A brief guide > The Quill approach > Meet the team > Access the platform
A Brief Guide to the Bill of Rights
Historical background
Timeline, placing the 1789 Bill of Rights in historical context
The Constitution was sent to the states for ratification in 1787 and required ratification by two-thirds of the states in order to take effect. Most of the individual states held state ratifying conventions in the proceeding months and either ratified the Constitution with no objections, ratified with a list of proposed amendments, rejected the Constitution outright (Rhode Island), or did not hold a convention (North Carolina). The necessary two thirds (or nine states) ratification was achieved in 1788, when New Hampshire ratified.
The first session of the first Congress commenced in 1789. Early in the proceedings, Madison (VA) announced to the House of Representatives his intention to discuss amendments to the Constitution.
Some members of the House opposed amending the Constitution at that point, arguing that the United States government was yet unformed and its constitution had not yet stood the test of time. It was therefore necessary to allow the Constitution to stand in order to better assess its deficiencies after a sufficient amount of time had passed. Supporters of amending the Constitution, however, argued that it would send a negative message to the states if Congress met for its first session and did not consider their concerns regarding the Constitution. Additionally, many members hoped that addressing some of these concerns would induce North Carolina and Rhode Island to ratify the Constitution. Amending the Constitution won out, and Congress then had to decide how it would incorporate the amendments.
Roger Sherman (CT) was a major proponent of attaching the amendments to the Constitution via a sort of addendum rather than amending the Constitution directly. He advocated for this approach early on, as his proposed Committee of Eleven report demonstrates. This was the approach Congress ultimately took, and by the end of the first session, the House and Senate agreed on twelve amendments, which were sent to the states for ratification in September 1789. Of the twelve amendments, ten were ratified by the states and comprise the U.S. Bill of Rights.
Table showing which states had ratified the Constitution in 1789
Bill of Rights: TOPICS and Plans
Major Topics:
Protection of rights
State powers versus federal powers
Criminal trials
Religious freedom
Proposed Plans:
Madison’s proposed amendments
State amendments
Committee of Eleven report
Tucker’s proposed amendments
Senate amendments
Key figures
Click to see details on the Quill platform.
Key figures in the writing of the Bill of Rights
Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg
Speaker of the House
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Raised idea of amendments in the House and presented a draft for consideration
Major proponent of addendum-style Bill of Rights
Key Dates and stages
Click to see visualized on Quill platform.
In the House, Madison gives notice of his intention to discuss amendments on 25 May 1789 - 4 May 1789
Madison proposes amendments, which are referred the Committee of the Whole - 8 June 1789
Committee of the Whole discharged from considering Madison’s amendments, which are instead considered by the Committee of Eleven - 22 July 1787
Committee of Eleven report taken under consideration in Committee of the Whole - 13 August 1789
Committee of the Whole report taken under consideration in the House - 19 August 1789
Committee of the Whole report as amended by the House is sent to the Committee of Three for revision and arrangement - 22 August 1789
Committee of Three report referred to the Senate - 24 August 1789
The Senate considers the House amendments - 2 September 1789
The House amendments as amended by the Senate is referred to the House - 9 September 1789
Senate amendments taken into consideration in the House - 10 September 1789
Conference Committee reconciles House-Senate disagreements - 23 September 1789
Amendments as amended per Conference Committee report referred to Senate - 24 September 1789
Senate agrees to amendments and refers them to Committee for Enrolled Bills - 25 September 1789
Committee for Enrolled Bills reports to the House, and the Bill of Rights is sent to the states for ratification - 28 September 1789