley for the Savvy Citizen Team
October 15, 2024