90% of the time when we think of the Unites States Constitution, or making a “Constitutional Argument”, we are thinking about the Bill of Rights. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, and not the actual body of the Constitution itself. This includes things like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, protesting, right to bear arms, trials and treatments by law enforcement, states’ rights, and the press and media. Read that sentence again. If you notice these are often some of our society’s greatest controversies, and yet biggest protections. I can think of no other document than these 10 simply stated amendments that is so controversial on one hand yet carries so much meaning and weight and truly makes this country what it is today on the other. Our 4th President, James Madison, is often known as the “Father of the Constitution”, and rightfully so. But he is also the “Father of the Bill of Rights”, and that is what we will look at in this article.
10 sentences. As you are reading this you just read 10 sentences. Did James Madison at the time he was drafting the Bill of Rights know how big of an impact those 10 sentences would have for centuries to come? I personally do not believe he did, as he was even opposed to amending the Constitution in the beginning. So, let’s take a look how these 10 amendments came about, and the role Madison played in bringing them to fruition.
If you’ll remember, the United States was first governed under the Articles of Confederation until 1787. In 1787 the Philadelphia Convention met to revise the Articles, and ended up drafting a whole new Constitution, and the one we still have to this day. James Madison, then a representative to the convention from the state of Virginia, set out to create a whole new governing system. Therefore, Madison and his ideas about this new government led him to becoming the chief drafter of our Constitution. As was previously mentioned, he initially opposed bill of individual rights, believing the states could protect individual liberties just fine without help from the national government.
Nine states needed to ratify the new Constitution. And some states, mainly Virginia and Massachusetts were holding out unless amendments were included. This amendment vs. non-amendment months long heated debate really started to convince James Madison that the amendments were needed.
With Madison authoring larges parts of the Constitution that was being amended, he was the natural fit to draft a bill of rights. He did so and presented 9 articles which included around 20 amendments to the House of Representatives for their consideration. Madison was extremely fascinated with history and loved studying various governments. He drew inspiration for his bill of rights from the Magna Carta written in 1215 (right to petition and trial by jury), and the 1689 English Bill of Rights (right to bear arms and no cruel and unusual punishment). States also had constitutions, and Madison leaned on his own governing Virginia’s declaration of rights.
12 of his 20 proposed amendments were decided upon for consideration by the House and Senate. The Senate reviewed the proposal, and the house reviewed the proposal. Finally, they both agreed on one bill, comprised of 10 new amendments. They eliminated amendments 1 and 2, and kept 3-12, giving us the 10 that make up the Bill of Rights.
George Washington had 14 copies of the Bill of Rights made. One for Congress and one for each of the 13 states. Pennsylvania’s copy is still missing. North Carolina’s copy was stolen during the Civil War, and later recovered by the FBI in a sting in 2003 (Nicolas Cage was not a suspect this time). The original copy made for Congress currently sits in the rotunda of the National Archives in Washington D.C. It is displayed next to the Constitution and Declaration of Independence (and a copy of the previously mentioned Magna Carta sits nearby). Two of our 3 most famous and founding documents, were penned by our 4th President. If you have never visited the Archives, I urge you too. It is awe inspiring to see. (And FREE!)
Many believe that the Constitution itself was heavily favored, and would have come about eventually with or without James Madison. But few disagree that without James Madison, there would be no Bill of Rights. I think evidence to support that is the 13th amendment wasn’t added on until almost a 100 years after the Bill of Rights. And essentially the Bill of Rights weren’t even used to decide any court cases until 150 years after they were adopted. And no amendment was applied to the states until a freedom of speech case in 1925. The right to bear arms wasn’t even incorporated to the states that they can’t limit firearm ownership until 2010. And finally, the 3rd amendment, which states the government can not quarter soldiers in your home, has never been used in the Supreme Court or incorporated.
Madison would go on to have a somewhat rocky Presidency. He was in office during the brutal War of 1812, which many people hold him responsible for not preventing. Even to the point the British burned down the newly built White House. Madison’s fame is most likely overshadowed by his more famous wife Dolley Madison. Who was essentially the first, First Lady, the first person to have bipartisan dinners in the White House, and bravely helped save the iconic portrait of George Washington from the White House as it was burning down around her. It still hangs in the East Room of the White House to this day. She has been featured in a movie, been placed on US currency, and had a war ship named after her in WWII. Things her husband can not claim. (Maybe I’ll do a famous First Ladies segment after this).
Next week we will explore the teaser from the first article. Who was that man who crossed the Delaware as a teenager with George Washington, featured in that famous painting, and became our 5th President? Find out next week!