Ten amendments made up the original U.S. Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791 as a milestone tied to America250.
Congress proposed twelve amendments in 1789. The states ratified ten of them on December 15, 1791, and those ten became the Bill of Rights. They protect civil liberties and define limits on federal power.
The amendments address freedoms including religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition, as well as protections involving arms, searches, criminal proceedings, and punishment. The final two proposed amendments did not become part of the original Bill of Rights at that time.
One of those rejected proposals concerned congressional apportionment and remains unratified. The other, concerning congressional pay, was eventually ratified in 1992 as the Twenty-seventh Amendment, which explains why the Constitution now has more than ten amendments.