Happy 225th birthday, Bill of Rights

Why is the Bill of Rights so important? The answer lies in the differences between the original Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The original Constitution focused on the federal government’s structure and the interplay between the federal and state governments. It established the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government, with checks and balances between them. It tried to limit the federal government by expressly enumerating its powers.

While the original Constitution was a blueprint for the government, it did not provide for the protection of individual rights. That protection came from the Bill of Rights.

For example, the First Amendment established constitutional rights for people to speak and publish without governmental interference, to freely exercise the religion of their choice, and to peaceably assemble and petition the government.

The Second Amendment provided a constitutional right for people to keep and bear arms.

The Fourth Amendment prohibited the government, in most cases, from searching or seizing people and their homes and property without a warrant supported by probable cause.

The Fifth Amendment prohibited the government from taking private property for a public use without paying a fair price for it.

The Bill of Rights also provided people with a constitutional right to the due process of law before being deprived of life, liberty, or property by the government. It gave accused people the constitutional rights to an attorney, to be tried by a jury of their peers, to not have to testify against themselves, to be tried only once for the same offense, and to not have cruel and unusual punishment inflicted on them if convicted of a crime.

While the Bill of Rights originally applied only to actions by the federal government, the Supreme Court ultimately applied most of its protections against state governments as well.

So the Bill of Rights is important because it put into this country’s governing document the principle that the individual has certain rights that the government can’t take away and must respect. And for that, we have a lot to be grateful for on the 225th anniversary of its ratification.

‘While the original Constitution was a blueprint for the government, it did not provide for the protection of individual rights. That protection came from the Bill of Rights.’