Congress originally sent 12 amendment articles to the states in 1789.
James Madison introduced a broad package of proposed changes after studying objections raised by Anti-Federalists during the Constitution's ratification debates. Congress revised and condensed his proposals before approving twelve articles on September 25, 1789.
The states did not ratify all twelve. Articles Three through Twelve were eventually ratified on December 15, 1791, becoming the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Because the first two proposed articles were not adopted at that time, the numbering of the final Bill of Rights differs from the original congressional list.
Article Two later became the Twenty-seventh Amendment in 1992, after a long campaign for ratification. Article One, concerning congressional apportionment, remains unratified. Thus, the familiar Bill of Rights represents ten successful ratifications from an original package of twelve articles.