December is known for holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah, but there’s another important day that falls this month. December 15 is Bill of Rights Day, the anniversary of the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution.
On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution. Ten of the 12 proposed amendments were ratified by three-quarters of the state legislature on December 15, 1791, the result of a compromise between Federalists, who advocated a strong national government, and Anti-Federalists, who advocated a strong national government. and the Anti-Federalists, who wanted power to remain with state and local governments.
Unfortunately, too many Americans know little about the history of the Bill of Rights, which was introduced by James Madison, who later became the fourth president of the United States, and struggle to identify these amendments, which define what it means to be american . They guarantee us our freedoms of religion, of speech, of the press, of peaceful assembly and petition of our government, and they protect our right to bear arms, our rights to private property, our right to a fair trial and our right against unreasonable searches and seizures.
During the 150th anniversary commemorations in 1941, Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing the president “to issue a proclamation designating December 15, 1941, as Bill of Rights Day, calling on government officials to show the flag of the United States in all Government Buildings on that day and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and prayers.”
In November, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation dedicating December 15, 1941, as Bill of Rights Day. In his message, he referred to the document as “the great American charter of personal freedom and human dignity.”
Later, in his radio address on Bill of Rights Day, a week after the United States entered World War II, Roosevelt applauded the freedom-loving nations that supported the rights outlined in our letter and denounced countries such as Nazi Germany for their destruction of these same rights.
.We encourage everyone to take the time to read the original 10 amendments. As citizens who enjoy the protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, we must inform and educate ourselves and others about the important freedoms we have.
