The Controversy over the Bill of Rights

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From the time it was first proposed in 1789, the Bill of Rights was controversial. The founding fathers had already considered adding a Bill of Rights in the original 1787 Constitution, mainly because they knew the people feared a powerful central government and formally stating their rights in this new document would appease them. They did not add it, however, thinking it was not really necessary. Each state had their own version of a Bill of Rights anyway. The framers of the Constitution decided that just because rights were not enumerated for the individual states in the Constitution did not mean that the federal government controlled the lives of every citizen. The debate over the Bill of Rights came down to the Federalists against the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists favored a strong central government that had power over the states. States had been known to make some small-minded decisions that may not be universally fair. The Anti-Federalists preferred a strong local government. Most Americans felt a sense of loyalty to their home state and trusted decisions would be made in their best interests. They did not want their rights taken away by a powerful federal government, which is what they thought the Constitution would do. Once the citizens saw the wording of the Constitution, they immediately demanded a Bill of Rights to protect their liberties. There was a lot of opposition to the Constitution. Both the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists did not want to attempt to create a new Constitution, or even worse have another American Revolution if the people felt their rights were truly being violated. The founding fathers wanted the support of the people for their government. The Bill of Rights was a compro... ... middle of paper ... ...ese values negatively affects people around them, then the motives are questioned. They have freedom, but they must also be responsible with the rights established for them. If someone keeps a gun at home, it is assumed they want to protect themselves, but they must be responsible in keeping that gun out of the wrong hands. If someone publishes information, it must be accurate and not for their own interests. If someone chooses to worship a particular faith, these beliefs should not harm others. The Bill of Rights was established to protect the individuals and states, assuming they could accept these liberties with responsibility. It is important that each provision be stated in a way that there is no question about what was meant even if the explanation is longer. The provisions would not be left to interpretation and arbitrarily applied based on convenience.

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