¶ … authors discussing the Bill of Rights. The authors are Irving Brant and Michael J. Kryzanek, both experts in the field of political science.
The Bill of Rights did not exist when the Constitution was first written; it was a series of amendments proposed by James Madison in 1789. It now stands as the first ten amendments to the Constitution. "The Bill of Rights was ratified by the states on December 15, 1791, but the first two amendments were voted down. Failed Amendment One would have required that at least one representative be allocated in Congress for every 50,000 citizens. At that rate, Congress today would have 5,000 members. Failed Amendment Two would have required that no salary raise for members of Congress could take effect until after the next election of Congress. This proposal eventually became the Twenty-seventh Amendment"
Kryzanek 28).
Author Michael J. Kryzanek says it is "the most important step in the development of the Constitution...Most of us take the Bill of Rights for granted, but it is without question the shining star of constitutional development"
Kryzanek 20-21). The Bill of rights guarantees us our personal freedoms, including freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, and the right to assemble.
Author Irving Brant basically agrees with Kryzanek when he says, "for when a great outcry went up that the Constitution framed in 1787 contained no Bill of Rights, the reply was made that the entire document was a charter of rights and liberties. Both in the character of the original Constitution and in its specific details, that was true to a much greater extent than alarmed citizens realized. Yet as a charter of freedom it was woefully deficient" (Brant 3). However, Brant makes a distinction that the Constitution was indeed a "charter of rights and liberties," but the founding...
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