The U.S. Bill of Rights consists of ten amendments, a founding milestone in the history celebrated by America250.
The amendments were proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the states in 1791. They were added in response to concerns that the new Constitution did not sufficiently protect individual liberties or limit federal power. The protections cover freedoms such as speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition, along with rules involving searches, trials, punishments, and unlisted rights.
Congress originally proposed twelve amendments, but the first two were not ratified at that time. One later became the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, while the other concerned congressional apportionment and was never ratified as part of the original package.
The Bill of Rights is therefore ten amendments, not twelve. Its ratification also shows that the constitutional system continued developing after the 1787 document was signed, an important part of the broader founding story.