Ten amendments make up the United States Bill of Rights. They are the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution and were ratified on December 15, 1791.
James Madison introduced a set of proposed amendments in the First Congress after critics argued that the Constitution did not sufficiently protect individual liberties. Congress approved twelve articles in 1789, but only ten gained the required state approvals in time to become the Bill of Rights.
The amendments protect freedoms and legal safeguards including religion, speech, press, assembly, due process, and protection from unreasonable searches. They also address arms, quartering soldiers, jury trials, punishment, and powers retained by the states or the people.
A common mix-up concerns the original twelve proposals. The first proposal, about congressional apportionment, did not receive enough ratifications. The second proposal, concerning congressional pay, eventually became the Twenty-Seventh Amendment in 1992. Thus, the modern Bill of Rights contains ten amendments, even though twelve were originally submitted to the states.