Ten amendments make up the Bill of Rights, a foundational text linked to America's 250th anniversary.
The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Congress proposed twelve amendments in 1789, but only ten were ratified by the required number of states at that time. They became part of the Constitution on December 15, 1791.
These amendments protect freedoms and establish limits on federal power. They address religion, speech, press, assembly, petition, arms, searches, criminal procedure, jury trials, punishments, and powers reserved to the states or the people. Their wording reflects concerns raised during the ratification debate.
The two amendments proposed in 1789 that were not initially ratified did not simply disappear. One later became the Twenty-Seventh Amendment in 1992, while the other concerned congressional apportionment and remains unratified. That is why the original twelve proposals did not produce a twelve-amendment Bill of Rights.