For America250, on what date was the U.S. Bill of Rights ratified?

The U.S. Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791.

The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Congress approved twelve proposed amendments on September 25, 1789, largely through the efforts of Representative James Madison, and sent them to the states for approval. The states ratified Articles Three through Twelve, which became Amendments One through Ten.

The two proposed articles that did not initially become part of the Constitution were not the amendments most people know as the First and Second. One concerned congressional apportionment and remains unratified, while the other eventually became the Twenty-Seventh Amendment in 1992.

The amendments addressed concerns raised by Anti-Federalists during the ratification debate. They protect freedoms such as speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition, while also setting limits on government power in criminal and property matters.