Hello and welcome to a history of the United States.

Episode 166, the Bill of Rights.

Last time, we introduced the big three institutions of American government. The House of Representatives,

chaotic and busy, dominated by Madison, the Senate, slow and preoccupied with protocol,

dominated by Adams, and the Presidency,

with Washington trying to strike the right balance between Republican simplicity and the dignity

of a head of state. Today, we need to turn our attention to the most pressing matter affecting

the Young Republic.

The Bill of Rights The concern with rights has a long history in English political tradition and goes back to

Magna Carta.

During the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic in England, Magna Carta was invoked constantly as a counter to

government restrictions in a way that will seem absurd to anyone who did not personally experience it.

To tell you the truth, personally experiencing it didn't much reduce the absurdity.

This has played a significant role in English history. The Bill of Rights

of 1689 being one of the results of the glorious revolution, and we've seen it have an impact

on the American colonies too. Remember, in the Declaration of Independence, we hold these truths to be

self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain

unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was

something at the forefront of the minds of those crafting the Constitution. However, at the

convention, a Bill of Rights was brought up only in the final days of the convention by George

Mason, and it was actually voted down. How do we explain this contradiction? It was at the forefront of the minds of everybody, but wasn't

included in the Constitution? Well, we'll start with my own introduction to the topic,

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