The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution became the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791.
James Madison introduced a set of proposed amendments in the First Congress in 1789. They responded to concerns from Anti-Federalists and other critics who feared that the new federal government might threaten individual liberties or exceed its delegated powers. Congress approved 12 proposed articles and sent them to the states.
The states ratified Articles Three through Twelve, which became Amendments One through Ten, on December 15, 1791. The original first and second proposed articles did not initially receive enough state approvals. The second article eventually became the Twenty-seventh Amendment in 1992, while the original first article remains unratified.
The Bill of Rights protects liberties including speech, religion, press, assembly, and due process. It also addresses searches, criminal trials, and the relationship between federal powers and reserved powers. It was added as amendments rather than inserted into the Constitution’s original text.