Patriot Post: The Bill of Rights

By Patriot Post, Dec. 15, 2024

December 15, 1791, marks the ratification of our Bill of Rights, the first 10 Amendments to our Constitution, and the Rule of Law it enshrines.

The Bill of Rights was inspired by three remarkable documents: John Locke’s 1689 thesis, “Two Treatises of Government,” regarding the protection of “property” (in the Latin context, proprius, or one’s own “life, liberty and estate”); in part from the Virginia Declaration of Rights authored by George Mason in 1776 as part of that state’s Constitution; and, of course, in part from our Declaration of Independence authored by Thomas Jefferson.

Though the Bill of Rights is commonly referred to as “the first 10 amendments” to our Constitution, it is important to distinguish these 10 articles from amendments. The former are an integral part of our Constitution, while the latter have modified it over the course of our nation’s history.

Because of that distinction, the addition of the Bill of Rights was hotly debated among our Founders. Many argued that the mere reiteration of these innate and unalienable Rights of Man within the Constitution might imply that they are somehow subject to amendment as if granted by the state. ….

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