Ratifying the Constitution Before the Constitution was adopted, it had to be sent to each state for approval. Before it could be sent to the states, it had to be rewritten so it was easier to read. The final version of the Constitution, containing seven articles, was produced by a delegate named Gouverneur Morris. On September 17, 1787, 39 of the 55 delegates signed the Constitution and sent it to the states for special conventions. Nine states had to approve the Constitution before it could become law. Some delegates to the Constitutional Convention, including George Mason and Patrick Henry, were afraid it would not guarantee individual states rights. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote 85 letters supporting its passage. These advocates of the Constitution believed that the checks and balances system would allow a strong central government to preserve states rights. RESEARCH PROJECT: Find out more about each person listed below. Write a sentence telling something about each. John Jay James Madison Patrick Henry George Mason
The Bill of Rights When the Constitution was sent to the states for ratification, some delegates refused to approve it until it included a bill of rights listing the individual rights of every citizen. So, the Convention promised a bill of rights would be attached to the final version. When the first Congress met in 1789, it immediately considered several amendments. James Madison wrote twelve of them, which were presented to the states for final approval. Ten were approved. Those ten amendments make up the Bill of Rights. They are also the first ten Amendments to the Constitution. Congress shall make no law establishing a religion, or prohibiting the free exercises thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to assemble peaceably, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. CONTEXT CLUES Look at the words in bold above. Match each to a word or phrase in the list below that has a similar meaning. complaints of unfair treatment making less; reducing ideas expressed in public put something right ask; request ideas expressed in print
More on the Bill of Rights The writers of the Bill of Rights could not list every individual right, so they put in the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to cover all those not listed. For example, one right not specifically listed is privacy. Many people consider privacy to be covered under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. The 9 th Amendment: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. *This amendment means that although certain rights are written into the Constitution, other rights that are not written into the Constitution may be of equal value. The 10 th Amendment: 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. *This amendment means that anything the Constitution does not mention can be considered by states as part of their powers, if they wish. CONTEXT CLUES Look at the bold words above. Match each word to a word or phrase that has a similar meaning. kept given made illegal listing reduce in importance interpret
Know Your Constitution Circle the correct answer to each of the following questions. 1. How many delegates signed the Constitution? a. 50 b. 40 c. 39 d. 55 2. What had to be done to ratify the Constitution? a. A Bill of Rights had to be written. b. The delegates had to sign it. c. 85 letters were written to support it. d. Nine states had to approve it. 3. Who actually wrote the Constitution? a. William Jackson b. Benjamin Franklin c. George Mason d. Gouverneur Morris 4. Who is considered the author of the Bill of Rights? a. George Washington b. James Madison c. Thomas Jefferson d. Roger Sherman 5. Which part of the Constitution has seven parts? a. Bill of Rights b. Amendments c. Articles d. Preamble
ANSWERS: The Bill of Rights complaints of unfair treatment grievances making less; reducing abridging ideas expressed in public speech put something right redress ask; request petition ideas expressed in print press More on the Bill of Rights kept retained given delegated made illegal prohibited listing enumeration reduce in importance disparage interpreted construed Know Your Constitution 1. c 2. d 3. d 4. b 5. c